Gov. Bill Haslam answers a question during a news conference in this file photo.NASHVILLE – Gov. Bill Haslam and his chief of staff, Mark Cate, said Tuesday that they show no favoritism toward Tom Ingram’s lobbying clients, though Cate’s emails indicate considerable friendly contact with Ingram and an associate.
Several of the emails obtained by WTVF-TV in Nashville involve HR Comp Employee Leasing, a Knox County firm that had problems with the state Department of Commerce and Insurance and retained The Ingram Group’s services. The firm, owned and operated by Andrea Ball, of Powell, at one point was found to be operating without a state license and was ordered to pay a $10,000 penalty.
In one email, Ingram describes the company’s situation as “a very troubling case.”
In another, Marcille Durham, president of the Ingram Group, says Ball would like to meet with Cate about departmental action “driving her out of business,” and Cate replies that he is “optimistic we can find a resolution.”
Both Cate and Ball said in interviews Tuesday that they had never met.