Lamar set to fill Robinson’s Senate seat
State Rep. will serve in post until Nov. election
After multiple rounds of voting and several stalemates that dragged on into Thursday night, State. Rep. London Lamar, D-memphis, was selected as interim senator filling the Tennessee State Senate District 33 seat formerly held by Katrina Robinson.
Lamar will serve until the Nov. 8, 2022 election.
Speaking to commissioners Thursday, Lamar stressed that her current district in the Tennessee House overlaps with Senate District 33.
“My passion for public service goes beyond relationships, merit and experience,” Lamar said. “I have consistently gone above and beyond of what is required of my district.”
District 33 “is in my blood,” she said. Commissioners will now have to decide whether to appoint someone for the vacancy representing House District 91.
Up for consideration for the Senate District 33 seat were five candidates: Lamar, State Rep. Torrey Harris, Dmemphis, Rhonnie Brewer, Frederick Tappan and Hastina Robinson.
A sixth, Kasandra Smith, a Democrat employed by the Memphis Police Department, withdrew her application from consideration.
Lamar, Tappan, Brewer and Robinson have all pulled petitions to seek the four-year term on the district 33 seat.
The vacancy was created when Katrina Robinson was expelled by the Senate in a 27-5 vote early this month, the first expulsion of a senator in Tennessee history.
A jury had found Katrina Robinson guilty of four charges of wire fraud related to less than $3,500. Last month, a federal judge acquitted her of two of the charges, but upheld the remaining two and declined her request for a new trial. The charges are unrelated to her role in the Tennessee General Assembly.
Katrina Robinson was present at
the Shelby County Commission meeting Thursday, sitting on the front row beside Harris, who she had endorsed as her replacement.
The Republicans on the Shelby County Commission initially threw their support behind Tappan, senior pastor of Eureka Truevine Baptist Church and also a Republican. When it became clear that they did not have enough votes for Tappan to gain the appointment, they supported Brewer, a Democrat and chief executive officer at Progeny Place, a nonprofit that does workforce development and small business support.
She also is labor liaison at United Way of the Mid-south. In 2018, she unsuccessfully ran for the Shelby County School Board.
The Democrats on the Shelby County Commission were initially split between Lamar, Harris and Brewer. Eventually, Lamar and Brewer became the remaining two candidates, with votes twice being stuck with five for Lamar and six for Brewer. Seven votes were required for a candidate to gain the appointment.
When Commissioner Tami Sawyer arrived from a class, bringing the number of commissioners from 11 to 12, the vote between the two became tied: Six for Lamar and six for Brewer.
The commission then decided to hold a 30 minute recess, waiting for the 13th commissioner, David Bradford, a Republican, to arrive.
In the final vote, nine votes were cast for Lamar and four for Brewer (Edmund Ford Jr., Eddie Jones Jr., Amber Mills and Mark Billingsley).
Ford motioned that the commission approve Lamar’s nomination with unanimous consent, which the commission approved.
In addition to her work representing House District 91, Lamar is owner and founder of The L2 Company, a consulting firm, and trainer with Progressive Governance Academy. She chairs the Shelby County Delegation of State Legislators.
In seeking the appointment, she was often pitted against Harris, who currently represents House District 90. He is also works in human relations for the Shelby County Assessor’s Trustee’s Office.
Harris’ decision to seek the interim appointment for Senate District 33 came after his current seat in the House, District 90, was drawn into Lamar’s district.
Tappan is senior pastor of Eureka Truevine Baptist Church.
Hastina Robinson works as an emergency medical technician at Abundant Care Ambulance Service. A former felon whose charges from 1987-1994 have since been expunged, Hastina Robinson also mentors people with criminal backgrounds.
Commissioners Thursday asked candidates whether they planned to run for a four-year term representing District 33, whether they supported Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee’s plan to change the state’s Basic Education Program (BEP) formula and how they would work to solve issues with crime, education and in the workplace.
Lamar said it’s important to ensure that the state is putting money toward the BEP so the burden isn’t entirely on local governments, and also important to invest in teacher pay. She also stressed holding parents accountable who are not engaging their children in the school system, also providing resources to allow them to be better parents.
She also spoke about how she’s currently working on a bill that will create a multiagency approach to gun violence prevention and spoke about the importance of youth employment programs to help youth avoid getting into trouble.
At the end of Thursday’s meeting, commissioners asked Katrina Robinson to say a few words. While she had endorsed Harris, she was happy with Lamar’s appointment and “so, so proud” of her, she said.
“I just want to say it has been an honor and a privilege to serve the people of Senatorial District 33 of Tennessee,” Robinson said.
“I have enjoyed that and I have also grieved in not being able to do that. I have also found solace in knowing you have put someone in this position who will work as hard as I did in this position.”