Tennessee House leaders set deadline on petitions to expel Durham, Armstrong
NASHVILLE — Tennessee House leaders have set an Aug. 5 deadline for representatives to sign two dueling petitions calling for a special session.
The first petition is aimed at expelling scandal-ridden Rep. Jeremy Durham, R-Franklin, whom a number of state Capitol interns, staffers and lobbyists have accused of sexual harassment or inappropriate behavior in an investigation by Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery.
Petition No. 2 targets both Durham and Rep. Joe Armstrong, D-Knoxville, who is about to go on federal trial next month on fraud and tax evasion charges.
As of Wednesday morning, just four of the 66 members needed to call the Republican-controlled House into special session had signed the Durham-only petition.
Likewise, only four lawmakers had signed the competing petition for a special session that would seek to oust both Durham and Armstrong. The Democrat is set to go on trial early next month on charges he schemed to help pass a cigarette tax increase and bought $250,000 worth of stamps at the old rate and paid no federal taxes on his gains.
House Majority Leader Gerald McCormick, R-Chattanooga, is spearheading the Durham-only effort. House Republican Caucus Chairman Glenn Casada of Franklin, a Durham mentor, later began pushing the second petition aimed at expelling both Durham and Armstrong.
In an interview Wednesday, McCormick said there may be problems in getting the necessary twothirds of House members — 66 of 99 representatives — to agree to either petition.
“I have had some people who’ve shown some resistance based on the idea that they don’t want to drag the victims of Durham, in particular the victims of what he has done, out in the limelight,” McCormick said. “… So we may have trouble getting to 66. I just don’t know. But I think this will flush everybody out pretty quick.”
Both petitions became available only late last week. Officials say the task of getting signatures has been complicated because House rules do not permit electronic signatures on petitions by lawmakers seeking to call themselves into special session.
Thus, supporters in the House for one or both petitions were faced with driving to Nashville — a fiveto six-hour trek for lawmakers from Northeast Tennessee — to sign the petitions.
McCormick, who signed both petitions, said he thinks the Aug. 5 signature deadline provides adequate time.
“If people want to sign it they can come sign it,” he said. “I wanted to do it by Aug. 5 so we could have the special session by Aug. 15, as that falls into a good time” following a widely attended National Conference of State Legislatures conference and before other events.
Republicans have 73 members in the House, while Democrats have 26.
Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery’s report on his monthslong investigation into the allegations against the 32-year-old Durham were released only in mid-July by a special House panel.
Armstrong was indicted late last year by a federal grand jury.
Some lawmakers said they hope they can print out the first page of the special session petition, physically sign it, and mail it to legislative leaders and be counted. McCormick, however, said he wasn’t sure about that.
But he said if the Aug. 5 signing deadline is close to being met, leaders could extend it.
Durham has suspended his re-election campaign and many here hope that if he loses, as many expect, he will go ahead and resign. Democrats have sought to capitalize politically on Durham and House leaders’ response to the allegations.
And if Armstrong is convicted — he and Durham both say they have done nothing wrong — the hope is he would resign.
Democrats have hammered Republicans for months about Durham. More recently, they have said if Durham doesn’t resign, his term will expire the day of the Nov. 8 general election, and by that time he will be vested in the state employees’ pension and eligible for taxpayer-funded benefits when he reaches the required age.
Durham already will be eligible to keep his state health insurance for life, which taxpayers pay the bulk of.
Contact staff writer Andy Sher at asher@timesfreepress.com or 615255-0550. Follow on Twitter @AndySher1.
“… we may have trouble getting to 66. I just don’t know. But I think this will flush everybody out pretty quick.” — HOUSE MAJORITY LEADER GERALD MCCORMICK, R-CHATTANOOGA