Here’s a puff piece on Chattanooga: A riverfront transformed.
Former Mayor Bob Corker, who coordinated the city’s 21st Century Riverfront project and fund-raising, describes it as a true partnership between public and private sectors.
A hotel-motel tax provided $56 million for the project, and private donors contributed $51 million. The state provided some additional funding and gave the city Riverfront Parkway, the street that runs along the waterfront.
“I don’t know of a community in America that could come together the way ours has,” Corker said. “We have this vital urban area that has been transformed, and all these God-given amenities around us.
“It truly feels very different than even a few years ago, despite all the success we have had in the past,” he said.
That’s a nice bit of free, positive media attention.
Of course, this wouldn’t have anything to do with Tennessee’s open Senate race, would it?
I mean, is this anything more than a transparent attempt to boost former Mayor Bob Corker in the Republican primary against the more conservative Ed Bryant?
There really isn’t a single newsworthy element in this story… certainly not anything that would deserve national attention. That is, except for the political aspect.
UPDATE: Let me preempt some criticism here: even if this is meant as a propaganda piece for Corker, how does it constitute an “attack” on Bryant? The article doesn’t even mention Bryant; besides that, wouldn’t Corker’s other primary challengers take the same hit?
That’s a good point, self.
I left myself open to that one, I admit.
My “attack” language is a bit much… I’m just using it for emphasis.
As for the other candidates… in my mind Van Hillary and Beth Harwell are just wasting their time. I don’t even consider them real factors in this race. But that’s just me; I could be wrong.
