NASHVILLE - Democratic attorney Gordon Ball of Knoxville today formally kicked off his bid for U.S. Senate, saying that "poor and middle class Tennessee families have been victimized far too long by professional politicians and Washington insiders."
The 64-year-old millionaire class-action lawsuit attorney and one-time federal prosecutor quickly criticized U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., on term limits, saying politicians "conveniently" forget pledges and promises made to their constituents.
"The current incumbent promised to serve no more than two terms, a total of 12 years, but now he's running for a third term, which would give him 18 years in the Senate," Ball said in a campaign release.
Ball said the country faces "real and important problems that must be addressed by Congress. But the ideas coming from Democrats and Republicans alike are nothing more than recycled policies that have never worked in the past, are not working today, and are unlikely to work in the future.
"If we want fresh ideas in Congress, we're going to have to send new people to Washington, " said Ball who charged "Washington is rigged by professional politicians. While a big company, like GE or State Farm, pays nothing in taxes, Washington forces college students to borrow more and more to get an education. And Washington tells seniors they may need to learn to live on less. It isn't right, and it's one of the main reasons I'm running."
The candidate kicked off his campaign on the banks of the Pigeon River near his East Tennessee childhood home in tiny Hartford. He said he followed up on a promise to help landowners on the Pigeon River get relief from the owners of upstream paper mill, winning millions of dollars in compensation for them over the years.
Ball faces Democrat Terry Adams, another Knoxville attorney, in the August primary election. Alexander, meanwhile, faces state Rep. Joe Carr, R-Lascassas, in the Republican primary.