Kathryn Inez Bowers (May 2, 1943 – May 13, 2015) was an American Democratic politician and member of the

Tennessee General Assembly The Tennessee General Assembly (TNGA) is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is a part-time bicameral legislature consisting of a Senate and a House of Representatives. The Speaker of the Senate carries the additional title ...

who left office after being implicated in the

Tennessee Waltz "Tennessee Waltz" is a popular country music song with lyrics by Redd Stewart and music by Pee Wee King written in 1946 and first released in January 1948. The song became a multimillion seller via a 1950 recording – as "The Tennessee Waltz" � ...

corruption scandal. She served as a member of the

Tennessee House of Representatives The Tennessee House of Representatives is the lower house of the Tennessee General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee. Constitutional requirements According to the state constitution of 1870, this body is to consis ...

in the 99th through 104th General Assemblies; during the 103rd General Assembly, she was the House Majority Whip. In 2005, during the 104th General Assembly, she became a member of the Tennessee Senate, serving through 2006.

Biography

Kathryn Bowers graduated from Hamilton High School in Memphis in 1960. She obtained an associate's degree from Griggs Business College in 1962 and attended the Memphis State University School of Journalism from 1970 to 1972. She was President of Women Action for New Direction (WAND) from 1999 until 2003. She worked as a contractor business consultant and was a one-time state director for Women in Government. From May 2003 until June 2005, Bowers served as Chairman of the Shelby County Democratic Executive Committee.Kathryn Bowers biography
in the '' Tennessee Blue Book'' for 2005-2006, page 20.

Tennessee House of Representatives

Bowers became a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives in 1995 and served in the House in the 99th through 104th General Assemblies. During the 103rd General Assembly, she was the House Majority Whip. In 2005 she moved to the Tennessee Senate to fill an unexpired term representing the 33rd district, which was composed of part of Shelby County. She was sworn in as a Senator on May 3, 2005, replacing Senator Sidney Chism, who had been elected to the post on an interim basis by the Shelby County Commission as a replacement for

Roscoe Dixon Roscoe Dixon (September 20, 1949 – April 15, 2021) was an American politician in the state of Tennessee. Dixon lived in Memphis, Tennessee and was involved with the public relations business. He served in the Tennessee House of Representatives ...

, who resigned on January 13 of that year. She served on the Senate Government Operations Committee, on the Senate Commerce, Labor & Agriculture Committee, on the Senate Environment and Conservation Committee, and on the Joint Tenncare Oversight Committee.

Operation Tennessee Waltz

In 2005, she was indicted on charges of corruption as a result of

Operation Tennessee Waltz Operation Tennessee Waltz was a sting operation set up by federal and state law enforcement agents, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI). The operation led to the arrest of seven Tennessee s ...

. She rejected a plea bargain she was offered in 2006. In the August 3, 2006, primary, she had won the Democratic nomination for another term in the Tennessee Senate, but shortly thereafter she announced the abandonment of her re-election campaign for "health reasons." According to a September 1, 2006, story in ''

The Commercial Appeal ''The Commercial Appeal'' (also known as the ''Memphis Commercial Appeal'') is a daily newspaper of Memphis, Tennessee, and its surrounding metropolitan area. It is owned by the Gannett Company; its former owner, the E. W. Scripps Company, also ...

'', Bowers was arrested for suspicion of

DUI Driving under the influence (DUI)—also called driving while impaired, impaired driving, driving while intoxicated (DWI), drunk driving, operating while intoxicated (OWI), operating under the influence (OUI), operating vehicle under the infl ...

in Memphis the previous day. On July 16, 2007, she pleaded guilty to one count of

bribery Bribery is the Offer and acceptance, offering, Gift, giving, Offer and acceptance, receiving, or Solicitation, soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official, or other person, in charge of a public or legal duty. With reg ...

in exchange for the prosecution's agreement to drop five charges of

extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence; the bulk of this article deals with such cases. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, ...

, each of which could have carried a twenty-year sentence. In her plea bargain, she admitted she split a $11,500 bribe with an accomplice who was her contact with FBI agents impersonating crooked businessmen. Her plea carried the risk of a sentence of as much as ten years and a $250,000 fine, although federal sentencing guidelines suggest leniency for first-time offenders. As of mid-July 2007, Operation Tennessee Waltz had produced indictments against eleven individuals and, including Bowers, convictions for ten of them. The remaining individual, a former member of the Memphis school board, had not yet gone to trial. Prosecutors said that Bowers was one of the first corrupt officials identified, and that she helped them make contact with other legislators.

Personal

Bowers was divorced with two daughters. She lived in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

. Bowers died on May 14, 2015, at the age of 72.Former Tennessee legislator Kathryn Bowers has died
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowers, Kathryn I. 1943 births 2015 deaths African-American state legislators in Tennessee African-American women in politics Democratic Party Tennessee state senators Women state legislators in Tennessee Politicians convicted of program bribery Democratic Party members of the Tennessee House of Representatives Politicians from Memphis, Tennessee Tennessee politicians convicted of crimes 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American women politicians 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American politicians 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American politicians