Clifford Allen - Congressman

Congressman

In 1975 when Richard Fulton was elected mayor to succeed Briley and resigned as Congressman, Allen entered the crowded Democratic primary field in the ensuing special election, and won, beating the incumbent district attorney Thomas Shriver, legislator Mike Murphy, and attorney (later federal Sixth Circuit judge) Gilbert Merritt, largely because of having far more name recognition than any other candidate and because of his populist attack on high rates being charged by local electric and gas utilities. As the Republicans had by this time given up on making serious bids for a district they hadn't won since Reconstruction, his victory in the special general election was a foregone conclusion, and he took office on November 25, 1975.

Once in Congress, Allen tried immediately to establish a high profile for a freshman legislator, to the consternation of some and the disdain of others. His primary issue was the higher electricity rates being charged by the Tennessee Valley Authority, primarily in order to finance its ambitious nuclear energy program. Allen called for the adoption by the TVA of "lifeline rates", a low, subsidized rate for low-income, low-volume electric users who would essentially be subsidized by the utility's major customers. TVA management objected vehemently to Allen's proposal, stating that it violated provisions of the TVA Self-Financing Act of 1959 which required all of the agency's power operations to be self-financing and unsubsidized, and would further dissuade new large customers from moving into its service area as opposed to adjoining areas where they would not be subject to such a scheme. The idea apparently was well received by a majority of Nashville-area voters, however; Allen was elected to a full term in November 1976.

However, Allen was regarded by many as increasingly a relic of an earlier era; he tended to address all issues at discursive length in the tradition of Southern country lawyers. In some circles in Washington, he was given the derisive nickname "The Tennessee Talking Horse", as an indication of his perceived verbosity (a title previously held by former Memphis Congressman Dan Kuykendall). Other politicians felt that Allen might be vulnerable in 1978; several filed to run against him in the 1978 Democratic primary. However, only days before the deadline for withdrawing from the primary race, Allen suffered a massive stroke. All but one of his opponents then withdrew from the race as they were concerned about the possible repercussions of "kicking a man when he is down". On June 11, the day after the withdrawal deadline passed, Allen died. The only candidate who didn't withdraw from the race a few days earlier, State Senator Bill Boner, thus appeared alone on the Democratic primary ballot. While one of the erstwhile opponents, Elliot Ozment, then tried to conduct a write-in campaign, this proved totally futile, and Boner won the nomination, and in effect, election in November.