Pulled back in? Byrd feared to be running again
Rep. David Byrd takes a photo during at event in Lawrenceburg on June 4, 2018. (Erik Schelzig, Tennessee Journal)
Guess who (maybe) wants back? State Rep. David Byrd, the Waynesboro Republican who has been accused of sexual misconduct when he was a girls’ high school basketball coach in the 1980s.
Byrd has never explicitly denied the allegations made by one of his former players who recorded a phone call with the lawmaker in which he apologized for unspecified past transgressions.
When outrage over the lawmaker’s continued tenure in the House appeared close to reaching a tipping point in a special legislative session in August, Byrd managed to blunt the momentum of ouster efforts by promising colleagues he wouldn’t seek another term in 2020.
Byrd then dodged reporters’ questions for months before finally confirming in January that he indeed planned not to run again.
But now, with just days remaining before the Thursday candidate filing deadline, word is emanating out from the shuttered statehouse that Byrd is looking to run for another two-year term. It’s a prospect that fills most lawmakers on both sides of the aisle with dread.
Byrd told The Tennessean in January he might change his mind if he gets “harassed and bullied” by activists. But the steady drumbeat of protests and media coverage had largely dissipated when most assumed he would not return to the General Assembly.
Former Savannah City Manager Garry Welch announced earlier this month he will seek the GOP nomination for the House District 71 seat currently held by Byrd. The district covers all of Hardin, Lewis, and Wayne counties and part of Lawrence County.
UPDATE: The Tennessean’s Natalie Allison reports Byrd has not yet picked up a petition to run again. It takes the signatures of 25 registered voters to qualify for the ballot.
Folks have been talking for months at #tnleg about the rumor of Rep. David Byrd, accused of past sexual assault, running again.
I've called the Wayne County Election Commission repeatedly in recent weeks (and this morning) and Byrd has NOT picked up any papers to run, FYI. https://t.co/liJ4J39Spv
— Natalie Allison (@natalie_allison) March 31, 2020
Byrd confirms he won’t run for another term in House
Rep. David Byrd (R-Waynesboro) attends a House Republican Caucus meeting in Nashville on Jan. 14, 2020. (Erik Schelzig, Tennessee Journal)
Embattled state Rep. David Byrd (R-Waynesboro) has confirmed to The Tennessean he won’t seek re-election this fall.
“At this point I’m still not running,” said Byrd, who pledged in a closed door caucus meeting in August he won’t run again.
Byrd has been under fire since former high school basketball players made sexual misconduct allegations against Byrd dating back to when he was their coach in the 1980s.
Byrd was overwhelmingly re-elected in 2018 despite the allegations. He has been the subject of regular protests. The lawmaker suggested that the demonstrators might get him to change his mind.
“If I get harassed and bullied, then I’ll definitely rethink my position about running.
Former Savannah City Manager Garry Welch announced earlier this month he will seek the GOP nomination for the House District 71 seat currently held by Byrd. The district covers all of Hardin, Lewis, and Wayne counties and part of Lawrence.
House Speaker Sexton won’t pursue Byrd ouster following AG opinion (UPDATED)
Rep. David Byrd (R-Waynesboro) and Rep. Sheila Butt (R-Columbia) attend a committee meeting in Nashville on March 28, 2018. (Erik Schelzig, Tennessee Journal)
House Speaker Cameron Sexton says he won’t move to oust a Republican state lawmaker following an attorney general’s opinion advising against it.
“After consulting with House leadership and our committee chairmen, we will heed Attorney General Slatery’s advice and not move forward,” Sexton said in a release.
State lawmakers may have the power to oust Rep. David Byrd (R-Waynesboro) for allegations of sexual misconduct with teenage basketball players before he was elected to office, but “historical practice, sound policy considerations, and constitutional restraints counsel against” such a move, Attorney General Herbert Slatery said in a legal opinion released Wednesday.
The state constitution provides for each chamber of the General Assembly to “determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its members for disorderly behavior, and with the concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member.”
That language has been unchanged since the adoption of the 1796 constitution, but Slatery notes that state courts “yet to construe the meaning of ‘disorderly behavior’ or the scope of the expulsion clause more generally.”
Much of the opinion appears to hinge on whether lawmakers need to find their colleagues guilty of disorderly behavior in order to expel them. Others have argued that the provisions dealing with punishment for disorderly conduct and expelling members are not linked, and that the House and Senate can oust any of their members for any reason the choose so long as they can get a two-thirds vote.
Slatery concludes:
- There is no federal or Tennessee historical precedent of expelling a member other than for conduct that occurred while the member was in office. Historically, the power of expulsion has been used very sparingly and then only to punish a member for “disorderly conduct” that occurred during the member’s current term in office.
- Sound policy considerations counsel that the power of expulsion should rarely if ever be exercised when the misconduct complained of occurred before the member’s election and was generally known to the public at the time of the member’s election. Because expulsion under those circumstances essentially negates the choice of the electorate, the House must weigh its interests in safeguarding the public trust in its institutional integrity against the deference and respect owed to the choice of the electorate before it expels the member. That is, in light of the particular facts and circumstances of each case “the [House] must balance its interest in ‘assur[ing] the integrity of its legislative performance and its institutional acceptability to the people at large as a serious and responsible instrument of government,’
with a respect for the electoral decisions of the voting public and deference traditionally paid to the popular will and choice of the people.” Expulsion of Members of Congress, CRS Report 7-5700 at 13 (quoting Powell v. McCormack, 395 F.2d 577, 607 (D.C. Cir. 1968) (McGowan, J., concurring)). - In any event, since even the broadest legislative power is subject to state and federal constitutional restraints, the expulsion power may be exercised only to the extent consistent with the voters’ constitutional right to choose their representatives and with the member’s state and federal constitutional rights, such as the right to due process and equal protection.
Wake me up when September ends? Byrd still mum on re-election plans
Embattled Rep. David Byrd (R-Waynesboro) attends a House Education Committee meeting in Nashville on March 28, 2019. (Erik Schelzig, Tennessee Journal)
State Rep. David Byrd (R-Waynesboro) tried to defuze efforts to oust him from the General Assembly during a special session in August by telling GOP colleagues behind closed doors that he wouldn’t run for re-election next year. When confronted by The Tennessean afterward, Byrd declined to confirm anything, saying only he would have a statement about his plans in September.
Well, September has come and gone. And Byrd, who has never publicly addressed sexual misconduct allegations dating back to when he was a girls high school basketball coach, still hasn’t made any public pronouncements. The lawmaker didn’t respond to several efforts by The Tennessean to reach him for comment.
Lee and McNally weigh in on Casada text message scandal
Senate Speaker Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge), center, attends an economic development announcement in Nashville. At left is Gov. Bill Lee and on the far right is House Speaker Glen Casada (R-Franklin). (Erik Schelzig, Tennessee Journal).
Republican Gov. Bill Lee and Senate Speaker Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) have issued statements on the text message scandal surrounding House Speaker Glen Casada (R-Franklin).
Here’s what Lee had to say:
When we choose to enter public service, we have an obligation to hold ourselves to a higher standard and cultivate an environment of professionalism and respect. We owe it to Tennesseans to ensure they know that all of us in elected office hold ourselves to that high standard. Recent revelations have shaken that faith, and we need to ensure that confidence is fully restored.
And here’s McNally:
Senate leadership and I are greatly disappointed by the inappropriate actions and attitudes revealed in recent news reports. Every person who interacts with the state legislature should be treated with the utmost respect. It is deeply troubling that some have fallen short of this standard. Tennesseans expect and deserve better from those who serve the public trust. Senate leadership is united in our commitment that members and staff continue to uphold the standard Tennesseans demand of their public officials.
House Democrats call for Casada’s removal as speaker
House Speaker Glen Casada (R-Franklin) speaks to Republican colleagues in Nashville on April 23, 2019. (Erik Schelzig, Tennessee Journal)
House Democrats are calling for Rep. Glen Casada’s removal as speaker following the resignation of his chief of staff.
Here’s the full release:
NASHVILLE–Members of the House Democratic Caucus are demanding the removal of Rep. Glen Casada as Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives. Casada’s Chief of Staff Cade Cothren resigned yesterday after recent media reports that he used illegal drugs in the legislative building, solicited oral sex from an intern in a text message and also sent racist and sexist texts to others, including the Speaker. It is now clear that Speaker Casada participated in numerous acts that make his continued service as Speaker untenable, including:
- Casada joked with Cothren about a picture of a woman dancing on a pole, asking Cothren at one point, “Can I just touch?”, and saying “nice pics”.
- In another text, the two joked about how long a sexual encounter Cothren claimed to have with a woman lasted. Casada asked Cothren, “R u a minute man?” Cothren responded by saying, “Yes, I take after you. Like Father, like son.”
- Another exchange between the two included Cothren using a racist meme that was labeled “black people” when he was referring to a West Tennessee voting district.
Democratic Leader Karen Camper said: “Citizens of the State of Tennessee deserve to have a Speaker that they can trust; whose character and moral standards are beyond reproach. The actions of our Speaker are unbecoming and disrespectful, not only to the citizens of our state, but to the office he holds.” Caucus Chair Mike Stewart added: “Actions have consequences; Speaker Casada’s actions are obviously disqualifying and he must either resign or be removed.”
Casada says support among GOP caucus remains ‘overwhelming’
House Speaker Glen Casada (R-Franklin) presides over a floor session in Nashville on April 23, 2019. (Erik Schelzig, Tennessee Journal)
House Speaker Glen Casada says he still has “overwhelming” support among fellow Republicans in the chamber despite the resignation of of chief of staff amid allegations of racist text, drug use in his office, and soliciting sex acts with an intern and lobbyist.
“If you look at the results of what we’ve done in the House of Representatives, I think no one can dispute things have run smoother than they have in a generation, and we have had bold conservative leadership,” Casada told told WTN-FM’s Brian Wilson.
“Based on my conversations with them, they are proud to have someone in charge that’s leading them in a direction of making Tennessee the most conservative state,” he said.
The text message exchange included Cothren boasting to Casada about having sex with a woman in a Nashville restaurant they had attended together.
“I participated in locker room talk with two adult men that was not intended to go to anyone else and I was wrong,” the Franklin Republican said “In the last several years, that kind of talk has not entered or left my mouth.”
“I got caught up in the moment at that time, and participated in that text messaging the two adult men,” he said. “And that is not me today.”
Casada said the text messages were released by a “disgruntled employee” who vowed to take down Cothren and Casada after being fired.
“Cade did an excellent job. Three years ago, he came to me and said he had a problem. He said he was struggling. And he didn’t say what it was, but I knew what it was, and that he wanted a second chance to turn his life around. I gave him that and his did turn his life around,” Casada said.
“Why he is resigning is things that he did before he turned his life around,” he said. Casada denied prior knowledge of Cothren’s drug use or soliciting sex acts from other women at the Capitol complex.
Report: Democratic Rep. Staples faces sexual misconduct investigation
Democratic state Rep. Rick Staples of Knoxville is the subject of an investigation into sexual misconduct allegations, according to The Tennesseans’ Joel Ebert and Natalie Allison.
A woman making the allegations tells the newspaper the lawmaker touched her inappropriately on a recent visit to the state Capitol complex. She says Staples made comments about her appearance before grabbing her and held on to her waist while standing behind her.
The woman reported the details of the encounter to House Democratic Caucus Chairman Mike Stewart of Nashville, but says she had to follow up with his office before receiving a reply. Stewart and Staples declined to comment to the Tennessean.
BREAKING: Democratic Rep. Rick Staples faces allegations, investigation of sexual misconduct https://t.co/6duMd8YvAV via @tennessean
— Joel Ebert (@joelebert29) April 3, 2019
Staples could face disciplinary action including removal from the House Ethics Committee, to which he was appointed by House Speaker Glen Casada (R-Franklin) in January.
The woman bringing the allegations involved in state Democratic politics and says Staples had previously made inappropriate comments.
“My first day doing anything in politics, one of the very first things I heard was not to be alone in a room with Rick,” she told the newspaper.
Byrd removed from subcommittee chairmanship following anti-voucher vote
Embattled Rep. David Byrd (R-Waynesboro) attends a House Education Committee meeting in Nashville on March 28, 2019. (Erik Schelzig, Tennessee Journal)
Embattled state Rep. David Byrd (R-Waynesboro) has been removed as chairman of House education subcommittee a day after voting against Gov. Bill Lee’s school voucher proposal.
House Speaker Glen Casada (R-Franklin) announced the move Thursday, The Tennessean reports.
“Following discussions with members of the House and after careful consideration, I have formally asked Representative Byrd to step down from his position as chairman of the House Education Administration Subcommittee,” Casada said a statement.
Byrd’s chairmanship has been the subject of regular protests at the legislative office complex over allegations of sexual misconduct with teenage basketball players when he was their high school coach in the 1980s. Byrd was overwhelmingly re-elected in November despite revelations that he apologized to one of the women in a recorded phone call.
“Representative Byrd agrees that this is the best path forward in ensuring the House of Representatives can focus on the issues that truly matter to all Tennesseans. This decision is based on input from members and to continue the orderly operations of the House,” Casada said in the statement.
Byrd has long been a target of school choice proponents for his steadfast opposition to voucher legislation. This year’s voucher bill cleared the House Education Committee on Wednesday on a 14-9 vote. Byrd was among four Republicans who voted against the measure.
Casada supported Byrd during his re-election campaign, and had defended appointing him to his subcommittee chairmanship until Thursday.
UPDATE: Casada’s chief of staff, Cade Cothren, told reporters it would be an “absolute lie” to suggest Byrd’s removal as chairman was linked to his voucher vote.
GOP colleagues split over Byrd chairmanship
A Tennessean survey of House Republicans has found the caucus is split over whether Rep. David Byrd (R-Waynesboro) should remain chairman of an education subcommittee given allegations of sexual misconduct with teenage basketball players when he was their high school coach in the 1980s.
House GOP split on whether Rep. David Byrd should serve as subcommittee chairman; some call for inquiry https://t.co/TNmdob8kJ4 via @Tennessean
— Joel Ebert (@joelebert29) March 25, 2019
Byrd has not specifically denied the allegations made by a woman who recorded a phone call with the lawmaker in which he apologized for unspecified past transgressions.
House Republican leadership tried to keep members from answering questions from the newspaper’s reporters, urging them to direct questions to caucus spokespeople. Eleven members declined to answer questions, while others spoke on condition of anonymity.
