Harwell appoints PAC treasurer to TN State Museum governing board
House Speaker Beth Harwell has reappointed Deputy Speaker Steve McDaniel to the governing board of the Tennessee State Museum, but is giving her own seat on the panel to Tina Hodges, CEO of Nashville-based Advance Financial.
Harwell had previously appointed herself to a four-year term on the Douglas Henry State Museum Commission that officially expired June 30, but she continued to serve through the panel’s July 3 meeting, as allowed under relevant rules allowing an appointee to stay aboard until a successor is appointed, said Kara Owen, spokeswoman to the speaker in response to email inquiries.
Subsequently, Owen said, Harwell appointed Hodges, who already serves – by appointment of Gov. Bill Haslam – on the board of directors for Volunteer Tennessee, a group that has the declared mission of promoting “volunteerism and community service” by Tennesseans. She is currently listed as vice chairman.
Hodges also serves as treasurer of Advance PAC, a political action committee operated by Advance Financial. A check of the Registry of Election Finance website for 2015 and 2016 shows Advance PAC giving Harwell’s reelection campaign for her state House seat $10,000 and it also donated $8,000 to the leadership PAC operated by Harwell.
Bell, Faison question validity of new state museum code of conduct
Chairmen of General Assembly’s Joint Government Operations Rule Review Committee are questioning the legality of the new operating policies adopted by the Douglas Henry State Museum Commission last week (including a controversial new ‘code of conduct,’ reports the Nashville Post.
State Sen. Mike Bell (R-Riceville) and Rep. Jeremy Faison (R-Cosby), the chairs of the committee, sent a letter to DHSMC chair Tom Smith and museum executive director Ashley Howell on Tuesday stating that the changes in the operating policies — including the controversial new code of conduct that prevents board members from disparaging the museum — should have been adopted in accordance with the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, as it is spelled out in state law.
… “In light of the statutory authority, and in accordance with the past practices of the Joint Government Operations Rule Review Committee, we strongly believe that the attached operating policies clearly meet the definition of a rule, and that those policies must be promulgates in accordance with the UAPA.”
(Note: Museum officials contend the new policy is an operating procedure and thus not a “rule,” which is subject to requirements of the UAPA, including advance notice, a public hearing, etc.)
In an interview, Bell said that he thinks the language of the enacting clause creating the DHSMC requires anything relating to the governance of the agency should fall under the UAPA.
“I have issues with the substance of the policies as well, and I know other legislators have been commenting about that,” Bell said. “But I’m very concerned with the process here, which I do not think was followed correctly.”
The new code of conduct seems designed to silence board member Victor Ashe, a former legislator and Knoxville mayor who has been a recent critic of several missteps of the board. Lt. Gov. Randy McNally criticized it last week, expressing “serious concerns.” However, DHSMC members and legislators House Speaker Beth Harwell, now a gubernatorial candidate, Rep. Steve McDaniel (R-Parkers Crossroads) and Rep. Charles Sargent (R-Franklin) all voted in support of the policy changes.
“[Commissioners] are free to talk to anyone they want to talk to and say anything they want to say. That’s still the case,” said Harwell after the meeting.
Some suggested TN political junkie weekend reading
The Douglas Henry State Museum Commission’s efforts to block Victor Ashe, or any other board member, from making negative comments about museum operations have generated a round of negative comments about museum operations. Here’s a sampler, along with other articles not involving Ashe or the museum appearing around the state during the past few days:
TN museum staff ‘off the deep end’ in blocking access to public records?
A Tennessee State Museum staffer snatched an agenda packet for Monday’s meeting of the museum’s governing board from a reporter’s hand and declared she would have to file a formal open records request to see one, according to the Nashville Scene.
The reporter was Cari Wade Gervin, who (after the episode) penned an article on the Douglas Henry State Museum Commission’s vote at the Monday meeting to adopt a new code of ethics that former Knoxville Mayor Victor Ashe, a member of the board who was absent at the session, labeled “a gag order.” It puts new restrictions on commission members speaking publicly about museum operations. (Previous post HERE.)
Excerpt from the Scene’s report (under a headline declaring, ‘State Museum staff hiding records from public’):
Gervin went to pick up a meeting agenda packet and was informed that she would have to file a written open records request with the Attorney General’s office to see one. When she tried to take a picture of one, it was grabbed out of her hand by Mary Skinner, the museum’s media relations officer. When House Speaker Beth Harwell, a commission member, gave Gervin her copy, museum staff attempted to take that one, too.
To be clear: A state employee attempted to stop a member of the press from reading a public record that should be made readily available to the public. This is actually against the law.
… “It looks like it’s an intentional attempt to keep information from the public,” says Deborah Fisher, executive director of the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government. “This commission has gone off the deep end.”
Note: Ashe is also a member of the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government board of directors. He says notice of the proposal to adopt a new code of ethics was not sent to museum commission members (via email) until 1 a.m. on Sunday morning, when the meeting was scheduled for 10 a.m. Monday.
UPDATE: On Friday, Museum Executive Director Ashley Howell sent out this statement: “In the future, the Tennessee State Museum will proactively provide all members of the media copies of agendas and accompanying materials for each Commission meeting in keeping with the practice of most state agencies. The museum’s management values transparency, and we will work diligently to abide by the state’s open records act. We appreciate and value the role of the press, and we welcome coverage of museum business.”
TN State Museum board votes to impose ‘gag order’ (Victor Ashe’s description) on its members
The governing board of the Tennessee State Museum has adopted a “astonishingly broad new code of conduct” that restricts board members’ public commentary on museum affairs, reports the Nashville Post.
The new code, which was adopted without much discussion Monday morning, was emailed to members at 1 a.m. Sunday, less than 36 hours before the vote. Although state law dictates the DHSMC (Douglas Henry State Museum Commission) should “promulgate rules and regulations” in accordance with the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act (as it is spelled out in state law), DHSMC chair Tom Smith said “operating policies” are not subject to the UAPA and thus do not need to go through the state’s lengthy notice process in advance of hearings for rule changes.
Although Smith stated repeatedly the changes to the code of conduct were not singling out any one individual commissioner, the new regulations seem specifically designed to target one particular DHSMC member — Victor Ashe, who was just reappointed to the commission for another four years and has been a regular critic of some of the commission’s recent actions.
McNally appoints ‘watchdog’ Victor Ashe to new term on state museum board
Former Knoxville Mayor Victor Ashe, who has clashed repeatedly with other members of the board governing the Tennessee State Museum in the past, was appointed Friday to a new four-year term on the panel by Lt. Gov. Randy McNally.
Further from the News Sentinel:
McNally, who shares appointments to the board formally known as the Douglas Henry State Museum Commission with House Speaker Beth Harwell, also reappointed Nancy Baker De Friece, a Bristol realtor. The old terms of both expired Friday; their new terms began Saturday.
“He’s had a great public service record – as a legislator, as a mayor, as an ambassador – and he’s also been a strong advocate of the public’s right to know,” said McNally when asked about the Ashe appointment. “Certainly, as a watchdog, he has few people who are his equal…. And we definitely need someone from Knox County on the board.”
House votes to keep hiring of TN museum director behind closed doors
Hiring procedures for the controversial state museum commission will be shielded from public oversight under a bill approved by the House Monday night, reports The Tennessean. The vote was 71-20 – the no votes including four Knoxville Republicans along with 16 Democrats.
“The museum commission has not requested this, at least not by public vote,” said Victor Ashe, a member of the board that oversees museum operations and former mayor of Knoxville. “The commission, as a board, is in the dark on this.”
The bill (HB641), sponsored by Rep. Steve McDaniel, R-Parkers Crossroads, requires that “information in the selection process for the position of director at the Tennessee State Museum be treated as confidential and that meetings pertaining to confidential information not be subject to open meetings.” (Note: McDaniel is a member of the commission and former chairman; Senate Finance Committee Chairman Bo Watson, the Senate sponsor, is also a commission member.)
…He described the current process of complying with open meetings laws as cumbersome to both the search committee and those seeking the job. McDaniel said the current laws discourage top-level talent from applying because they do not want their current employers to see they are seeking new employment. The museum recently announced the hiring the new executive director, Ashley Howell, in January. McDaniel served as the chairman of the search committee.
“We didn’t want to hide anything, but we didn’t want people losing their job because they were looking at a position we were seeking to fill with the best candidate possible,” McDaniel said.
The museum is no stranger to controversy as it prepares to move into its new $160 million facility. Hiring and spending procedures have come under the microscope at the same time their controversial former executive director Lois Riggins-Ezzell announced her retirement last December.
State Comptroller Justin Wilson ordered a special audit of the museum operations due to an alleged improper pay raise to Riggins-Ezzell authorized by McDaniel.
TN State Museum gets new executive director
News release from Tennessee State Museum
Nashville, TN — February 7, 2017— The Douglas Henry State Museum Commission announced today that Tennessee native Ashley Howell has accepted the position of executive director of the Tennessee State Museum. The commission voted to offer Howell the position at its meeting on January 24. She succeeds long serving director Lois Riggins Ezzell who retired December 31.
“Ashley Howell will bring a new level of leadership to the Tennessee State Museum,” Commission Chairman Tom Smith said. “I am confident she is the right choice at the right time. Her background in all aspects of museum management will serve us well, and her ties to Tennessee make her an ideal choice as we prepare for the new museum’s opening late next year.”
Howell, 40, currently serves as the deputy director of the Frist Center for the Visual Arts in Nashville.
New executive director picked for TN State Museum
The Douglas Henry State Museum Commission has selected Ashley Brown Howell, the deputy director at the Frist Center for the Visual Arts in Nashville, to succeed Lois Riggins-Ezell as its executive director, reports Cari Wade Gervin for the Nashville Post.
It seemed like the first motion to hire Howell failed on a voice vote. But before the Commission could take a roll call vote to confirm the failure, chair Tom Smith called for a five-minute recess. When the body returned, Smith asked that the motion to hire Howell be withdrawn, even though one cannot withdraw a motion one has voted on. However, the members went along with the violation of parliamentary procedure, and then recessed for 40 minutes. Once the meeting resumed, the DHSMC voted unanimously (with two members abstaining) to hire Howell.
TN State Museum being audited — again
The Tennessee State Museum is under audit for the third time since 2011, reports The Nashville Post.
Deputy Director Mary Jane Crockett-Green sent an email to members of the Douglas Henry State Museum Commission confirming the audit, although at least six people from the Comptroller’s office started their work the day before.
“In Chairman [Tom] Smith’s absence due to travel, I have been asked to inform you that the Office of the Comptroller of the Treasury has scheduled an audit of the State Museum for the period of January 1, 2016, through December 31, 2016,” Crockett-Green wrote. “In addition to re-examining the Museum’s internal controls and confirming that all statutory requirements are being met, one of the primary objectives of the audit is to ensure that the corrective actions to mediate past Findings are being appropriately implemented.”
The new audit follows months of extensive reporting by the Post on the troubled agency and its apparent lack of oversight by the state commission entrusted with those duties — and it follows two highly critical audits in January 2011 and September 2015. In addition to new problems, the latter audit found the museum had still not implemented several procedural changes deemed necessary by the former one.
