Ray Blanton graduated from the university in 1951 (agriculture education major) and was a one-term member of the Tennessee House of Representatives (1965–67), a three-term US representative (1967–73), and a one-term governor of Tennessee (1975–79). As governor, he created the Department of Tourism (the first in the nation), emphasized the attraction of foreign investment to Tennessee to strengthen economic development, and joined the legislature in upgrading Tennessee’s retirement system into one of the most actuarially sound systems in the country.
Problems over pardons and paroles arose early in his term with the firing of the chair of the Tennessee Board of Pardons and Paroles for refusing to release certain prisoners. Following Lamar Alexander’s election as governor-elect in November 1978, the FBI seized Blanton’s legal advisor’s office in December 1978 on suspicion of a cash-for-clemency scandal. Three state employees were arrested, and Blanton appeared before a federal grand jury on December 23, denying any wrongdoing. On January 15, 1979, Blanton pardoned 52 prisoners, claiming the need to do so under a court order to reduce the prison population. Fearing additional paroles, the FBI approached the US attorney, the lieutenant governor, and the Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives, and all agreed to an early swearing-in of the next governor, Lamar Alexander.
In June 1981 Blanton was convicted of mail fraud, conspiracy, and extortion for selling liquor licenses and served 22 months (of the three-year sentence) in a federal penitentiary. In 1983 the 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 6-4 that Blanton and his assistants received a fair trial when they were convicted in 1981. The majority ruling reversed a prior decision by a three-judge appellate panel, which overturned the convictions because of possible juror bias from massive pretrial publicity. Blanton was the only Tennessee governor ever to face criminal prosecution.
In 1987 Blanton filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition, following a March 30 default judgment in federal court against Blanton and members of his family. Blanton and others were delinquent on a 1980 loan of $550,000 backed by the federal Small Business Administration made to B&B Construction, run by Blanton’s brother, Gene. The business was no longer operating.