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Williams: Bid to gain reinstatement to GOP 'progressing'

Published September 5th, 2009 | 2 Comments

House Speaker Kent Williams says an effort to reinstate him into the Tennessee Republican Party is “progressing,” but e-mails from state GOP Executive Committee members indicate they are deeply divided over the issue.

The self-proclaimed Carter County Republican, during an event held Friday in Johnson City’s Carver Community, said his supporters have been working toward renewing his status as a “bona fide” Republican.

“I think things are progressing as far as me getting reinstated into the state GOP,” Williams said. “I have talked with several of the (state Executive) Committee members. ... Like I’ve said all along, I would like to talk to each one. The ones I have talked to and been able to get to know each other, I think a lot of them are realizing I’m not the devil.”

Last February, after Williams engineered his surprise election as House speaker with his vote and the votes of 49 House Democrats, the 66-member Executive Committee passed a resolution that Williams “be forever barred” from seeking elected office on a Republican ballot.

Then-Tennessee GOP Chairwoman Robin Smith, who is now running for Congress, executed the resolution and stripped Williams of his party affiliation.

Unless Williams is reinstated, he most likely would have to run for re-election in 2010 as an independent.

Williams was accused of conspiring with House Democratic Leader Gary Odom, a Carter County native, to succeed longtime Democratic House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh of Covington.

All this happened while Williams had committed to vote for House GOP Leader Jason Mumpower of Bristol as House speaker.

E-mails were sent in August to more than 50 state GOP Executive Committee members listed on the Tennessee Republican Party’s Web site (www.tngop.org) and asked this question: Do you favor reinstating Kent Williams as a “bona fide” member in good standing with the Tennessee Republican Party?

Of the 10 committee members who responded, five did not favor reinstatement, four did, and one said “e-mail polls are not a standard way for our committee to voice its concerns.”

Committee member Oscar Brock of Lookout Mountain pointed out Williams violated a signed pledge and continues to not admit any wrongdoing.

“The most obvious question is this: If he voted against the House Republican Caucus nominee (Mumpower), sided with 49 members of the House Democratic Caucus on the most important vote of the two-year cycle, how can anyone consider Kent Williams to be a bona fide member of the Republican Party?” Brock asked. “He abandoned our party on the day when we needed him most, on a day that he had sworn to be with us.”

Committee member Tim Rudd of Murfreesboro pointed out Williams gave House Democrats control of half the legislative committees.

“Until he sees the light and accepts responsibility for his wrongful actions, there is nothing to talk about or to vote on,” Rudd said. “Apparently Kent Williams and a very small minority of Republican supporters just don’t get it.”

One of those supporters is committee member Kelly Wolfe, who represents Carter and Washington counties.

“The voters of Carter County elected him as a Republican and have been disenfranchised by the former chairman’s decision to remove him from the party,” Wolfe said of Williams. “Speaker Williams has proven his credentials as a Republican and a conservative with his votes on key issues this past session.”

Committee member Beth Campbell of Nashville agreed with Wolfe.

“The voters of Carter County have historically voted Republican, so I have no problem with Speaker Kent Williams running as a Republican,” Campbell said.

Two suggested ways for Williams to get back into the good graces of committee members have been to name Republicans to the Judicial Selection Commission (JSC) and to get involved in a Middle Tennessee special House election to be held next month.

When asked how many Republicans were among his eight recent JSC picks, Williams said: “I really don’t know. I didn’t check their credentials as far as Republicans and Democrats. The majority, I know, are conservative.”

Williams said he was “already involved” in the special election pitting Republican Pat Marsh against Democrat Ty Cobb in House District 62.

“I will be involved in any Republican races if it’s an open seat, if it’s a seat we think we can pick up, but basically our philosophy has to be protect what we have right now,” Williams said. “Number two is to try to pick up open seats. We should put all our resources toward those two goals. We don’t need to be spending money and going after (Democratic) candidates that are pretty much locked in. To me it’s a waste of resources.”

At the end of the 2009 legislative session, Republicans held a 50-49 majority in the state House.

“There’s a lot of important issues coming up after 2010. ... The most important is redistricting,” Williams said. “We only have to have the majority by one. I feel that’s how Democrats have kept their majority through the years is because of redistricting. This is a tremendous opportunity for our party. When I say our party, I mean the Republican Party. I’m still a member of the (House) Republican Caucus and the rural (House) Republican Caucus. We should all be working toward that goal. This is the most important election in the state of Tennessee ever.”

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It’s funny that the newspaper didn’t print the email that threatens republicans with retaliation if they didn’t vote the way they were told. I will dig it up and post it later today.

Jeff Adams | 9/6/2009 - 8:55 AM - ( Comment

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That's strange...the GOP and 'progress' in the same sentence.

Bobby Boback | 9/6/2009 - 12:24 AM - ( Comment

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