Ward Crutchfield, circa 1970s
Former State Senator Ward Crutchfield has died at the age of 87. I interviewed him a few times over the years, and he was always as candid and accessible as any politician could be. He didn’t shy away from controversial issues or sensitive votes, and as a reporter, I appreciated that. Andy Sher’s excellent obituary piece in Monday’s Times Free Press captured the essence of a true politician.
These days, “politician” is not considered a flattering noun. Its most common definition is “one actively engaged in conducting the business of a government.” Nothing wrong with that. But its secondary definition is “a person primarily interested in political office for selfish or other narrow, usually short-sighted reasons.”
One might argue that Crutchfield’s involvement in the 2005 “Tennessee Waltz” bribery scandal places him in the second category. It certainly ended his 50-year political career. Frankly, we’ll never know if that slip-up was a rare mistake, or the FBI merely caught up with Crutchfield (and others) who routinely conducted state business under the table.
But we shouldn’t forget that Crutchfield did one political thing extremely well: he made sure a huge chunk of the tax dollars we sent to Nashville somehow made a U-turn and came back home. Call it wheeling and dealing or whatever you like, but Crutchfield knew “the art of the deal” long before a certain orange-haired presidential candidate made it a national catchphrase.
The photo above that accompanies this article is from the Paul Stone collection at the Chattanooga Library. Paul ran the liquor store on the first floor of the Read House. A few decades ago, Paul collected 8 x 10 black & white photos of local celebrities and put them on his wall. Eventually, the wall was filled with autographed photos of elected officials, civic leaders, actors and singers who passed through town, and others. Somehow my picture made it there too, even though I was not a customer. (I saw Luther’s pic on Paul’s wall, so I figured it must be okay). I always liked the picture of Ward Crutchfield puffing away on a cigar, surely in the middle of some deal-making session, and I’ll bet it was one of his favorites too.
Anyway, here’s my story, as told to me by another leading politician many years ago. There once was a Hamilton County Commissioner who was known to suddenly change positions on an issue, often to the surprise of his constituents. He was also a sharp-dressed man. He is still among us, so I’ll refer to him as “Mr. GQ.”
The local Democratic leaders were meeting one day, maybe in one of those famed smoke-filled rooms, when a certain issue was brought up. Five votes were needed on the Commission for it to pass, and it looked like they were one vote shy of a win.
Mr. GQ’s name was brought up. “Is he on our side?” someone asked. Looking in the direction of Ward Crutchfield, another pol said, “Go out and get him a suit, Ward, and you can buy his vote.” Crutchfield straightened up, frowned, and said, “I resent that. You are implying that Mr. GQ can be bought. That is not true He cannot be bought.” Then, pausing just long enough for another puff on the cigar, he added, “But if I get him a good suit, he CAN be rented for a day!”
RIP Ward Crutchfield. You made mistakes, as we all do, and you paid for them. But you also fought hard to enrich your hometown, and for that we are forever grateful.
Good!
I never subscribed to his politics. When I met him, he was “bigger than life.”
The first time I met him, in the late 90’s, I had no idea who he was. I was just a lowly court clerk. I was in my early twenties but looked like I was sixteen. I dealt with lawyers, police officers, big-wigs and low-lifes all day… but this “old” man was the first one who called me “sir.” He treated me with great respect. We talked for only a few minutes. He was kind to me as he patiently waited for my “assistance.” We finished our business, shook hands, and he left.
Several months later, I ran into him at a political rally. He remembered my name.