Controversial GOP donor picks up papers to run against Cooper [1]
UPDATED 3:41 p.m.: Brody, who was traveling Monday, contacted NashvillePost.com to confirm that he had considered running but would not do so this election cycle. Asked about his motivation, Brody said he had been angry with Rep. Jim Cooper, who he said had "betrayed the voters of the 5th Congressional District" but that it is "not the right time" for him to run.
As originally reported:
Ira Brody, the Murfreesboro Republican businessman who just last year tried to become Tennessee's state treasurer, has picked up papers to qualify to run against Democratic Congressman Jim Cooper.
Picking up papers to run for a seat does not mean that a person is actually running for office, but it does indicate consideration. Also, a person running for U.S. Congress does not have to have legal residence in the district for which they are running, as appears to be the case for Brody.
Interestingly, there also appears to be a placeholder Web site for Brody at irabrody.com.
When the GOP took control of the Tennessee General Assembly in the last election cycle, it also gained control of what are called the Constitutional Offices. Those offices consist of state treasurer, state comptroller and secretary of state and are appointed by members of the legislature.
Brody, who has historically been a major contributor to Republican candidates, failed to garner the appointment for treasurer after questions arose among GOP members about his background. A disastrous on-camera interview with WTFV reporter Phil Williams [2] seemed to seal his fate and not much has been heard from Brody since.
In past years, Brody has run for offices in New York and Tennessee. In 2006, he ran for a seat on the Rutherford County Commission and lost to Robert Peay, garnering just 39 percent of the vote. Ten years earlier, he ran for New York State Senate and picked up 35 percent of the vote in that race.
He also chaired the Tennessee Republican Party's coordinated campaign in 2008.
Brody was a partner and chief operating officer in a Nashville-based investment firm called InsCap Management LLC. He resigned from that position while he was attempting to become state treasurer. That business, which has since dissolved, was a source of consternation for many in the GOP.
Inscap’s Web site said at the time that its business makes it possible for “affluent households and large institutions to finance the acquisition of life insurance as an asset.”
Brody and InsCap, which in the past has also done business as LILAC Capital LLC, fought hard in several states to bring about changes to laws that would either allow them to enter into a new market or improve their business environment. The tactics they have employed to affect change raised eyebrows in some states.
According to published reports, consumer watchdogs in North Dakota argued in 2007 that North Dakota Insurance Commissioner Jim Poolman changed his stance on rules affecting Brody’s business shortly after Brody’s wife, Sara Bachrach, donated $25,000 to his re-election campaign and Brody donated $15,000 to the North Dakota Republican Party.
Poolman, who has since resigned to enter the private sector as an insurance consultant, denied that the donations affected his decision, saying changes made in proposals from Brody’s company had addressed his concerns.
In Virginia, Brody and his team employed a cadre of 11 lobbyists in 2005 in a futile effort to stop legislation that further regulated the settlement of life insurance policies.
Despite those setbacks, Brody did have success in Tennessee. In 2004, his company employed nine lobbyists to work to change state law to benefit InsCap.
Even though he didn't get the support from GOP legislator's to become state treasurer, Brody seems to have the resources to make a run for U.S. Congress.
A survey of campaign finance records in Tennessee and from the Federal Election Commission show Brody has contributed more than $100,000 to Republican campaigns and causes during the 2008 election cycle alone.
One of the largest chunks of money was a set of in-kind contributions to the Tennessee House Republican Caucus totaling just over $31,000.
According to Tennessee Registry of Election Finance records, the contributions paid for polling. Another $10,000 went to the Tennessee Republican Party’s state campaign account along with a $10,000 contribution to former U.S. Sen. Bill Frist’s Volunteer PAC Tennessee.
On the federal side, Brody gave about $72,000 in political contributions over 2007 and 2008, all to Republican PACs and candidates including both Tennessee U.S. Senators Bob Corker and Lamar Alexander. There was also another $10,000 donation to the Tennessee Republican Party, this time to the party’s federal account.
Candidates for office have until noon this Thursday, April 1, to qualify to be on the ballot.
Efforts to contact Brody were unsuccessful at the time of publication of this article.
The following is a list of those who have either picked up and/or returned qualifying petitions to run against Congressman Jim Cooper.
Democrats
Petitions back in: Eric Pearson, Eric Schecter
Republicans
Petitions back in: Jeff Hartline, David Hall, Harvey Howard, Vijay Kumar, Patrick Miranda, Bob Ries, Robert Schwartz, Jarod Scott, Lonnie Spivak, Daniel Turkley
Petitions out, but not back in yet: Ira Brody, Kindra Cotton, Brendan Finucane Jr., Nathan Harden, William Rodes, Dr. Alvin Strauss
Independents
Petitions back in: Jackie Miller, Clark Taylor, James Whitfield
Petitions out, but not back in yet: Stephen Collings, William Crook, Donna Harper, John Miglietta, Joe Moore, John Smith, Tom Walsh
- Politics [3]
- Nashville [4]
- Ira Brody [5]
- James Hayes Shofner 'Jim' Cooper [6]
- Elections: Tenn. federal offices [7]
- Politics [8]