NASHVILLE – Republican gubernatorial candidate Zach Wamp today lashed out at a news report that says the Tennessee Valley Corridor, an economic development effort whose work he touts in his race, has been a “cash cow” for a public relations firm that works for his campaign.
The Nashville City Paper reported that AkinsCrisp Public Strategies, which is being paid $9,000 a month by the Wamp campaign, was paid $2 million over the past 10 years by the Tennessee Valley Corridor.
“That is so far off the mark,” Rep. Wamp said today about the article, which also seeks to raise questions about the efficacy of the Tennessee Valley Corridor that he created 15 years ago.
“That (criticism) is either sour grapes or smear politics or both coming together and really should be completely discounted because it’s just kind of gutter politics,” Rep. Wamp said.
Rep. Wamp acknowledged that his son, Weston Wamp, a UT communications graduate, is employed by AikinsCrisp, calling the arrangement “totally legitimate.”
He pointed reporters instead to one of his GOP rivals’ ties to the gaming industry. He said Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam’s family company, Pilot Corp., has gambling interests in Nevada and Montana.
He said Mayor Haslam needs to disclose his gambling interests and state whether he intends to spend any earnings from those operations on his campaign for governor.
In an e-mail, Haslam spokesman David Smith said Rep. Wamp “has his facts wrong again.”
Mr. Smith said Rep. Wamp “is either intentionally trying to mislead voters or hasn’t done his homework – neither of which are good characteristics for a governor.
“Mayor Haslam has made it abundantly clear he opposes legalizing casino gambling in Tennessee, and Pilot does not own or operate casinos in any state,” he said.
See Wednesday’s Times Free Press for complete coverage.