Lt. gov. faces criticism over wildlife board expansion
Hunters are upset with Wilder’s plan to give himself another appointment to the board, which Wilder says is needed so he can appoint a friend.
Sportsmen see even more influence headed to Wilder’s West Tennessee and more of their license money going to bureaucracy.
Government observers see a clear conflict of interest — especially considering that Wilder has used the sole selection he now gets to pick a veteran lobbyist and noteworthy campaign contributor.
Early last week Wilder told fellow state senators that he needed to expand the commission because he had promised a board seat to a friend. Wilder did not name the friend.
The lieutenant governor says he forgot about his promise when it came time to make his 2005 appointment — which went to liquor industry lobbyist Tom Hensley. Hensley and his lobbying group donated $1,500 to Wilder’s campaign before the appointment.
Most alarming about Wilder’s plan was the way he announced his intention on the Senate floor without any shame, said government watchdog Ben Cunningham of Tennessee Tax Revolt.
“There was no attempt to hide or finesse it; he just came out and said these are my friends and I want them on the board and I’m going to put them there,” Cunningham said. “It’s crazy.”
Wilder, who has been Senate speaker for 36 years, must first push the idea through the Legislature.
The Democrat from Mason recently told The Associated Press he is undecided — even though he has already asked a Senate committee to start working on the idea.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do,” said Wilder, who rarely speaks with reporters.
Does that mean he has changed his mind about appointing a friend — or even about expanding the board?
“I said I don’t know what I’m going to do,” Wilder said.
Right now, the wildlife commission has 13 appointees and Wilder gets one of them. Wilder’s proposal would expand the board to 15 members and give Wilder and House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh each one more selection.
Currently only three board members are from East Tennessee. With Wilder and Naifeh both from the opposite side of the state, hunters aren’t excited about even more influence moving west.
“This thing doesn’t need to get any larger,” said Michael Butler, executive director of the Tennessee Wildlife Federation. “The whole purpose of the commission is to decrease the bureaucracy, not increase it.”
A seat on the wildlife commission is one of the most sought after board appointments in the state — second only to the University of Tennessee Board of Trustees, Butler said.
The position doesn’t pay much, mostly just reimbursement of expenses, but the commission holds great sway over some of the most popular activities in Tennessee. It has oversight of the cost of hunting and fishing licenses, the length of hunting seasons and which conservation projects to pursue. It also decides how to spend about $75 million generated by the license fees.
Butler said his group — which helped launch the Tennessee Wildlife Resource agency in the 1940s — has three issues with Wilder’s plan:
— More power on the board would be sent to West Tennessee
— The board is already big enough
— Wilder’s plan would extend terms on the board from two years to six years
“We’re not trying to make anybody’s life difficult over this situation, but the fact remains … they are dealing with an agency that is dealing with about 1.2 million people’s passion when it comes to hunting and fishing,” Butler said.
Sen. David Fowler, who chairs the Senate Environment Committee that would have to consider the idea, has said he expects most senators would vote for it as a courtesy to Wilder. Fowler, from Lookout Mountain in East Tennessee, doesn’t like the idea of expanding the board.
Cunningham said it’s rare to see such a flagrant use of authority and power to dish out perks.
“It was out of order and done specifically to reward his friends,” he said. “It was about as clear cut as you can get, and it’s pretty ridiculous.”
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On the Net:
See Senate Bill 1301 at: http://www.legislature.state.tn.us/