All four major candidates commit to participate

NASHVILLE, May 27, 2010 — With the governors' race in Tennessee wide open and party primaries set for Aug. 5, the Tennessee Bar Association's Gubernatorial Forum next week is a key opportunity for the candidates to share their positions on issues of concern to the Tennessee legal community. All four major candidates have committed to participate in the event on Friday, June 4, from 8 a.m. to noon at the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Nashville. Well-known political observer Pat Nolan will moderate the forum.

The Gubernatorial Forum is sponsored jointly by the Tennessee Bar Association, the Tennessee Alliance for Black Lawyers, the Tennessee Asian Pacific American Bar Association and the Tennessee Lawyers Association for Women.

Issues Briefing
The forum will begin with a panel of lawyer lobbyists talking about issues such as judicial selection, evaluation and retention; civil justice; criminal justice and victims' rights; and the method of selecting the state's attorney general. The briefing will run from 8:30 to 9:15 a.m. and will be moderated by Nashville attorney Nathan Ridley, who is special counsel and director of government relations with the law firm of Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP.

Candidate Forum
The next phase of the event, which will run from 9:15 to 9:45 a.m., will feature an opening statement by lone Democratic candidate Mike McWherter, followed by a question and answer session with McWherter and Nolan.

Republican candidates Bill Haslam, Ron Ramsey and Zach Wamp will take the stage from 10:15 to 11:30 a.m. Each candidate will make an opening statement, followed by questions from moderator Nolan. Each candidate will be allowed one answer and one follow-up comment per question. The session will end with a closing statement by each candidate.

Meet & Greet
Reporters and forum attendees will have three opportunities to interact one-on-one with the candidates in the Music City Foyer on the second floor of the hotel. Candidates have been invited to be in the hall at the following times:

8 to 8:30 a.m.
9:45 to 10:15 a.m.
11:30 to noon

Logistics

Reporters who want to attend the forum should check in at the Tennessee Bar Association's registration table on the second floor of the Renaissance Hotel for a complimentary ticket. The registration table will be open beginning at 7 a.m. on the day of the event.

Print reporters may sit or stand anywhere in the ballroom. There will be a raised platform at the back of the room for use by any media with still or video cameras.

For any questions or concerns please contact TBA Media Relations Coordinator Stacey Shrader at (615) 383-7421.

THE BASICS:
 

Who:       Tennessee's Gubernatorial Candidates

What:      TBA Gubernatorial Forum on Justice Issues

Where:    Music City Ballroom
              Renaissance Hotel (2nd floor)
              611 Commerce Street
              Nashville, TN 37203
              (615) 255-8400

When:      Friday, June 4, 2010

Schedule:
Candidates in Exhibit Hall....... 8 to 8:30 a.m.
Issues Briefing Panel.............. 8:30 to 9:15 a.m.
Democratic Candidate Forum.....9:15 to 9:45 a.m.
Candidates in Exhibit Hall........9:45 to 10:15 a.m.
Republican Candidates Forum....10:15 to 11:30 a.m.
Candidates in Exhibit Hall........11:30 to Noon