Ophelia Ford sworn in despite election challenge
Ford beat out Republican business owner Terry Roland in a special election earlier this month by just 13 votes.
Roland has appealed to the state Senate and the courts, asking that the election results be overturned because he says he has found evidence that unregistered and illegal voters swayed the results.
But state officials went ahead and certified the election results Thursday afternoon. Gov. Phil Bredesen said state law gives him no leeway in what he called a “mechanical” procedure.
Shortly after that, Ford was quickly sworn in by Supreme Court Justice Adolpho A. Birch Jr. in the Senate chamber.
“Why wait?” Ford told reporters. “I’m very anxious to get started as the newest state senator.”
State Democratic Party Chairman Bob Tuke, who was at the ceremony, said the quick swearing in wasn’t done to get in the way of Roland’s challenge.
“The business of the Senate goes on,” he said.
At the same time, he dismissed the challenge as an attempt to overturn an election that has already passed muster with Shelby County election officials.
“We believe that the Shelby County Election commission is entitled to the respect it deserves,” he said. “We have complete confidence in them, we are disappointed the Republicans don’t.”
The Shelby commission certified the election in a rare split vote this week.
State Republican Party Chairman Bob Davis criticized the move to put Ford into office so quickly. He also said Bredesen should not have certified the election with Attorney General Paul Summers and Secretary of State Riley Darnell until Roland’s challenge is heard.
“We’re certainly disappointed because there was a back door ceremony by a Supreme Court judge, no intervention by the governor and the election commission with their own interpretation of state law,” Davis said. “All of this before the good people of Shelby County have a say on the final outcome of this election. And in the words of Terry Roland, it’s not over yet.”
Also Thursday, Bredesen announced that the election for former Republican Rep. Chris Newton’s seat has been moved up because of a 1978 attorney general’s opinion that requires the governor to go ahead and call the election. Bredesen said he will issue the writ on Friday.
The primary is now scheduled to be held right after Thanksgiving and the general election the first of January. Republicans had criticized an earlier plan to hold the election later because a Democrat has been appointed to fill Newton’s seat on a temporary basis.
Newton and former Sen. John Ford both resigned their seats after being indicted in the Tennessee Waltz bribery scandal.