A third of Sullivan County Commission has financial ties to Eastman Co.

One-third of the 24-member Sullivan County Commission has financial ties to Eastman Chemical Co., according to a review of the financial interest disclosure forms they are required to file with the Tennessee Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance.
“It’s still the largest private employer in the state of Tennessee,” County Commissioner Wayne McConnell of Kingsport said of Eastman.
McConnell’s wife works as an expediter at the company’s Kingsport plant. He listed her job on his disclosure form along with a loan she has with the Eastman Credit Union. Four other county commissioners from Kingsport – Moe Brotherton, Darlene Calton, Elliott Kilgore and James King – listed bank accounts they have with the credit union on their disclosure form’s “investments” or “sources of income” sections.
The Eastman Credit Union also shows up on Commissioner Larry Hall’s disclosure form, because his wife works there as a regional market director. Hall also represents Kingsport on the County Commission.
All public officials in Tennessee are required to reveal the sources of their private incomes, as well as the income sources for their spouses, under the 3-year-old ethics law. The Bristol Herald Courier and News Channel 11 Connects spent the past four months reviewing the disclosure forms required by that law, and similar documents in Virginia.
The investigation revealed that nearly 40 percent of about 700 forms in both states contained errors or omissions. In Tennessee, 16 percent of the forms reviewed contained errors. Aside from the errors and omissions, the statements did not reveal obvious or egregious conflicts of interest or intentional violations of law. Yet the errors suggest that many public officials are uninformed or careless when filling out the statements.
Hall said this week he was not surprised by the number of Sullivan County commissioners who are connected to Eastman, which employs more than 10,000 people around the world. Because of the company’s size, Hall said, “you’re going to find very many people who either have employment there or have a family member who does.”
The final county commissioner with a connection to Eastman is Kingsport’s Bill Kilgore, who listed stock he owns with the company on his disclosure form’s investment section.
Also among the disclosures on the forms for the Sullivan County commissioners representing Bristol and the surrounding area:
n Cathy Armstrong, District II, listed Heritage Homes of Sixth Street as her primary source of income and TCI Group Lowry and Foster as her husband’s income. She also listed investments with King Pharmaceuticals and Bank of America.
n Garth Blackburn, District IV, listed his primary source of income as Fairway Realty, a business he runs with his wife. The Blackburns also listed investments with Aon, Regions Bank and Highlands Union Bank.
n Linda Brittenham, District IV, listed a retirement plan with Sprint Nextel and some investments with First Tennessee Bank as her sources of income. She did not list her job as the county health department’s Tennessee adolescent program coordinator.
When asked about the omission, Brittenham said she did not have to list this information because the job was with a government entity and those are excluded from the requirements.
Yet, according to state law, her claim is incorrect.
Barry Wood, a compliance officer with Tennessee Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance, said local officials are required to list every source of income except the salary or stipend they receive for the public office they were chosen to hold. In Brittenham’s case, that means she is not required to list the money she earns for sitting on the County Commission, but she is required to list the job she has with the Health Department.
n Dennis Houser, District IV, lists his only income as Social Security payments and a retirement plan with the Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System, which provides benefits to former state employees and teachers. He also listed a loan he has with BB&T Bank.
n Dwight King, District V, listed Volunteer Logging and King Angus Farm as his two sources of income. He also listed his wife’s job at Johnson City Medical Center as a source of income, and some nursing and health care services she provides under the form’s “professional services” section.
n James “Buddy” King, District II, provided only his name, address and information about his office on his disclosure form. When asked why his form was essentially blank, King said he did not remember filling it out.
n Bart Long, District III, listed “self employed” as his primary income source. He also listed, under professional services, the real estate and auctioneer services that he and his wife provide through their business, Bart Long and Associates, based in Bristol, Va.
n William “John” McKamey, District V, listed “retired” as his only source of income on his disclosure form. He also listed investments with BB&T Bank.
n Randy Morrell, District I, listed his job with the county property assessor’s office and his wife’s job with the county circuit court clerk’s office as primary sources of income.
n Mark Vance, District II, listed his job as the director of Sullivan County Emergency Medical Services and his wife’s job with Labcorp of America as the couple’s sources of income on the disclosure form.

gmclean@bristolnews.com | (276) 645-2518