House Speaker Shocker: Little-known GOP legislator takes post with Dem support

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It is now official: There is a Republican speaker of the Tennessee State House. But his name is not Jason Mumpower.

The Tennessee House of Representatives officially installed East Tennessee Republican Rep. Kent Williams of Carter County as the Speaker for 106th General Assembly. The path to his victory was a wild one.

Democrats pulled the old switcheroo and put Williams into office to cries of "traitor" from some members of the Republican caucus. Williams had been considered a target for a Democratic vote but had maintained all along that he would vote for a Republican. In the end, he did, voting for himself.

Williams took to the well and said he understood why he was being booed and asked all to hear him out. He acknowledged in his address that he would likely lose his next election, but then said, "Today is the day that ends the reign of a great speaker, Jimmy Naifeh. Today, I realize the disappointment and hurt of a lot members, especially our leader Jason Mumpower."

He said today wasn't about Mumpower or Naifeh. It was about change. He then called for both parties to work together, saying that, for too many years, many members of a minority party have had to sit on the sideline with good ideas. He said he wanted all voices to be heard, not just one side. He wanted to work with both parties and appoint committee chairs of both parties based on experience.

A day of drama

The drama began when Democratic Leader Gary Odom motioned for a 30-minute recess after members were sworn in, to which Mumpower vehemently objected. As Speaker of the 105th General Assembly, Naifeh still presided and quickly gaveled for the recess.

Mumpower then called for a vote, which he lost when freshman Republican State Rep. Terry Lynn Weaver of Lancaster voted with Democrats. As the vote was made official, Republicans could be heard shouting for her to change her vote, which she did not do in time.

Republican legislators claimed after the vote that she had hit the wrong button. Nevertheless, it was an inauspicious beginning to her legislative career. Democrats used the time wisely, admitting later that they met with members of their caucus where their leadership told them what they were about to do and asked them to stay united. According to Odom, who met with reporters after Williams was sworn in, most members had been informed just before session began at noon but they wanted the recess to educate a few late arriving members and make sure everyone was on board.

Asked if they could have pulled it off without Weaver's recess vote, Democratic Caucus Leader Mike Turner of Nashville joked that they "already had her vote" but then said that they would have found a way to make the other members aware.

When the House came back, Mumpower was nominated by his colleagues. That is when things became more tense. Naifeh recognized Republican State Rep. Glen Casada of Franklin. Casada called for nominations to cease, a motion that was seconded — all this before Democrats could place Naifeh's name in nomination. At least it was expected that it would be Naifeh's name.

Democrat leader Odom was outraged and called for "fair elections" and blasted Republicans for trying to close the vote before he could put forward a Democratic nominee.

Naifeh called Casada's motion out of order, to which Mumpower objected the ruling of the chair. Mumpower's objection caused a cheer from Republicans on the floor and in the gallery, to which he quickly motioned for them to be quiet.

Naifeh then asked both Mumpower and Odom to approach the well of the House to discuss the matter among the three of them and the legal counsel of the House.

After a brief discussion, Mumpower withdrew his objection and then gave the floor back to Naifeh. It was pointed out later by Democratic members that for Mumpower to have prevailed on the vote he would have needed a two-thirds majority vote of the House, which never would have happened.

A surprise nomination

Then came the surprise. Odom and the Democrats nominated Republican Rep. Kent Williams for the position of Speaker of the House.

First, each Democrat was called one by one and had to say either "Mumpower" or "Williams." Republicans legislators had been whispering for weeks that they had anywhere from two to six Democratic votes lined up for Mumpower. It turns out they did not, all 49 Democrats voted for Williams.

When the Democrats were finished voting, a roll call in alphabetical order was called of members of the Republican caucus, to which Williams was the last name on the list. When he voted for himself, there was a gasp of exasperation and anger from the House gallery and from GOP legislators who started booing and someone yelled out "traitor."

After the vote, Democrats applauded the new speaker while Republican legislators were visibly shaken. Some members were seen crying while others appeared outwardly agitated. Mumpower, the GOP minority leader and architect of the party winning a majority in the House, wore a clear look of disappointment.

Williams was sworn in and took the gavel, but then turned over the gavel to Naifeh and asked him to serve as "Speaker for the day" — a moment that was likely a political dagger in a lot of Republican hearts.

Then came the vote for Speaker Pro Tempore, and the Democratic nomination of Rep. Lois Deberry of Memphis to retain her post. Mumpower called for a recess which was quickly granted without objection by Naifeh.

After the recess, Republicans changed up their plans and nominated Republican Rep. Beth Harwell of Nashville to serve as Speaker Pro Tempore instead of State Rep. Steve McDaniel as they had previously planned to do. The result was the same, however, Deberry won the seat with Williams casting the deciding vote.

GOP offers no kind words

Republican words were not kind for Williams after the scene in the House chambers.

"I'm not really all that surprised,” noted State Rep. Frank Nicely, “It is interesting. We were depending on honor, which is scarce these days. You can't force someone to be honorable, it comes from the inside out not the outside in."

Other Republicans were not so philosophical. Rep. Stacey Campfield of Knoxville called Williams "a puppet for Jimmy Naifeh" while State Rep. Brian Kelsey of Memphis echoed that and added that Williams was "clearly incompetent." Kelsey was likely referring to Williams handing the gavel back to Naifeh and the fact that Williams at times struggled with procedural rules when he was running the legislative session.

For their part, Democrats were clearly more excited. Odom said that he looked forward to working with Williams, who he said was, "non-partisan, fair, and would work hard for the people of Tennessee."

Naifeh said that it had become apparent at 5 p.m. Monday night that he wasn't going to have the votes for Speaker and that he and Democrats went with Williams because they thought it was best for Tennessee and Tennessee employees. According to Naifeh, Democrats believed that if Mumpower were Speaker along with Republican Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey many state employees would have been put out of work.

Asked who put the plan together, Democrats gave much of the credit to Odom. Odom said that he had a cup of coffee with Williams at his restaurant over Thanksgiving weekend while visiting upper East Tennessee. When Williams was asked if he wanted to be speaker if Naifeh couldn't get the votes, Odom said that Williams thought he was joking.

As to charges that Williams will be Naifeh's "puppet" Naifeh said, "I'm gonna sit back and let the Speaker be the Speaker." He then said he would be available to counsel when necessary, something he said he had told Mumpower he would do if Mumpower won.

Mumpower was circumspect when meeting with reporters after losing the battle. He claimed to have never taken the race for granted and that he and his caucus will "continue to work hard for the people of Tennessee."

An interesting footnote overheard in the House gallery when Odom placed Williams’ name up for nomination. Former Republican Congressman Van Hilleary turned to someone and asked, "Who is that guy?".

We will all find out soon enough.

For a summary of online banter about the Speaker election, visit our blog Post Politics.