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- [S23] Atchley Funeral Home, (http://www.atchleyfuneralhome.com/), 24 May 2005.
Charles W. Butler obituary
- [S106] The Mountain Press, 1 Aug 2006.
The hotly contested Republican primary race for the U.S. Senate has a Sevier County connection. Candidate Bob Corker got lucky enough to get a Sevier County girl as his wife. The former Betty Burchfield - who goes by Elizabeth these days - has been campaigning hard beside her husband. Corker leads but some polls show the gap closing between him and Ed Bryant and Van Hilleary. Go vote.
- [S106] The Mountain Press, 26 Apr 2006.
Corker touts technology, aid, immigration among items needing attention
By: CRAIG MINTZ, Staff Writer April 26, 2006
SEVIERVILLE -Improving communication technology, providing federal grant money for personnel and addressing illegal immigration problems are three top concerns that U.S. Senate candidate Bob Corker should consider if he is elected, local law enforcement and emergency responders told him Monday.
The Republican candidate made a campaign stop at the Sevier County Sheriff's Department where he unveiled the fourth principle of his so-called Blueprint for Tennessee - "the responsibility of the federal government to ensure the security and safety of our citizens."
Corker's other principles are economic growth, the need for small government and lean budgets, and preserving traditional values, but he said safety and security are what Tennesseans are most concerned with.
"At the end of the day, our citizens like all those other things, but they want to make sure they're safe," he said.
Corker didn't outline specific plans about security or safety, but instead asked those at the meeting how the federal government can help them.
One major concern was continuing federal grants which allow local law enforcement agencies to hire personnel for community policing.
"I'm a firm believer that it should be reinstituted if at all possible," Chief Deputy Ron Seals of the sheriff's department said.
Having money for updated radio technology that allows effective interagency communication is also a concern, according to Pigeon Forge Police Chief Jack Baldwin.
Illegal immigration was a concern voiced not only by law enforcement but school officials.
Illegal immigrants not having documentation and English proficiency makes it hard to hold them accountable for crimes, some deputies said, in addition to the communication barrier which hurts investigations.
Jack Parton, director of schools for Sevier County, said illegal immigrants and legal citizens are treated differently. Parton said if U.S. citizens move here from out of state, they must have a lot of paperwork, proof of immunization and other items before being admitted as students, but the school system is required by federal law to accept illegal immigrants with no questions asked.
"We understand that this is a melting pot here in the U.S., but we need to be on a level playing field," Parton said.
Parton said one school has 14 students who can't speak English at all.
Corker is running to fill the seat being vacated this year by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist. He is the former mayor of Chattanooga and former state commissioner of finance and administration.
* cmintz@themountainpress.com
- [S106] The Mountain Press, 3 Aug 2006.
Corker eyes pizza, votes in visit to local restaurant
By: DEREK HODGES, Staff Writer August 03, 2006
Curt Habraken/The Mountain Press
U.S. Senate candidate Bob Corker greets diners at the Gondolier restaurant while campaigning in Sevierville on Tuesday.
SEVIERVILLE - Senate candidate Bob Corker made his second campaign stop in Sevier County on Tuesday, just two days before the primary.
The former mayor of Chattanooga, who is in a three-way Republican Primary race with former U.S. Reps. Van Hilleary and Ed Bryant, shook hands and answered questions at The Gondolier on Dolly Parton Parkway.
Corker is the only candidate among the three to have spent much time campaigning in Sevier County. He said family ties - his wife is a Sevier County native - and a generally receptive audience bring him back. However, a friendly word and a family connection aren't necessarily enough to win votes, some at the restaurant said.
"I think he seems like a nice guy, but it takes more than a firm handshake to get my vote," Gondolier server Heather Adkins said. "What matters is what you're going to do when you get into office."
Adkins, who admitted knowing nothing about Corker prior to her brief discussion with him, wouldn't commit her vote to him, despite his insistence.
"I'm going to get a yes out of you before I leave," Corker said. "What do you say?"
"Maybe," Adkins said.
Sevierville resident Katie Woodruff agreed the visit is a nice gesture, but doesn't guarantee results. But she got to learn a more about Corker, as each sacrificed some of their lunch time to talk.
"Middle class families in America need help," Woodruff said. "We don't get any help, and it's families like mine that are the heart of America. I'm interested in somebody who's interested in the middle class - people who are working hard for their families. It seems like nobody's out there for us."
Though Corker was a successful businessman before getting into politics, he said his middle class roots help him relate to people like Woodruff.
"There are some things we're going to have to work on to help families like yours," Corker said. "We've got to make sure we continue to be a place of innovation - to make sure our people are prosperous."
Woodruff said the discussion helped cement her vote for the former mayor.
"I hope I have a chance to represent you," Corker said.
Most polls put him ahead of Bryant and Hilleary.
"I am the strongest contender to defeat Harold Ford," Corker said of thelikely Democratic Primary winner and current West Tennessee congressman. "There is a tremendous different between Mr. Ford and myself. Our view of the world is very different. I really hope to have the opportunity to take him on after Aug. 4."
Corker, who has visited 75 of Tennessee's 92 counties in 22 months of campaigning, said he will continue to campaign in East Tennessee, though the area is virtually a lock for Republicans in November.
"You cannot forget your base, and this is definitely our base," Corker said.
Corker said he is hopeful about the primary.
"I think people are looking for someone that knows how to create positive results and I think that is the major difference between my opponents and myself - the ability to do that," Corker said.
For now, Corker will continue shaking hands and trying to reach every voter he can. That approach may be working.
"I think he's got a lot of common sense and that's what we need in Washington," Wears Valley resident James Hedrick said. "From what I've seen of him, I'm going to vote for him."
* dhodges@themountainpress.com
- [S106] The Mountain Press, 30 Sep 2006.
Corker says mayoral record speaks for itself
By: JOEL DAVIS, Staff Writer
September 30, 2006
SEVIERVILLE - U.S. Senate candidate Bob Corker continues to demand that his opponent pull a television advertisement critical of Corker's tenure as mayor of Chattanooga. Corker calls the ad false and misleading.
The ad in support of Democrat Harold Ford Jr. says Corker, the Republican nominee, froze the pay of firefighters and police officers while taking pay raises for himself as mayor. Corker's campaign cites budget documents from 2002-2005 that indicate otherwise.
"It's been a pattern of the Ford campaign to run misleading and distorted ads," Corker said during an interview at The Mountain Press on Thursday. "It's absolutely incorrect and totally false."
Corker served as mayor of Chattanooga from 2001 to 2005. As a business owner, he founded a successful construction company and has since moved into real estate investment.
Corker and Ford are both seeking to fill the seat being vacated by Sen. Bill Frist. The campaign has turned nasty. In response to a Corker-funded television advertisement that depicted Ford as soft on illegal immigration, the Memphis Democrat's campaign played up allegations that illegal immigrants were employed on a Corker-owned construction company's job site in 1988.
"We had thousands and thousands of subcontractor workers," Corker said. "One subcontractor had four illegal immigrants. It was not someone on our payroll."
Congressional Quarterly magazine has moved its assessment of the contest from "Leans Republican" to "No Clear Favorite," while several recent polls have Corker and Ford running virtually even.
"Obviously, this is going to be a hard-fought race," Corker said. "This is going to be a close race, but we're going to do everything we can, within reasonable limits, during the next 40 days (to win)."
During the bruising primary battle, his Republican opponents criticized Corker's record as a conservative, but the candidate thinks that those questions have been settled with voters.
"People got a chance over the course of the primary to see that I represent all the conservative values that make this state great," Corker said. "I'm not just talking about conservative principles, but utilizing them in a real way to improve the lives of Tennesseans. What we need to do ... is take Tennessee values to Washington rather than what my opponent would do, which is to bring Washington values to Tennessee."
Corker noted he founded a company at age 23 with $8,000 in saved money - as well as working as state finance commissioner to reduce welfare rolls.
Corker did not directly comment on an ongoing controversy about a federal National Intelligence Estimate that seems to indicate that the war in Iraq could boost global terrorism.
"I look forward to reading the report over the next few days and giving comments as soon as I do," he said.
He and his wife Elizabeth, a native of Sevier County, have two daughters, Julia and Emily.
* jwdavis@themountainpress.com
- [S51] The Seymour Herald, (www.smokymountainherald.com), 29 Sep 2006.
U.S. Senate candidate Bob Corker(R) stopped by the Herald Newspapers for a question and answer session, where the Republican candidate spoke about the issues he feels strongly about. During this time, publishers Joe and Michele Karl announced that they would be giving their endorsement to Corker.
“The country faces the most complex issues we have faced in decades”, Corker stated. During the session the candidate pointed out four key points that are relevant to his campaign. Number one is to make sure the country is safe and secure. The second is to make sure people are living within their means. The third is to raise the standard of living and the fourth is to encourage the values of faith and family, values he believes reflect the people of this region.
Corker, a former Mayor of Chattanooga, said, “I am very proud of my record in Chattanooga.” During this time as Mayor, the Senate candidate cut crime by 51% by working with law enforcement. Monthly crime meetings focused deployment of the men and women in uniform in areas where crime was the worst. Law enforcement also worked with project Safe Neighborhood that allowed them to be tougher on repeat offenders and eliminate criminals from neighborhoods.
Working to help the educational system by providing incentive pay for teacher retention was another project that Corker felt proud of, as well as the revitalization of Chattanooga.
Corker takes a stance against the onslaught of illegal immigrants and has even personally checked out Mile 6 on the border where he could see the path where illegal aliens have crossed into the United States.
Making healthcare more accessible and affordable is something Corker wants to see happen.
“At the end of the day if the voters know me and my opponent, I really believe that the voters will elect me as their Senator,” Corker stated.
- [S27] The Daily Times, http://www.thedailytimes.com/, (Blount County, Tennessee), 3 Nov 2006.
Confident Corker prods voters to the polls
Mark Large/The Daily Times
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Bob Corker (right) greets Michael Russell, who is holding his niece Madeline Matzek, at a Thursday campaign stop at the Blount County Courthouse.
By Lesli Bales-Sherrod
of The Daily Times Staff
The only poll that matters is the one Nov. 7.
That's what Republican U.S. Senate candidate Bob Corker told a crowd of supporters on the Blount County Courthouse lawn Thursday.
"It's all about getting the vote out," Corker said after his stump speech, when answering questions from media. "It's important that we do that."
Corker appeared confident, telling the crowd — which included many Blount County elected officials — "the momentum is with us" in his race against Democratic candidate Harold Ford Jr.
Corker clarified during media availability that he felt the momentum swing his way "about three and a half weeks ago" and that "about 13 days ago, we felt it step into another gear."
"I think a lot of it had to do with being able to be more relaxed in the campaign," Corker said. "I get to get up every day and be myself."
Corker said Ford has to pretend to be someone he's not to make up for a "liberal" voting record.
"This race is about one thing: a choice Tennesseans have between two individuals who could not be more different in their experience and how they view the world," Corker told the crowd.
Corker said voters "want someone who thinks like they think" and that the easiest way to do that is to "live a life like they have lived."
"I more fully embody the values of Tennesseans," Corker said.
It was these "values" invoked by David Bennett, chairman of the Blount County Republican Party, and Bob Davis, chairman of the Tennessee Republican Party, when warming up the crowd Thursday.
"He shares our values," Bennett said. "He will take our Blount County values to Washington and give us a voice."
Davis, a Blount County native, agreed.
"I guarantee he will not govern by polls," he said of Corker. "He will make decisions based on his convictions, beliefs and values."
Corker slams Ford
Corker also used the campaign stop Thursday to associate his opponent with former Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry, who has been criticized by both parties for a comment he made about Iraq.
"My opponent was co-chairman of Kerry's presidential race and said he would make a perfect president," Corker said. "Tell your friends, 'If you like John Kerry, you'll love Harold Ford Jr."
Meanwhile, Davis associated Ford with President Bill Clinton and Sens. Ted Kennedy and Barack Obama while associating Corker with First Lady Laura Bush and Sens. Lamar Alexander and Bill Frist.
Corker also painted Ford as a Washington insider, telling the crowd that on election night, "newscasters will say the next senator is not from D.C., but from Tennessee."
Corker was joined on the campaign trail Thursday by his wife, Elizabeth, and U.S. Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina.
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