One Politician’s Plunge

In the end, Ronnie Steine quit talking. That, in and of itself, was as sure a sign as any that he had resigned. After a rapid-fire series of gut-busting news stories that revealed him to be a liar, a petty thief and a public official willing to use his connections to conceal his transgressions, the city’s vice mayor—and number two official—resigned his office Tuesday. Days earlier, he had jettisoned his promising congressional campaign. Days earlier, as well, he had said he would remain as vice mayor.

All told, it was one of the more startling political implosions ever witnessed in Davidson County politics.

“Unbelievable,” muttered friend and political ally Chris Ferrell, an at-large Metro Council member.

Upon being told of his resignation, Nashville Mayor Bill Purcell and top officials gathered to make sure the wheels of governance would grind on.

“There is great sadness in this announcement, as it cuts short an elected term of office and a man’s role in public service,” Purcell said, “and because it follows a period of personal anguish and sorrow.”

While not quite up to the level of Richard Nixon waving from a helicopter door, the moment still required an element of constitutional rule-following. Steine’s resignation from the top executive position in Metro Council was officially submitted to the Metro Clerk’s office. Following Metro Charter rules, the vacancy will be filled by the vice mayor pro tem, who is Howard Gentry. A new vice mayor will be elected in August coinciding with the county general election.

Shortly after news of Steine’s resignation became public, he released a prepared statement, in the form of a copy of his letter to the clerk’s office, but was unavailable for further comment.

“I have always aspired to dedicate my career to serving this city and the community I love so much,” he wrote. “For me, public service is a calling which demands the highest standards. The events of the last few days show I have not lived up to those standards.

“Out of respect for this office, my council colleagues and my many co-workers, I feel I can no longer effectively fulfill my duties as vice mayor. I hereby submit my resignation effective this day....” Steine’s statement went on to say that he will now “focus my time and energies on my responsibilities to my family, my friends and myself.”

Steine’s swift and sudden departure was the dramatic last act in a play that only began last Friday. Then, Steine admitted to a shoplifting charge on Dec. 22 of last year. To his credit, he had walked into the offices of The Tennessean to tell all. The problem was, he didn’t.

“Have you ever shoplifted before?” the newspaper asked. He replied, “No.” He was also asked, “Have you ever been arrested or charged before?” He replied, “No,” going on to say that parking and speeding tickets were all he had ever “encountered.” (He has four outstanding parking tickets totaling $81, but no other outstanding tickets or citations.) As television news programs and The Tennessean would later report, however, Steine had another shoplifting arrest, this one in the mid- to late 1980s. This did nothing to impress District Attorney General Torry Johnson, who said that had he known about Steine’s first arrest, he would not have treated Steine’s 2001 infraction so lightly. (Steine was treated as a first-time offender for the second arrest, which meant he attended a counseling class and his record was expunged. Strangely, Johnson says he cannot find any records of Steine’s first arrest.)

Even as all of this was taking place, and Steine’s inner political circle, close friends and family members were debating whether he should leave the vice mayor’s post, the Scene was investigating other damaging reports about the embattled political figure.

A serious collector of political memorabilia, Steine is being accused of pilfering various political buttons to add to his collection from another local collector named Peggy Dillard. A staunch Democrat and retired school social worker, Dillard claims that on three separate occasions Steine stole political memorabilia that she had collected. She also says that he later threatened her through an intermediary when she told others about what happened.

“Clearly his behavior is pathological, and I have concerns about him,” says Dillard, who shared her story only after the Scene contacted her to confirm such reports. “He needs to get help for himself.”

One bumbling exit

In the last week, Steine’s world came crashing down around him. His stunning citywide confessionals, which began at The Tennessean and then wound their way to just about every other media outlet in the city, were designed to show his openness to facing his charges and acknowledging he had done wrong. But in the end, he only lived up to what he said in one of his interviews: “I am an idiot.”