Crutchfield to resign as school board attorney

Crutchfield, D-Chattanooga, said he was leaving the position in a letter to school board chairman Chip Baker.

“I have contemplated retiring from the board for some time,” the 76-year-old Crutchfield wrote. “Hopefully, this will be of assistance to you and other members of the board in planning for the selection of new counsel.”

Crutchfield was arrested along former Sen. John Ford and Sen. Kathryn Bowers, both Memphis Democrats, and Rep. Christ Newton, R-Cleveland. Also arrested in the bribery sting code-named “Tennessee Waltz” were former state Sen. Roscoe Dixon of Memphis; Charles Love, a lobbyist from Chattanooga and Barry Myers, a Memphis resident.

Love and Myers were charged with being “bagmen” for the payoffs to legislators to influence legislation.

Love also is a member of the Hamilton County education board and said Monday he has no plans to resign from the nine-member elected panel “at this time.”

Crutchfield’s resignation letter is on the June 23 agenda for the board to accept, board vice chairman Marty Puryear said.

“Under the circumstances, given the cloud of uncertainty, it’s probably in the best interest of the school board,” Puryear told the Chattanooga Times Free Press.

School officials said Crutchfield, who is charged with accepting more than $12,000 in bribes but has proclaimed his innocence, will retire from the $50,000-a-year job as board attorney on June 15.

Last week, Baker removed Love from his position as chairman of the board’s facilities committee and asked Love to resign from the board. Puryear also said he hopes Love will resign.

“Charles has to make that decision,” Puryear said. “We hoped (he and Sen. Crutchfield) would take matters into their own hands. We don’t want our board meetings focused on Charles, and we know that will be the case.”

Love said there is no legal requirement for him to give up his $9,194-a-year post on the county education board.