MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Those of us who are longtime residents of Memphis and Shelby County are no strangers to elected officials running afoul of the law. It happened regularly in the 1970s, 80s, and even as late as the mid-2000s with the infamous Tennessee Waltz Bribery scandal that snared several state and local elected officials.
Since then, its been mostly quiet which makes federal charges against State Senator Katrina Robinson so troubling for many of her colleagues and supporters. No one wants to believe that someone who seeks the public's trust through elected office would violate that trust with criminal behavior, even if the crimes are unrelated to the office.
But that's the predicament Robinson is in. She stands convicted of felony wire fraud stemming from federal grant money she received for her nursing school business, The Healthcare Institute. And while it's clear federal authorities overcharged her by indicting her on 20 counts - 15 of which were dismissed by Judge Sheryl Lipman, a racially diverse jury found her guilty on four of the remaining counts. State Senate Speaker Randy McNally has called on Robinson to resign. and perhaps she should unless the guilty verdicts are dismissed, which appears unlikely.
Thankfully, elected officials getting into legal trouble are now a rarity in these parts, as they should be. But as for Robinson, she has some serious soul searching to do for the good of her constituents and public trust.
I'm Otis Sanford and that's my point of view.