Hilly Boy's Deception (as in the Lovely Tennessee Rep. Matthew Hill)

When it comes to donating to a candidate for the 7th District House, people who live in the 7th District overwhelmingly support Fred Phillips, not outsider Hill.

Through the end of June 2006, Matthew Hill has received almost all of his money from outside the 7th District, with very little support from inside. Hill has had only seven people from the 7th District donate a total of $3,300 to his campaign, while 16 people outside of the 7th District donated almost $15,000. Of the donations from the seven people in the 7th District, one couple was responsible for almost half, and a third person is closely aligned with the Gregory family.

Fred Phillips, on the other hand, has received almost all of his money from inside the 7th District. Phillips has received $18,400 from 33 different people in the 7th District, and only $2,200 from four people outside the 7th District. Phillips, by the way, has also received more overall donations than Hill.

Hill beat Tony DeLucia in 2004 by only about 3,000 votes. I don’t think he can count on that happening this time around. I have to say, these findings are quite enjoyable.

If you look at organizations that have given to Phillips, you’ll find the Johnson City Public Safety Association and that’s all. As for Hill, he has received money from Bellsouth Employees TN PAC, the Fund to Elect David Hawk, the Committee to Elect Sargent, Tennessee Highway Contractors PAC, votekelsey.com, the Tennessee House Republican Caucus and of course, the Johnson City Pro. Firefighters PAC (his union buddies). Throw in the $4,000 from the Gregorys (who fund many other PACs) and it’s pretty easy to see Hill is sold out to every special interest group he can find. His funding is in such stark contrast to Fred’s, it’s really amazing. I am encouraged to see democracy at the individual level fighting back against the machinery.

One last note about Hill’s funding. He received three donations from Janice Garrison, who is listed as a self-employed restaurant owner. However, Janice Garrison has two different addresses. I will admit that it is possible that two people with the same name who have the exact same profession could have each donated to Hill. However, given the way Hill’s daddy runs his non-profit business, my bet is that something fishy is going on.