Bowers says she will not resign from state Senate
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Bowers called a news conference Tuesday on the front lawn of her home to address rumors she was not in good health.
“I think it’s important that people also know, too, that a person is innocent unless proven guilty,” she said. “I have asked myself a question — God, why me? But I know that this too shall pass.”
Also charged in the public corruption sting called the “Tennessee Waltz” are former state Sen. John Ford, Sen. Ward Crutchfield, Republican Rep. Chris Newton and former state Sen. Roscoe Dixon, a Democrat.
Charles Love, a lobbyist from Chattanooga, and Barry Myers, a Memphis resident, also are charged in the case. They are described by the government as “bagmen” for the payoffs.
Bowers was elected to Dixon’s former post in the Senate in a special election May 10. She was elected to the state House in 1994 and chaired the TennCare Oversight Committee.
On the advice on her attorney, Bowers would not discuss Tuesday specifics on the bribe accusation, saying she only knew FBI informant Tim Willis from Democratic political gatherings over the years.
Bowers said she wanted to return to the Senate floor on Thursday after her arrest by federal agents.
“I was urged by the leadership of the Senate not to do so because of the media frenzy and because it had been rumored that the Republicans were trying to put together a resolution to bar me from going to the Senate floor,” she told The Commercial Appeal newspaper.
Such a move would have been illegal, she said. Bowers said she didn’t return because “I didn’t want a fight on the Senate floor.”
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Information from: The Commercial Appeal, www.commercialappeal.com