Tennessee: Williams says he’ll be cleared on ethics charge

NASHVILLE — Recently elected House Speaker Kent Williams predicted Thursday he will be cleared of an ethics complaint that resurrects 2007 allegations of sexual harassment and seeks to eject him as speaker.

“Once we get through this complaint, I think the state of Tennessee is going to see that Kent Williams is here to govern, and that Kent Williams will be clear of any charges,” he told reporters.

Rep. Williams, who is entering his second term, triggered an uproar among Republicans last week when he joined with 49 Democrats and beat Majority Leader Jason Mumpower, R-Bristol, in a 50-49 vote for speaker.

His salary as speaker will be $57,027 a year; House members make $19,009 a year.

Earlier this week, Rep. Mumpower released at reporters’ request an April 11, 2007, memo that outlined allegations that Rep. Williams made sexually offensive comments to Rep. Susan Lynn, R-Mt. Juliet, and later surprised her with an unwelcome hug.

The memo says Rep. Williams at the time “apoligized.” But the new speaker again said Thursday that while the General Assembly’s privacy policy bans him from discussing case specifics, “I have never harassed anyone in my life.”

Rep. Brian Kelsey, R-Germantown, who campaigned for Rep. Williams’ Republican primary opponent last summer, filed the ethics complaint on Wednesday. It incorporates the Mumpower memo, accuses Rep. Williams of lying by saying he never harassed anyone, and seeks to strip Rep. Williams of the speakership.

The matter has been referred to the House Ethics Committee. Rep. Kelsey complained in a statement that Speaker Williams was appointing the panel, calling it a “clear conflict of interest for the speaker to hand-pick his own jurors.”

But the speaker pointed out that the 12-member panel’s membership was determined by House Republican and Democratic leaders.

He called Rep. Kelsey a “bright young man. He needs some maturity.”