Tennessee

REVEALED: ‘Rigged’ elections affect whose voices really matter in Tennessee politics, Republican says

Published

2 years ago

May 22, 2023

REVEALED: ‘Rigged’ elections affect whose voices really matter in Tennessee politics, Republican says

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — From Nashville celebrities to moms and dads, as well as schoolchildren, we’ve heard the pleas for Tennessee lawmakers to do something about gun violence following The Covenant School shooting.

So why does it seem those lawmakers aren’t really listening?

The heart of the problem, our investigation discovered, is how our elections, in the words of one prominent Republican, are “rigged.” Lawmakers draw district lines to increase their party’s chances of winning elections — a process known as “gerrymandering.”

“All you have to do is worry about winning the primary. You don’t have to worry about winning a general election challenge,” said longtime Tennessee Republican Zack Wamp.

“What does that do? It means you can hide in the bosom of your party, raise money for the party, cheerlead for the party, suck up to the party leadership, and you get to stay in office.”

The first day of the 2023 legislative session back in January was a time of excitement and of hope.

Dan Blommel/WTVF

Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton takes the oath of office as lawmakers are sworn in for the 2023 session

NewsChannel 5 Investigates asked House Speaker Cameron Sexton, “When you look at the new House, do you think that reflects Tennesseans?”

“I think it does,” Sexton said.

“The voters are the ones who are making Tennessee red, are the ones who are turning Tennessee Republicans into office.”

But, in less than three months, the House would face protests calling for tighter gun laws following the Covenant shooting, a protest on the House floor and a vote to expel the so-called Tennessee Three.

Tennessee gun violence protests.jpeg — Gun violence protests outside Tennessee state Capitol

All of those events raised questions about how well Tennessee’s Republican supermajority truly represents the majority of Tennesseans.

“What is disorderly is a body that has used voter suppression and rigged maps to take control of our state,” one of the Tennessee Three, Rep. Justin Jones, D-Nashville, argued during his expulsion hearing.

Zach Wamp, the Republican who served eight terms in Congress and ran for governor, said gerrymandering does create districts that may not be in sync with voters.

“On the general rule, no, all across the country, these districts do not represent the makeup of the constituency, of the people. Tennessee is another example of it,” Wamp told NewsChannel 5 Investigates.

Wamp co-chairs Issue One, a group that champions reforms to fix our broken political system, including concerns over gerrymandering.

Phil Williams interviews Zach Wamp.jpeg — Former Republican congressman Zach Wamp

“It is a way to rig the election,” he acknowledged.

When Wamp looks at the Tennessee General Assembly, he also sees members of his own party who have been able to solidify their grip on power by drawing district lines to their advantage.

“The easiest way to win in elections,” Wamp explained, “is if you have the pen in your hand and you get to draw the lines that you are running in, basically to choose your own voters. If you can do that, that’s the easiest way to win.”

In fact, one of the Tennessee Three, Rep. Gloria Johnson, D-Knoxville, had become such a pain in the side of Sexton and House Republicans that last year they redrew the lines of her district so she no longer lived in the district she had represented.

“This is what the entire map that the Republicans drew did: we’re going to let our elected officials choose their voters, instead of allowing the voters to choose who they want to represent them,” Johnson said.

NewsChannel 5 Investigates asked, “And you reacted by?”

“I moved back into my district,” Johnson said with a hearty laugh.

The Knoxville Democrat was re-elected.

Gloria Johnson (1).jpeg — Rep. Gloria Johnson, D-Knoxville

A lot of people think of Tennessee as a solid red Republican state.

But, if you look at the last three presidential elections, Republicans tend to get about 60 percent of the vote, Democrats still get 40 percent.”

In the Tennessee House of Representatives, Republicans have drawn the lines so they have 76% of the seats, giving them the power to shut off all debate.

And, in the state Senate, it’s even worse. Republicans control 82% of the seats.”

Then, there’s the battle for Tennessee’s nine seats in the U.S. House.

Statewide, the Republican candidates got 65 percent of the votes, Democrats 35 percent.

But because of gerrymandering, eight out of nine congressional districts — or 89% — went to Republicans.

Tennessee congressional map.jpeg — Tennessee’s latest congressional map gives eight out of nine seats to Republicans

Republicans got there by dividing Democratic Nashville among three Republican districts.

“Truth is not partisan. The truth transcends and the truth is gerrymandering is not right. It’s actually now gotten goofy,” Wamp said.

That brings us back to the gun protests.

According to the Vanderbilt Poll:

Tennesseans overwhelmingly favor universal background checks for anyone who buys a gun (regardless of whether it’s from a gun store or a private individual).
They also support red-flag laws to take firearms out of the hands of mentally unstable people.
And they back safe-storage laws to keep guns out of the hands of children and criminals.

But Tennessee’s Republican supermajority, most who don’t have to worry about winning general elections, have refused to consider any of those solutions.

NewsChannel 5 Investigates noted to Wamp, “Some of your Republican friends say, well, that’s the way the game is played.”

“Yes, it’s easy to say that,” he answered, “but honestly if you’re honest about it, no, that’s because it’s convenient to say that. It’s really not best for the people.”

Wamp thinks it would be better if lawmakers would let someone else draw the district lines.

“The solution, Phil, is nonpartisan commissions at the state level should redraw these lines, not the political parties. And that’s not popular in my party because I’m from Tennessee, and our party is a majority party so it benefits our party to keep it the way it is.”

And just as Wamp predicted, House Speaker Cameron Sexton was quick to dismiss the suggestion.

House Speaker Cameron Sexton and Phil Williams.jpeg — House Speaker Cameron Sexton interviewed by Phil Williams

“Even the states who have a board who redistrict, it’s still political and they still go to court. So there is no perfect way,” he insisted.

Wamp’s response?

“I get it, and I very much respect Cameron Sexton, but I disagree with him on this.”

With Tennesseans increasingly feeling that their legislature doesn’t represent them, Wamp says failure to address this core issue will only increase the public sense that the legislature is out of touch with them and their lives.

“I guarantee you, if all the framers came out of the grave — the framers of the U.S. Constitution — and looked at this today, they would go, “Whoa, whoa, whoa, you should never have done that, y’all.”

This is also an issue in some states controlled by Democrats.

In eight states, citizen initiatives have resulted in the creation of nonpartisan commissions to redraw district lines.

Another option that Zach Wamp has supported for almost 20 years is federal legislation to require it.

But, with our divided government in Washington, that doesn’t appear to be in the cards at the moment.

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Tennessee

Hints of drama, yet hope for future as new city commission takes reins in Millersville, Tennessee

Published

7 hours ago

December 18, 2024

Press Room

Hints of drama, yet hope for future as new city commission takes reins in Millersville, Tennessee

WTVF

May 20, 2024: Meet Millersville’s conspiracy cop. He imagines sinister plots involving some of the country’s most prominent political figures. Taylor recently landed in Millersville as assistant police chief, promising to root out the corruption he sees there. You can continue reading at this hyperlink.

May 22, 2024: The controversy over Millersville’s conspiracy cop has now become the latest scandal rocking the tiny town just north of Nashville. Now, two city commissioners want a special meeting to figure out how Shawn Taylor landed his job. You can continue reading Part Two at this link.

May 24, 2024:  An attorney for Millersville conspiracy cop Shawn Taylor has told Millersville’s city commission, whom he also represents, that they should not question the assistant police chief’s bizarre theories or psychological fitness. You can read more of this installment at this link.

May 28, 2024: New podcast video, uncovered by NewsChannel 5 Investigates, reveals how Shawn Taylor spread false and dangerous conspiracy theories about last year’s Covenant School shooting that left three students and three staff members dead. You can click here to review that story.

May 28, 2024: Anna Caudill agreed to watch the video of Shawn Taylor knowing there might be only so much she could handle. Among the three children and three adults killed that day was her friend, Katherine Koonce. You can read more of Anna’s story by tapping on this link.

Anna Caudill and Phil Williams.jpeg — “So we’ll start this and then, when you’ve had enough you just stop it”

June 3, 2024: First, he went after Millersville’s former mayor. Now, the town’s assistant police chief says his two critics on the city commission could be next. Shawn Taylor made those comments as he turned to a group of far-right podcasters to defend himself. Tap this link to read from those Taylor’s accused.

June 4, 2024: Millersville officials are standing with their assistant police chief and his bizarre conspiracy theories regarding Nashville’s Covenant School shooting. Read how this meeting played out at this link.

June 5, 2024: Bryant Kroll wears a lot of hats. He’s the attorney representing the embattled City of Millersville. He also represents Mayor Tommy Long, who faces accusations of misconduct in an ouster suit. Plus, he’s the attorney for Bryan Morris and Shawn Taylor. To understand the role he plays, you can read that here.

June 6, 2024: In Shawn Taylor’s world — in the immortal words of Taylor Swift — “I’m the problem, it’s me.” I explain how we got here in this piece,  which you can click on here.

June 18, 2024: Millersville’s conspiracy cop now has his very own conspiracy-minded attorney. Now, our NewsChannel 5 investigation has discovered that Todd Callender’s own theories are sometimes even more far-fetched than Taylor’s twisted view of the world. Click here to read more about Shawn Taylor’s attorney.

July 15, 2024:  What happens when you give people with bizarre conspiracy theories a gun and a badge? Secret recordings from inside the troubled Millersville Police Department provide a sobering answer to that question. Read more on this investigation by tapping here.

Team Mongoose Group Pic.jpg — Team pic shared by Shawn Taylor

July 22, 2024: In an explosive new development that could bring new trouble for the already-troubled Millersville Police Department, a key player in a child-predator sting says the lead detective on that operation lied under oath. You can read more about that by clicking here.

July 23, 2024: District Attorney General Robert Nash has asked the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to look into the Millersville Police Department’s handling of a child predator sting, including possible perjury by the lead detective. You can read more about that by tapping here.

July 29, 2024:  The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has expanded its probe of the embattled Millersville Police Department, now looking into allegations that officials may have used sensitive law enforcement data to investigate their political enemies. Read more about that by clicking here.

August 5, 2024: With the Millersville Police Department now the focus of a TBI investigation, NewsChannel 5 Investigates has uncovered new questions about the stories that conspiracy cop Shawn Taylor tells about himself. You can catch up on the investigation by tapping here.

August 12, 2024: In a perplexing pair of podcast interviews, the Millersville chief of police says the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has begun limiting his department’s access to certain sensitive law enforcement data. Read more about this latest development here.

August 26, 2024: He has helped to fuel some of the wild conspiracy theories inside the troubled Millersville Police Department. He is a self-proclaimed pedophile hunter who believes America is controlled by what he calls “a satanic cult masquerading as Jews.” Read more about Craig Sawyer by clicking here.

Craig Sawyer on InfoWars.jpeg — Craig Sawyer announces the formation of Veterans for Child Rescue on Alex Jones’ show on InfoWars.

August 27, 2024: Craig Sawyer’s response to my investigation illustrates how conspiracy theorists frequently use wild accusations and blustery language to avoid giving real answers about their bizarre beliefs. Tap here to watch as we dissect his 90-minute diatribe.

September 4, 2024: Tennessee Bureau of Investigation agents raided the Millersville Police Department and Shawn Taylor’s home, executing a pair of search warrants as the criminal investigation into the troubled agency enters a dramatic new phase. Read more about this new twist in the Millersville investigation.

TBI removes boxes from Millersville PD.jpeg — TBI agents load up boxes of evidence seized from the Millersville Police Department on Sept. 4, 2024.

September 10, 2024: “No, a TBI agent didn’t pee in Shawn Taylor’s tub, agency says in response to Taylor’s latest claim.” The headline says it all. Click here.

September 19, 2024: QAnon-aligned voices of the far right are threatening retaliation against a judge, a district attorney and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation agents for their roles in the recent Millersville raids. Details posted here.

October 7, 2024: A well-known Arizona election denier says his group — working through Millersville’s conspiracy-minded assistant police chief — gained access to a highly confidential federal database that tracks Americans’ banking transactions and other financial data. Read the exclusive story here.

October 22, 2024: Two key GOP lawmakers – the chairman and a member of the state House committee that oversees the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation – recently warned the agency that it could face “unnecessary political fallout” if it does not end its criminal probe into the troubled Millersville Police Department. You can read the letter here.

October 24, 2024: A letter from two GOP lawmakers, which appeared to threaten the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation for its probe of the Millersville Police Department, was the “wrong way to go,” House Speaker Cameron Sexton said. But there is more to the speaker’s reaction.

December 9, 2024: Shawn Taylor, the conspiracy-minded cop now at the center of a criminal investigation, has resigned from his position as assistant chief for the Millersville Police Department after less than a year on the job. Read more here.

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Tennessee

Tennessee looks like a heavyweight

Published

15 hours ago

December 18, 2024

Press Room

Tennessee’s 84-36 win over Western Carolina tonight was a textbook, pre-Christmas non-conference blowout. The Vols looked how you’d expect the No. 1 team in the nation to look against a 3-6 Southern Conference team, barely breaking a sweat in a 48 point win.

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Tennessee

New York Jets Interview Former Tennessee Titans General Manger for Opening

Published

23 hours ago

December 17, 2024

Press Room

New York Jets Interview Former Tennessee Titans General Manger for Opening

The New York Jets offseason is going to be a busy one with all of the vacancies that they have to fill.

Before even worrying about the roster, they need a new regime in place to lead the football operations. While head coaching interviews will begin in a few weeks, the process to replace general manager Joe Douglas on a full-time basis has already started.

The team is going to cast a wide net when it comes to candidates, looking far and wide for the next person to lead the front office.

One of the more popular names that has been linked to the opening so far is Jon Robinson, who completed his interview with the team on Tuesday. The Jets have decided to announce when interviews are completed.

On Monday, New York announced it had interviewed former Atlanta Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff. ESPN analyst Louis Riddick is also reportedly on the list of initial interviews.

He has prior experience in the position, as he served as general manager with the Tennessee Titans from 2016 through 2022, as he was fired on December 6 of that year.

During his tenure with the franchise, the team had a good amount of success on the field. Under his watch, the Titans were 66-48, winning at least nine games in every campaign before 2022, when they finished with seven.

Tennessee four times, advancing to the AFC Championship Game during the 2019 season before being defeated by the Kansas City Chiefs.

In the Wild Card Round, they went into Gillette Stadium and defeated the New England Patriots in what ended up being Tom Brady’s last game as their starting quarterback before heading to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Robinson has the kind of track record and experience that could appeal to New York given the current situation of the franchise. Whoever takes this job could be staring down a lengthy rebuild, and someone with experience might be able to navigate things a little more smoothly.

Hiring him could also make the Jets a more appealing landing spot for Mike Vrabel, who was the head coach of the Titans during the last five years of Robinson’s time with the team.

The two proved they could build a successful football program and would bring the kind of pedigree that could help get New York back on track after suffering their nine straight losing years and their playoff drought reaching 14 seasons.

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