Tennessee: Republicans boot Speaker Williams

NASHVILLE — Tennessee Republican Party Chairwoman Robin Smith on Monday effectively ousted House Speaker Kent Williams from the state GOP, accusing him of continuing to engage in “untrustworthy behavior.”

Her action follows a resolution recently approved by the Tennessee Republican Party’s executive committee. It calls for Rep. Williams, R-Elizabethon, to be barred from running again as a Republican and asks news media to quit referring to him as a Republican.

House Republicans were angry with Rep. Williams after he joined with all 49 House Democrats last month to make himself speaker.

“The principles of the Republican Party must stand on the foundation of integrity, honesty and character,” Mrs. Smith said. “Our deliberations reveal that the choices of Kent Williams are not partisan or bi-partisan. His choices appear to be only self-serving, and that is wrong.”

The decision leaves the 99-member House with 49 Republicans, 49 Democrats and Rep. Williams, who is just beginning his second term.

Rep. Williams said he still considers himself a “Carter County Republican” and rejected overtures from House Democrats to join them. He said “Robin Smith has determined that I am not a Robin Smith Republican — that is, a Republican in her mold.”

While saying he may choose to run for re-election as an independent should he decide to run again in 2010, Rep. Williams also noted “we could have some changes, and hopefully we could have some changes in our Tennessee GOP. Maybe we would have someone more level-headed, someone who doesn’t rule by hate.”

In a statement, the speaker said “let us move past this distraction and get to the real work at hand. This is a challenging time in our history. The people of Tennessee expect and deserve our very best as we move forward to address the major challenges before us.”

The move will have little practical effect on House operations, said Rep. Williams, who last month appointed seven Republicans and six Democrats to head the 13 standing House committees. He said he would only remove chairmen for failing to do their jobs.

House Democratic Leader Gary Odom of Nashville invited Rep. Williams to join Democrats and also to “reconsider the seven Republican chairmanships.”

Many GOP officials and lawmakers are incensed with Rep. Williams after all 49 Democrats banded with him on Jan. 13 and voted to elect him speaker over Majority Leader Jason Mumpower, R-Bristol. He was elected on a 50-49 vote with Rep. Williams voting for himself.

Rep. Mumpower told reporters today that “I respect” the GOP executive committee’s “decision. We think it was the right decision.”

It is unclear whether the GOP’s move will end or fuel continued turmoil that so far has included 2-year-old sexual harassment allegations surfacing against Rep. Williams and the lodging of an ethics complaint later dismissed by the six Republicans and Democrats on the House Ethics Committee.

“I think that the main thing that causes antagonism is mistrust, and I still think that mistrust hangs heavy within the halls of the Legislature,” Rep. Mumpower said. “I hope we can overcome that rather quickly ... in order to get business done.”

Although the GOP executive committee recommended Rep. Williams get the boot, the actual decision was made by Mrs. Smith, who is from Hixson. Mrs. Smith is considering running for the Republican nomination in Tennessee’s 3rd Congressional District but said that had no bearing on her decision.

She said the decision is not intended as “retribution” against Rep. Williams. She said Rep. Williams violated bylaws when he lied to Rep. Mumpower and others, saying he would back Rep. Mumpower for speaker and then joining with Democrats.

Another bylaw was violated, she said, when Rep. Williams joined Democrats in voting for Rep. Lois DeBerry, D-Memphis, for speaker pro tempore, the No. 2 slot. Party bylaws says Republicans must support the GOP nominee.

Mrs. Smith said Rep. Williams might have avoided expulsion by naming Republicans to head all 13 committees and keeping the GOP informed of budget discussions with Gov. Phil Bredesen.

Rep. Williams said he was “really shocked” when Mrs. Smith came up to the podium after he was elected speaker.

“Her exact words were, ‘Congratulations, speaker. It’s hard to kill the devil but (in) two years you’re a dead man.’ That’s a pretty harsh statement.”

He said his response was, “Bring it on.”

Mrs. Smith said it “is an absolute lie” that she called Rep. Williams a devil. She said she was standing beside Rep. Mumpower’s desk and was looking at former House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh, D-Covington, not Rep. Williams, at the time she made the remarks.

“I just mouthed the words, ‘It’s hard to kill the devil,” she said, noting she was “looking at Naifeh straight in the eye.”

Rep. Naifeh recalled he was at the podium with Rep. Williams, but said he didn’t recall anyone calling him or Rep. Williams a “devil.” But Mr. Naifeh said he did recall a woman who “yelled” something like “we’re coming after you. Then he (Williams) said, ‘Come on.’”