Lawyers for state Sen. Charlane Oliver (D-Nashville) have sent a letter to Lt. Gov. Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) seeking to have “all punitive measures” rescinded following the senator’s protest during the final moments of May’s special session of the state legislature. During the session, state Republicans redrew the only Democratic stronghold in the state — the 9th Congressional District, which centered on Memphis and was Tennessee’s only majority-Black district.
Lt. Gov. Randy McNally removes Oliver from committee, restricts legislative pay
During her protest, Oliver stood on her desk in the Senate chamber and unfurled a sheet reading “No Jim Crow 2.0” and “Stop the TN Steal.” Meanwhile other Democratic senators stood in protest in the chamber’s well. Days later, Oliver was punished by being reassigned from the Senate Government Operations Committee to the Senate State and Local Government Committee, stripped of her per diem pay outside of regular legislative sessions, and denied any reimbursement for out-of-state legislative travel.
On Thursday, Oliver and the Tennessee Senate Democrats released the letter, which they say has received no reply from McNally or Chief Senate Clerk Russell Humphrey, who pulled the sheet from Oliver’s hands along with a sergeant-at-arms. The Democrats’ requested deadline was July 31.
Oliver’s lawyers argue that the punishments are “inconsistent with the Senate’s Rules of Order,” and that they violate the state constitution and infringe on her First Amendment rights, as well as violating the Equal Protection Clause and the Guarantee Clause of the 14th Amendment.
They also argue that the outgoing McNally doesn’t have the authority to punish Oliver after the end of the session, writing in part: “Any retrospective disciplinary measures must be undertaken by the Senate as a whole,” and, “nothing in the Rules allows the Speaker to later impose retrospective punishments to censure his colleagues for purported failures to maintain order and decorum.”
Oliver is also requesting that her opposition and no vote on redistricting be officially recorded, as she was protesting the bill as votes were cast.
“Most urgently, Senator Oliver requests that her right to receive travel reimbursement be restored for the National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL) Legislative Summit in Chicago, Illinois, from July 27-29,” the letter reads. “The NCSL Legislative Summit is the one conference that nearly every state legislator in the country attends, and attendance is crucial for Senator Oliver to do her job and serve her constituents. If Senator Oliver’s punishments are not promptly revoked, she will consider any and all avenues for seeking legal redress.”
Lt. Gov. McNally’s communications director Adam Kleinheider pushed back against the letter in a statement to Scene sister publication the Williamson Scene.
"Instead of accepting what was an entirely legal and appropriate sanction, as one would expect of someone in her position, Senator Oliver has chosen to threaten legal action,” the statement reads. “Following an embarrassing and performative display with an equally performative threat should perhaps come as no surprise — but it is disappointing nonetheless.”
The rest of the statement from McNally’s office reads as follows:
“The decision to violate the Senate’s rules of decorum was hers to make. But that decision also carried consequences.
“The claim that she was prevented from voting is simply false. The vote had been called and the board was closed, just as it was for every other senator. Even after the vote concluded, she could have gone to the clerk’s desk and requested that her vote be recorded before adjournment. Instead, she chose to continue her disruption.
“Likewise, Senator Oliver was not cut off without warning. She had already been afforded more time to speak than any other member during debate and was repeatedly advised to bring her remarks to a close. Only after those warnings were disregarded was her microphone turned off.
“At every stage, Senator Oliver had opportunities to fulfill her responsibilities as a senator. Instead, she chose to prioritize a political performance over the duties of her office. Every action Lt. Governor McNally has taken in response to her immature, aberrant and disrespectful display has been measured, appropriate and entirely legal."
