Surely Not...

... The Courtney Rogers campaign accuses Rep. Debra Maggart of using her legislative office for political purposes...

From the Nashville Post: 

State House District 45 candidate Lt. Col. Courtney Rogers (Ret.) asked Speaker Beth Harwell today whether Debra Maggart’s use of her State House office phone number, taxpayer-paid employees and office space as a campaign headquarters. Maggart released her official state number at the bottom of an email asking voters to call Rogers’ unlisted home number to complain about her supposed “lying” about Maggart.







“If Maggart’s use of her official office number, space and people is not an ethics violation, it should be,” said Rogers. “Having someone else pay for your campaign staff seems to be an unfair advantage granted to incumbents.”






Campaign Manager Jeff Hartline commented, “As soon as I saw the number at the bottom of the email, I knew it was a Capitol Hill number. But I called it anyway and her Legislative Assistant, Brittany, answered the phone with an official response. Perhaps we should ask for equal access.”






Hartline continued, “This situation reminds me of her COMPASS relationship in Sumner County. Maggart uses the County Board of Education building and personnel to office and answer her phones. That’s a pretty sweet deal to have people helping you run for office that you do not have to pay for while you “earn” an income. Maggart has spent the entire campaign railing against a distinguished veteran for manufactured ethics violations when, in reality, Maggart, by her silence, supports “Ghost Voting” in the House, takes $173 per day for hotel expenses she does not incur when her colleagues from East and West Tennessee actually do incur those expenses, and uses her taypayer-supported office to run for re-election. Once Sumner County voters have heard the facts, they have been drawn to Rogers in droves. Stay tuned for a more negative campaign in these closing days.”






“The Courtney Rogers campaign has stuck to the facts in its mail, radio, and door-to-door work. We have talked about Courtney’s resume and her experience. That is our pledge and we will keep it. We call upon our opponent to pledge to do the same in these closing days of the campaign.”