Will the Pilot casinos be an election issue?

Look for a new issue to be raised in the Republican gubernatorial primary. Opponents of Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam know that the Pilot Travel Centers in Nevada include adjacent slot machines and advertise as “casinos,” though the issue thus far has been raised only by also-ran candidate Joe Kirkpatrick. He has brought it up on blog comments and at the Tea Party convention gubernatorial forum in Gatlinburg last weekend.

via MetroPulse Pilot Casinos Could Become Election Issue.

Wamp criticizes Haslam’s investment in theater, controversy ensues

Lots of back and forth about a controversial news release from the Wamp campaign.

A Wamp news release sent to media statewide said Haslam has “co-mingled and co-invested” $2 million of his money, along with $750,000 each from his father and brother, with city funds, and government grants and tax credits to underwrite the development, “which is now 100 percent privately owned by Haslam, his family and co-owner.”

“The mixing of personal investment funds with the taxpayer money you oversee for your own gain or profit represents a serious breach of ethics,” said Sam Edelen, Wamp campaign spokesperson. “Yet that’s exactly what Mayor Haslam did when he co-mingled his own personal money, as well as investments from family members, with funding from the city of Knoxville on a private real estate development he now owns.

via KnoxNews Wamp criticizes Haslam’s role in downtown theater.

and Nashville Scene: Haslam Fends Off Wamp Attack