Circuit Court Judge candidate Catherine Cate White said she may trail Kyle Hedrick in fundraising, but she said she leads in court filings and Republican voting.
Attorney White said, "Hedrick’s press release this week to the Chattanoogan.com touts the temporary appointment by the Governor and a large campaign chest, created by donors from big business and big law firms.
"A review of Circuit Court case filings reveals, however, that White leads in Circuit Court case filings over Hedrick. From January 2013 through August 2017, White filed 109 cases of which 22 were still active cases in Circuit Court as of August 2017. Hedrick filed only 25 cases in Circuit Court of which only four were still active cases as of August 2017.
"A large portion of the cases filed in Circuit Court are domestic cases. White has handled 96 domestic cases from January 2013 through August 2017. Hedrick has only handled three, the last of which were filed in 2014.
"A review of Republican voting records also reveals that White leads over Hedrick. State GOP Bylaws require a candidate to have voted in three of the four most recent Statewide Republican primaries to qualify to run on a Republican ticket. White easily qualified. Hedrick did not. He had failed to vote as required. Pursuant to the State GOP Bylaws, when a candidate fails to vote the required number of times in a Statewide Republican primary, they must have a letter submitted to 'vouch' that they are in fact a Republican to be able to run on the Republican ticket.
"Several retired Judges that Hedrick claims have endorsed him are Democrats, to include William L. Brown and Jacqueline Bolton."
Attorney White also said it was incorrectly reported that she has loaned her campaign $15,500.
She said, "Well-known supporters of mine were not mentioned, such as Donny Hutcherson, Bob McKamey, Greg Vital, Alan Standefer, the McKees, Joel and Destin Barnett, and the Forrest Cate family.
“Most of my donations do come from the average, hardworking citizen who has not given in exchange for hopeful preferential treatment in my court, but instead have given for what I stand for. Their giving was truly sacrificial and reminds me of the widow’s mite in the Bible, as I am sure they had other more pressing bills to pay. I am grateful and touched. I pledge to be fair to everyone who comes before me and not be guided by donations.”