Sources: Deal brokered between Democratic Party and Elected Dems

Bredesen leads effort to heal rift between major party leaders and state party

Email | Print By Ken Whitehouse

The ongoing tension between major Democratic Party elected officials and the Tennessee Democratic Party is apparently subsiding. Sources tell NashvillePost.com that a deal has been brokered by Gov. Phil Bredesen to resolve tension between party chairman Chip Forrester and other prominent Democrats.

State Rep. Mike Turner (D-Nashville), chairman of the Democratic caucus in the State House, declined to discuss the matter but did confirm the information provided to NashvillePost.com.

According to sources, approximately two weeks ago, Bredesen, Democratic members of Tennessee's congressional delegation and/or their representatives and several major party contributors met to discuss the future of the state Democratic party.

Ever since Chip Forrester of Nashville was elected by the Tennessee State Democratic Executive Committee in January – in the wake of the GOP takeover of the state house – relations between the party chair and party leaders have been strained to say the least.

Forrester, who had been on the outs with most major Democrats in the state since he challenged then-incumbent Congressman Bob Clement for office in the 1992 Democratic primary, bested Nashville attorney Charles Robert Bone to lead the state party. While not all of Forrester's troubles with party elders date back to the Clement challenge, it was the genesis of his troubles.

Ambivalence toward Forrester increased when he selected Nashville real estate developer Bill Freeman as party treasurer. Freeman, who had tangled with Bredesen when he was Nashville's mayor, had made contributions to Republican Van Hilleary over Bredesen in the 2002 governor's race and to Republican Jim Bryson in Bredesen's 2006 re-election campaign. Bredesen publicly stated that he was not inclined to assist the party with fund raising upon hearing of Freeman's appointment.

On March 27, Freeman resigned, citing criticism over the donations and his opposition to Bredesen-supported legislation as the reasons for his stepping down. When that announcement was made, many speculated that Forrester was on the clock.

Now, NashvillePost.com has learned that Bredesen has brokered a deal that party insiders hope will end the drama. While details are sketchy at this point, the gist of the deal seems to be an emphasis on developing a 95-county strategy and rebuilding the infrastructure of the party to help it take back control of the Tennessee House of Representatives in 2010.

Sources say that more details will be forthcoming, but for now are hoping that the all-too-public feuding between Forrester supporters and Democratic party elders will wane.