
Andy Sher is a Nashville-based staff writer covering Tennessee state government and politics for the Times Free Press. A Washington correspondent from 1999-2005 for the Times Free Press, Andy previously headed up state Capitol coverage for The Chattanooga Times, worked as a state Capitol reporter for The Nashville Banner and was a contributor to The Tennessee Journal, among other publications. Andy worked for 17 years at The Chattanooga Times covering police, health care, county government, politics and general assignment beats. He was won public service, investigative, deadline and project awards from the Tennessee Press Association, Common Cause of Tennessee, the East Tennessee Society of Professional Journalists and Remove Intoxicated Drivers. Andy grew up in Chattanooga. A graduate of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Andy is a past chairman of the Tennessee Capitol Hill Press Corps and served as an acting director of the Regional Reporters Association while in Washington. Contact Andy at 615-255-0550 or asher@timesfreepress.com
National and Tennessee LGBTQ leaders as well as parents of transgender students Tuesday condemned bills approved by Republican state lawmakers, the latest ones coming in this year's legislative session to prevent transgender athletes from participating in girls' and women's sports in public K-12 education as well as at the college level.
by Andy SherNASHVILLE — In her contest to Weston Wamp's victory in Hamilton County's May 3 Republican mayoral primary election, second-place finisher Sabrena Smedley wants the Tennessee Republican Party's State Executive Committee to set aside the results, citing what she says is crossover voting by Democrats as well as failures by the county election commission and the local party to adequately police the election.
by Andy SherIn her formal challenge to fellow Republican Weston Wamp's victory in Hamilton County's May 3 GOP mayoral primary, Sabrena Smedley is relying on a rarely-invoked provision of Tennessee law.
by Andy Sher, Emily Crisman and Wyatt MasseyA new poll finds that a slim majority of Tennessee voters - 45.7% to 43.6% - think Democrat Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election over then-President Donald Trump despite the results having been certified in Tennessee and across the U.S.
by Andy SherHamilton County mayoral candidates Sabrena Smedley and Matt Hullander on Wednesday formally contested fellow Republican Weston Wamp's victory in the May 3 primary election, citing crossover voting by Democrats and asking the Tennessee Republican Party either to declare Smedley the victor or set aside the results of the contest and set a new election.
by Andy SherA federal judge in Nashville on Tuesday struck down a controversial 2021 Tennessee law that required businesses and other entities to post warning signs if they allow transgender people to use public restrooms that match their sex at birth.
by Andy SherSince taking office in January 2019, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has yet to veto any bill approved by his fellow Republicans who dominate the General Assembly, that despite a growing list of bills he has refused to sign and sometimes criticized publicly.
by Andy SherThe relationship between Tennessee Senate Finance Committee Chairman Bo Watson, R-Hixson, and his wife, lobbyist Nicole Osborne Watson, is under scrutiny after the powerful chairman's yes vote on the state's $52.8 billion budget bill last month.
by Andy SherWhile Gov. Bill Lee is in many respects at the top of his game, the Republican governor first elected in 2018 as a political outsider faces mounting challenges from the GOP supermajority, which has dominated the Tennessee legislature since 2011.
by Andy SherTennessee Gov. Bill Lee has refused to sign into law a controversial "truth in sentencing" bill championed by his fellow Republicans, House Speaker Cameron Sexton and Senate Speaker Randy McNally, saying previous get-tough-on-crime approaches have proven both costly and ineffective.
by Andy SherA Tennessee legislative effort to require local governments to provide workers' compensation benefits to Tennessee professional firefighters formally diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder failed to win approval as state lawmakers wrapped up their annual session last week.
by Andy SherNearly all abortions in Tennessee would be outlawed if the U.S. Supreme Court follows through with a leaked draft opinion in a Mississippi case that would overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion.
by Andy SherIn one of their last acts during this year's legislative session, Republican state lawmakers approved a bill that will vacate the entire membership of the nine-member board of the Tennessee Human Rights Commission on Sept. 1 while also stripping Gov. Bill Lee of his ability to control the majority of new appointments going forward.
by Andy SherHamilton County and Chattanooga officials and local state legislators sometimes found themselves at odds on major issues during this year's session of the Tennessee General Assembly.
by Andy SherU.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Northwest Georgia was among 10 Republicans this past week who voted against a House bill calling on the Biden administration to speed up supplies of military equipment to Ukraine as the nation continues to defend itself against Russia's invasion.
by Andy SherTennessee lawmakers gave final approval Thursday to a bill allowing government-owned Erlanger Health System to pursue plans to convert the hospital system into a nonprofit corporation that leaders argue will help enable its survival into the future by becoming more competitive.
by Andy SherThe Tennessee House on Wednesday approved an amended private act allowing Hamilton County government to pursue converting the governance model of the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Hospital Authority, better known as Erlanger Health system, to IRS-certified nonprofit status.
by Andy SherA bill that began as an effort to ban delta-8 and delta-10 products in Tennessee was amended in state House committees on Tuesday to allow continued sales of the currently legal, hemp-derived psychoactive cannabinoid but impose new regulations, licensure and packaging requirements as well as age restrictions and a new 5% tax on sales.
by Andy SherTennessee Senate Speaker Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, is accusing critics of his and House Speaker Cameron Sexton's campaign and ethics reform bill of peddling "blatant untruths" in a bid to derail "dark money" reporting provisions in the measure.
by Andy SherHamilton County District Attorney General Neal Pinkston's brother-in-law, Kerry Clewell, will come off the county's payroll effective May 17, according to a memo by a county official.
by Andy Sher