On Thursday the Chattanooga Convention and Visitors Bureau told Hamilton County citizens it had nothing to do with the events leading up to the indictment of Commissioner Tim Boyd on an extortion charge.

Commissioner Boyd, who is running for a third term representing District 8, believes differently.

“I know without a dobut regular people, the ones who are voting for me will recognize the facts and see the leadership of the CVB in the correct light,” he said in a press release. “The connections are simple.

Boyd said that four members of the CVB search firm that recently hired Barry White were on a host committee for East Ridge Mayor Brent Lambert’s only fundraiser in his campaign to unseat Boyd.

Those people are:

Former Chattanooga Mayor Jon Kinsey. Records show that Kinsey contributed the maximum of $1,500 to Lambert’s campaign on March 5.

Also on the host committee were Allen Corey, a restaurant owner and tenant of Kinsey; Ken DeFoor, the developer of the Westin Hotel in Chattanooga; and Mitch Patel, a well-known businessman and hotel developer, including the Hampton Inn being built inside the Jordan Crossing development at Exit 1.

“I do not think Republican Primary voters in District 8 are going to have a tough time connecting these dots,” Boyd said. “As I said Tuesday, the level of personal hatred the folks have for me simply because I held them accountable is staggeringly sad.”

Last year Boyd questioned the funding of CVB through Hamilton County’s hotel/motel tax. He claimed there was little accountability for the $8 million turned over to the organization last year. In February, Bob Doak, longtime Executive Director of the CVB, retired.