Lee’s appointments to wildlife board questioned

Gov. Bill Lee’s nominations of his former campaign manager and a businessman who was once cited for a hunting violation to the Tennessee Fish and Wildlife Commission are raising questions in the General Assembly, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports.
Lee wants to appoint Chris Devaney, a former state GOP chairman who ran his 2018 gubernatorial campaign, and Stan Butt, the husband of former state Rep. Sheila Butt (R-Columbia), to the wildlife panel.
Devaney, a Texas native, obtained his first Tennessee hunting and fishing permit in 2017. Sen. Mike Bell (R-Riceville), a major player in the legislature’s sportsmen’s caucus, expressed some unease about the Devaney nomination.
“I live in Southeast Tennessee, and the last two commissioners we’ve had from our area, David Watson and Tony Sanders, are huge outdoorsmen, people that I’ve seen outdoors, people that I’ve seen on social media who go hunting and fishing and participate in outdoor activities,” Bell told the Times Free Press. “It is somewhat concerning to me that we now have a person who’s been appointed to be on the commission whom I’ve never seen at an event.”
Bell hastened to add he considers Devaney a friend that he “may make a fantastic commissioner.” Fellow Republican Sen. Todd Gardenhire of Chattanooga said he was a “little disappointed that [Devaney] would even let himself be considered for this.”
“His expertise is in a lot of other areas besides hunting and fishing and wildlife,” Gardenhire told the paper.
Devaney said he’s a lifelong hunter and the grandson of late George Wells, a Texas apparel manufacturer who helped pioneer camouflage hunting clothing. He showed the paper a copy of a Texas-issued hunter education certificate earned in the eighth grade, along with a current Texas hunting license and one issued in 2014 in Alabama.
Butt and his three adult sons were cited by wildlife officers in 2008 for hunting during bow season “while in possession [of] a firearm or accompanied by person in violation of a firearm.” He later paid a $50 civil fine and $195 in court costs.
Butt, who was also an active Lee supporter during the 2018 campaign, chalked it up to a misunderstanding.
“We weren’t hunting with a bow,” Butt said in an interview. “We were hunting on a 5,000-acre lease. And in our ignorance we were hunting hogs on this lease, hogs were legal at the time. We didn’t know that bow season [for deer] had opened that weekend. And we weren’t hunting deer, we were hunting hogs.”
Butt called the incided “unfortunate” and “one of them things, that’s what I told them, I said, ‘Hey, I can certainly understand how people get caught in those situations because I’ve been there.'”
Bell said Butt “has a good resume as being an outdoorsman and somebody who’s participated. Somebody who’s had, as I understand, one wildlife infraction in his background. But again, that’s the governor’s choice.”
Bell said if Lee wants to shake up the commission, Butt could be a good choice because “I know he can be a little aggressive, and again I was on the same side as him on a couple of issues. But he can be a little aggressive, which that may be the governor’s intention. If it is, I understand.”
Not even Bill Lee’s nominees can avoid Republican Caucus Cancel Culture.
you bet! And with good reason!! Sheila Butt started the NAAWP-National Association for the Advancement of WHITE people!!! You cannot be more racist. When busted she tried to change it. Very insincere on her part. LOOK:
https://www.theroot.com/tenn-lawmaker-says-the-w-in-her-naawp-comment-stan-1790858976
Not surprised. Remember when Bill Lee tried to bribe Karl Dean’s security detail for a photo of Dean eating at a Greek restaurant? They were going to photoshop the background into a Mosque and use it in an attack ad.
Boy, Bill Lee is getting quite the history of alleged bribery of law enforcement and military personnel.
PLUS>>>she is a major ISLAMAPHOBE!!! The family is corrupt! This IS fun!!https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/2015/10/12/muslim-advocacy-groups-calls-rep-butt-islamophobe/73832550/
All-pro Lady Race Baiter guard Beatrice’s zeal in ferreting out “RACISM” wherever it might be found is simply breathtaking. Again, we’re talking about appointments to the wildlife board and the appointee in question is Stan Butt and Beatrice, using that All-Pro timing and eye that has made her such a legend rushes in to give us the vital information about some organization that SHEILA Butt once started years ago. Another great irrelevant three-pointer from that queen of three-pointers BEATRICE SHAW star of the Lady Race Baiters.
The self proclaimed Leading Racial Denier in Tennessee speaks again.
I see no issues with these candidates. Actually we have some of the best fishing and hunting in our great state however, many sportsmen from Tennessee continue make long trips to neighboring states to because the rewards are much better. I feel these appointments could make Tennessee fishing/hunting and outdoor sporting really what it should be.
Killers without consciences.
Chris Devaney is the anti Christ to a venture such as hunting and fishing. This is just more evidence of political recycling. Ignorant Governor. Ignorant appointments. More facts
Not the first marginal appointment out of Lee’s office. Probably not the last. Cronyism is easy when you think you can beat your primary opponent and the other party has no one to run against you.
Small correction NtSg. He’ll have no significant primary opponent.
Doesn’t matter what is wrong in the state- just as long as the conservatives can still ramrod through some crony for the Gov., that’s what counts.
Big business cronyism as usual. Nothing to see here, folks.
I guess Devaney couldn’t find any gainful employment after bungling the Sethi campaign! So happy that Governor Lee makes room for those less fortunate than himself. /sarcasm off/
I get the Devaney nomination. He’s a good guy.
Stan Butt however doesn’t need to be anywhere near government or a government entity. Sheila Butt was one of the most unserious legislators in the history of the General Assembly. Stan Butt supposedly has his own problems too. The Butts need to go away quietly into retirement and leave Tennessee alone.
Jason, I don’t know anything about Stan, and you must measure “seriousness” in a member of the General Assembly by the degree in which a legislator takes liberal demonology seriously because Sheila distinguished herself in the House by retiring with a 92% score from the American Conservative Union. Oh how we do miss her today.
Butt was an awful legislator. No major accomplishments. Just dealt in conspiracy theories and appeasing lunatics back home.
Another example of a high scorer for the criminal side. You can have a criminal background and still be an outstanding high scoring member of the conservative club – they are an “accepting group.”
The scores, any score, measures voting in a legislature, nothing more nothing less. That’s what makes them so valuable to those of us who think how a legislator votes is kinda sorta important. It doesn’t measure anything else. You know that Inspector Clouceau of the French Surete, so why do you make yourself seem so foolish by banging on about “criminal” and “criminal” that.
I think we got cursive writing back into the schools thanks to Sheila, but that was all. Correct me if I’m wrong. Like Bill Lee, she was on a mission from God. This is where the Butts tie in to this. Stan is or was a Church of Christ preacher. You can look up the trailer incident in regard to him.
Sheila is not from here, by the way. She was elected because of the R.
Ah, but Donna, that 92% ACU lifetime score indicates she was the right kind of “R” and that makes all the difference in the world.
She didn’t help with immigration enforcement issues. She’s so anti-equality on LGBT issues that I couldn’t deal with her. When they’re on a mission from God, in their minds, that’s the way it is. My sister grew up in this county Sheila was representing. Too much personal insult there. I can detach and do triage when I have to, but sometimes one can’t.
I’ve met and enjoyed the company of Sheila a few times. In fact, she introduced me to he successor Scott Cepicky (ACU-87%) and gave him her seal of approval so I sent him a few bucks. I’m disappointed that Sheila wasn’t more helpful re: immigration which I agree is one of the most important issues facing this country. The fact that Sheila was apparently willing to say “NO!” to the sexual eccentric division of the grievance industry from what you said certainly doesn’t lower her standing with the ACU or with me.
Sheila Butt, Scott Cepicky, and Andy Ogles are a trio on the Floating R Ranch. They are not from their districts or even this state and don’t truly exemplify or represent the people who are from here, but they help one another get elected (cash in) by means of the floating R and uninformed voters, many of whom don’t even read a daily newspaper because they can’t afford to subscribe or have no time to read. Many of the voters are transplants, too.
Transplants changed suburban Atlanta while I was there, and then a fresh load of transplants and young people flipped it again. We’ll see change in this state too. Same factors, especially the young and younger coming up.
The church people in my county have affected elections. They will vote for a Democrat, as they did for Ty Cobb, if the church tie is there.
I am happy to support the Tennessee Equality Project and wish my sister had lived to see it.
Let’s not give all “transplants” a bad rap. I moved down here because my employer told me my desk was going to be located at a certain address in Nashville on a certain date in the spring of 1992 and I had to decide whether I was going to be behind it by a certain date. At the same time hundreds of people moved with me almost all of those I knew were reasonably conservative Republicans. Many transplants are happy to get away from the liberal dystopia they moved from and are determined to not let it happen here.
As for the younger generation, I’m afraid you may be right. Parents are not educating their children at home and they are not paying close enough attention to what is being taught in schools or who is elected to the school board. All of which gives me no reason to regret not having any children nor envy the young or, Lord knows, cause me to wish I was a millennial or Gen Z.
I was a transplant for 30 years, but being a Southerner and going to Georgia was like just moving to a different neighborhood. Atlanta, when I moved there, was still Southern, but that changed with the numbers of people moving in from other parts of the country and the world. Many of us grieved for the down-home familiarity and the other good that was lost. I had close friends there who were not Southern, however, and we shared interests that I couldn’t pursue here. My husband and I tried to leave something good for our having been there, and I believe we did. I know he did.
When we moved back here in 2002, I went to Walmart in Columbia, and people I hadn’t seen since high school came up to me and were almost crying as they told me, “Saturn ruined Columbia.” Well, I knew what they meant because I’d been watching the changes when I’d come back to visit relatives. I hated to tell them where that was headed–that kind of growth–because I had just witnessed it in Atlanta.
We’ve lost a lot of beauty and quality of life in Middle Tennessee because of growth and overdevelopment. There is more loss, and trouble, ahead. As always, the issue is numbers. This is what I say about immigration, too. The issue is not immigration itself but numbers. Tennessee is a small state. How can we absorb all the flight from the crazy states? If you look at a world map, the United States and Europe are quite small and can’t take the numbers trying to cram in here and there. We are already self-destructing from it.
Where did you live where you were taught and learned to be so racist and anti women/immigrants/ etc.?
You seem to have an extremely extensive and growing list of people in America that scare the daylights out of you. You can’t stop complaining about all these Americans that don’t look like you and how they just ruin your day. It must be frustrating.
Marsha Marsha Marsha is in the news today… making use of privilege…
I have about eight “Marsha Marsha Marsha” shirts Cannoneer. When the rain stops should I wear one of them today to show my support? Can’t imagine what toe curdling “. . .making use of privilege. . . .” offense Marsha has committed but I know our own Inspector Clouceau of the French Surete will be right on it with a post before long.
It’s Marsha’s world, we just live in it.
The “offense” that she is guilty of is being a high handed jerk. She has over 20 years experience at it too!
I am going to start flashing my Miraculous Medal when stopped by the law. I am not Catholic, but someone gave me one when I was 22. I want to see if that thing works.
Sure thing Stuart, it is just one more example of how conservative folks feel free to act like they are better than others and somehow deserve more or better treatment, always looking for an advantage by any means.
Stuart, This article reminds the public every day about the sheer number of Republicans that are charged with crimes while in office. You always quickly dismiss them as nothing. Lets review the last few days: Eric Grietens resigned as Missouri (R) Governor over an affair and blackmail charges and his involvement in an ethics probe. He was charged in 2 different cases. Shortly after resigning as governor, he announced he was running for the Senate in Missouri. You can’t make this stuff up! Then today, We hear about Kansas state (R) Senator Sullentrop who is the majority leader in Kansas. He was arrested and jailed last night on DUI charges, driving the wrong way, evading police, reckless driving -five charges in general. The police had to use tactical maneuvers to stop his vehicle. The evading arrest charge alone is worth 5-7 months in jail for the first offence but public officials have already stated in public that he will most likely get off on probation (as Kansas is also overrun with conservative republicans who think like you do Stuart). A sympathetic judge let him out of jail early, claiming that the police didn’t have enough evidence to hold him even though he was the only person in the car and they had lots of 911 calls describing the vehicle. Just the latest info on some of your high scoring crooks.
Thanks Inspector, especially for the information about Grietens in Missouri. I am pulling for Rep. Jason Smith (Heritage-84%) to take Roy “Lamar” Blunt’s (Heritage-57%) place in the Senate should he make a run for it. That would be 30% better – I’ll take it.
After having read all that Stuart has been posting for months why on earth do you think a persons integrity matters? All that matters is that he/she keep Stuart’s taxes low, punish China with tariffs or whatever for the Wuhan virus, shut out all immigrants except those who can pull their own weight, pay lip service but DO nothing to curb abortion which culls the dead wood, and whine endlessly when things go wrong that there’s a Witch Hunt causing the whole mess.
But integrity has nothing to do with credentials.
Absolutely correct except personally as a libertarian I don’t care if they pay lip service to curbing abortion. I am a choice/states right guy so as long as Roe v. Wade is still the law as conjured up by the Supreme Court the entire issue is messed up so conservatives should do whatever is politically expedient, if it’s lip service I’m indifferent to the entire issue.
I am all for “integrity” i.e. “firm adherence to a code of moral values.” Sure. It’s a good thing. A little difficult to measure in people I don’t know like officeholders. The only officeholders whose integrity I am interested in is right wing officeholders. I will support those who appear to be conservatives via their record and campaign as conservatives then vote or make decisions that are conservative. That shows integrity. I want to defeat leftists because I don’t agree with their world view so whether or not they have integrity is besides the point for all practical purposes.
No you’re not for integrity in politicians. Lying is NOT a hallmark of integrity and yet you have said that lying or supporting the lies OF a liar to ensure re-election is perfectly acceptable to you.
Lying, not living up to your campaign promises, shading the truth this is a very complicated and nuanced thing your talking about IN POLITICS. It all depends on the fact and circumstances at the time for me to pass judgement. Contact me when you have a specific occurrence and I will be happy to give you my judgement.
I specifically asked you over and over about your candidates lying about the Tax Code changes. Was the code Simplified as Trump said it would be? The answer is NO. Did Marsha and Mark go in front of cameras to tout the simplification…. Yes, repeatedly. Is the form so uncomplicated that it fits on a postcard? NO, it isn’t.
Are the loophole closures paying for the cuts? NO, they are not. But did Marsh and Mark both say it would? Yes. Did the rich like Trump Not benefit one penny as Trump said? No the biggest lie of all. Did any of your candidates acknowledge even on aspect of these lies? No.
And this is just one tiny policy issue of the last 4 years. In any case where I asked about the lies you said they wouldn’t jeopardize their own re-election, Nor Should They, by being honest about these things.
You’re right. Now I have to make sure the SIA Evangelical Conservative PCF is in tip top financial shape – 2022 elections are coming and I gotta be ready to get to ’em.
I didn’t say you should value integrity. You did. When you don’t, you Don’t. Own it,
An excellent point Marle. The truth for Stuart becomes a very complicated thing, see, the politicians HE likes get scored differently in his book than the ones that he does not like. Those things Stuart calls nuances are actually the difference between truth and lies for the rest of us. Lies don’t matter in his rankings that is why he can happily support people like trump.