Clarksville Pols Richard Swift and Wayne Wilkinson Abuse their Citizens
Posted by: Blue Collar Muse in 1st Amendment, 5th Amendment, Blogroll, Business, Constitution Issues, Eminent Domain, Tennesee TipsThe Tennessee Center for Policy Research released its official 2008 “Lump of Coal Award”. It goes to Richard Swift and Wayne Wilkinson of Clarksville, TN “… for leading efforts to take the homes and businesses of Clarksville residents through eminent domain for a private redevelopment scheme that would line their own pockets.”
Swift, a Clarksville, TN City Councilman and Wilkinson, a member of Clarksville’s Downtown District Partnership, “…are threatening hundreds of homes and businesses with the Clarksville Center Redevelopment and Urban Renewal Plan. The scheme calls for the city to seize as many as 1,800 homes, businesses and churches, primarily owned by low-income and minority residents, by eminent domain. Disturbingly, Swift and Wilkinson are both real estate developers positioned to benefit from the redevelopment plan.”
The citizens of Clarksville rightly objected to such actions and formed the Clarksville Property Rights Coalition to fight back. They even ran an ad in Clarksville’s daily, the Clarksville Leaf Chronicle, criticizing the land grab and outing Swift and Wilkinson. Swift and Wilkinson responded by filing a libel lawsuit against the Coalition demanding payment of $500,000!
I thought Tennessee’s outrageous and ugly contributions to the “Eminent Domain” abuse file ended with the recent victory of Joy Ford over Lionstone Development and Nashville’s MDHA efforts to condemn her business to build a $100 million dollar hotel and office complex near Music Row. It positively warms our heart this time of year to see the peace on Earth and goodwill toward men being offered up by such public “servants” as Swift and Wilkinson! Nice to know we need never worry about our homes and businesses being safe from predatory politicians. There will always be one or two around who are greedy to take even more of what doesn’t belong to them in the name of “public good”.
I think I’ll mail a couple of switches to Drew and the folks at TCPR to put in the stocking along with the coal. It’s the least I can do.
Blue
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Tags: , Clarksville Downtown District Partnership, Clarksville Property Rights Coalition, Clarksville TN City Council, Eminent Domain, Richard Swift, Wayne Wilkinson
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December 24th, 2008 at 10:51 pm
The people committing these crimes might as well go to DC, grab the constitution and tear it in half. Eminent Domain is running amuck and someone needs to take a stand. Don’t get me wrong, I think revitalizing down town Clarksville is a great idea, but do we really have to infringe on people’s rights and take their homes to revitalize the area? When you read something about Eminent Domain all you have to do is look a little bit below the surface and almost always you will find the real reason it’s being implicated. Money. Hopefully Clarksville is smart enough to vote these two clowns out.