By Lang Wiseman

The members of the State Senate Committee who voted to void the Special Election in District 29 carefully and painstakingly sifted through mountains of paper and evidence over the course of the past 7 months and came to the obvious conclusion that the election should be overturned. Frankly, though, it was not surprising based on the overwhelming evidence of irregularities. It was inevitable.

This was not some Republican power grab, nor was it about Terry Roland or Ophelia Ford. Nor was it about race. It was about justice, fundamental fairness, and the integrity of the election process. Notably, two leading Senate Democrats on the Committee (who also happen to be attorneys) joined in favor of voiding the election after initially expressing much skepticism about the election challenge. Bottom-line: the vote was a bipartisan result and it is a monumental victory for the voters of District 29.

Unfortunately, Ms. Ford and her attorneys seem to be the only people who can’t step back and see the forest instead of the trees. It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that this election was tainted at its core.

We are pleased that the federal court saw through the divisive racial rhetoric offered up by Ms. Ford’s attorneys. This matter is now rightfully back before the full Senate so that each Senator can exercise his or her constitutional duty to carefully consider this matter and vote their
conscience.

At some point, we hope that Ms. Ford will do the right thing and simply step aside and abandon her legal challenges. This has been a long, time-consuming, costly, and disruptive effort. Her repeated attempts to delay through legal maneuvers the Senate’s consideration of this matter is a monumental waste of valuable tax dollars that could be better spent on things like education and health care. Further, by dragging individual Senators and County officials into her legal battles, she is wasting the valuable time of public servants who undoubtedly have better and more productive uses of their time in service to their constituents.

Lang Wiseman is a legal representative of candidate Terry Roland and partner of Wiseman Biggs Bray PLLC. He graduated with honors from the Harvard Law School after attending the University of Tennessee on a full basketball scholarship. He graduated with a perfect 4.0 GPA from UT while a starter and co-captain on the Vols basketball team.