Dems pick Barnes as District 22 nominee

Tri-county convention votes in Tim Barnes over current state Sen. Rosalind Kurita

Email | Print By A.C. Kleinheider

09-17-2008 9:04 PM — A convention of Democratic Executive Committee members from Cheatham, Houston and Montgomery counties voted overwhelmingly tonight to name Clarksville attorney Tim Barnes the Democratic nominee for state Senate in District 22. The seat is currently held by Sen. Rosalind Kurita of Clarksville.

Eighty-seven members of the three committees were eligible to vote in tonight's convention. The vote was a landslide victory, 61-4 for Barnes.

Despite the decision by the convention to name Barnes the nominee, Kurita is still a candidate and will be looming large in the district between now and November.

On Monday, Kurita filed a certificate of write-in candidacy in all three counties as a contingency in case this convention voted, as they did, to strip her from the ballot as Democratic nominee.

Kurita did not attend the hearing which, in previous comments to reporters, seemed to be conceding to Barnes.

After a quorum was called, both candidates' names were placed in nomination.

Barnes spoke only briefly in his nomination listing a litany of core Democratic values and positions and stating emphatically, "I am ready to be a unifier."

After the lopsided roll call vote, the crowd erupted in applause.

Reached for comment after the vote, Kurita expressed dismay at the process.

"It is a sad constitution day when a small group of people can come together and overturn an election," she said. When asked why she was not in attendance, Kurita said she "knew what was going to happen" and "didn't see any point."

Wade Munday, communications director of the Tennessee Democratic Party, was matter of fact about the outcome. "We have our nominee. We are united going into the general election."

Mark Brown, spokesman for the Senate Democratic Caucus, said the caucus is "150 percent committed" to electing Barnes to the Senate.

"Tim will represent the people of Montgomery, Cheatham, and Houston counties with honor, determination, and compassion," Brown said. "They will be as proud to call him their senator as we will be proud to call him a member of our caucus."

Barnes, in a news conference after the vote, sounded ready for a vigorous campaign.

"We are ready to go out in the streets," he said. "We are here to help people."

He then said that he would not be taking the Kurita challenge for granted.

"I never take any opponent for granted," Barnes said. "We will take about 12 to 14 hours rest and then we will be right back out there on the campaign trail."

When asked how she viewed her upcoming rematch against Tim Barnes as a write-in, Kurita asserted that this was no ordinary general election.

"This is about more than an election," she said. "This is about democracy. This is not about me. This is not about my opponent. This is about righting a wrong."