Sumner County Mayor Anthony Holt referred to a conservative-minded group as “radical,” and forbid any future meetings of the group from being held in a county building.
The “radical” group that Holt called out is the Sumner County Republican Assembly (SCRA), a chapter of the Tennessee Republican Assembly.
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Members of the Tennessee Republican Assembly (TNRA) on Thursday called upon state legislators to officially censure newly-elected State Rep. London Lamar (D-Memphis) for saying Tennessee is racist and its Republican voters are uneducated. As reported, Lamar livestreamed those controversial comments on her Facebook page last week. She removed the video a few days later, but only after The Tennessee Star broke the story last weekend. The story has since gone viral worldwide. A censure is a formal reprimand. In a press release, TNRA members said Lamar is guilty of “propagating racial divisiveness unbecoming any elected official.” TNRA President Sharon Ford told The Star she and other board members decided censure is appropriate. “We were all equally incensed that any elected official would portray a group of people in such a racist manner,” Ford said. Lamar did apologize, as reported, but Ford said it was “not effective.” “It was more like ‘Oh, I’m sorry you people got offended,’ Ford said. “People need to understand this has not gone viral in the traditional sense. It is on the British Daily Mail. It went right across the pond. This is not acceptable, and my concern is there won’t be due diligence done on it…
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When The Tennessee Star asked State Rep. Barry “Boss” Doss (R-Leoma) why his company’s Doss Brothers, Inc. construction equipment was seen at a $2.2 million road construction project in Ardmore, the chairman of the House Transportation Committee who pushed Gov. Haslam’s gas tax increase through the Tennessee House of Representatives said “The turn lane being constructed in Ardmore on SR 7 was announced 2 years ago and was set to bid before the improve act was introduced! Doss brothers inc. did not bid on the project!” Doss did not deny, however, that the construction company he owns, Doss Brothers, Inc., is working on the project. The Star can now confirm, based on documents obtained from the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) in a public records request, that Doss Brothers, Inc. is listed by the Rogers Group, the contractor who was awarded the $2.2 million project on March 31, 2017, as a subcontractor performing “earthwork” and “concrete flatwork” work on the project. [pdf-embedder url=”https://tennesseestar.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/TDOT_Rogers_DossBrothers_March312017.pdf”] The name of the “earthworks” subcontractor on the TDOT form for that March 31, 2017 contract awarded to the Rogers Group is Doss Brothers, Inc. Doss Brothers, Inc. is also named as the “concrete flatwork” subcontractor in that…
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NASHVILLE, Tennessee — Free-market economist Stephen Moore slammed U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) in a speech Saturday when talking about “turncoat” Republicans who did not support a recent Republican-led Senate effort to repeal Obamacare. He said the Tennessee senator is “leading the charge” to preserve Obamacare in some form. Last month, Alexander was one of seven Republicans to vote against a strong repeal amendment sponsored by Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY). “What he is doing right now behind the scenes is a betrayal,” said Moore, the senior economic contributor for FreedomWorks and a fellow at the Heritage Foundation. Moore is a frequent commentator on TV and a former Wall Street Journal editorial board member. Moore spoke at a breakfast hosted by the Tennessee Republican Assembly at Glenwood Baptist Church in Nashville. The meeting was to be held at Dairy King next door, but had to be moved because of rain damage at the restaurant. Business leader Andrew Puzder, who was at one point President Trump’s nominee for labor secretary, also spoke at the event. “This is a very dangerous moment right now,” Moore said. “If Lamar has his way, we will permanently enshrine Obamacare into the budget. We will never get rid of…
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NASHVILLE, Tennessee–The Tennessee Republican Assembly honored State Rep. Andy Holt (R-Dresden) with the presentation of its first annual Gold Star “Principles Over Politics” Award at its meeting in Nashville on Saturday. TRA President Sharon Ford presented Holt with the award, in recognition of his long standing championship of conservative principles in the Tennessee General Assembly. “Andy Holt first went to the Tennessee House of Representatives as a legislator,” Ford said. “He has become a statesman.” Ford said that Holt had been singled out for calling for a stop to tax payers paying for the lavish lifestyles of state legislators. “Did you know your taxpayer dollars are being used to host fancy parties with open bars, live entertainment, and all you can eat shrimp, steak and other fine eats? Of course, you’re not invited- even though it’s your money… Ruling class only. The culture of elitism is about to come to an end!” the TRA website says of the practice. First elected in 2010, Holt has become known for his inerrant defense of conservative principles and his uncanny ability to generate publicity for his cause. This personal characteristic, Ford noted, that was not unlike President Donald Trump. State Senator Mae…
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The Tennessee Republican Assembly has asked Speaker Beth Harwell (R-Nashville) to begin an ethics investigation of the business conduct of State Rep. Barry Doss (R-Leoma), a vocal supporter of Gov. Haslam’s gas tax increase proposal, over potential Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) contracts for his firm. “The Tennessee Republican Assembly (TRA) is calling upon you, Speaker Beth Harwell, to investigate a potential ethics violation by Rep. Barry Doss, who also serves as Chair of the Transportation Committee,” the organization said in a letter dated March 27 signed by its entire leadership team and hand delivered to members of the Tennessee House of Representatives on Tuesday. “Chairman Doss should have recused himself from the proceedings that could potentially have a direct financial impact on his business,” the TRA said of his oversight of the Transportation Committee as it considered the gas tax increase proposal last week. “In this role, Rep. Doss has the capability to sway the committee by means of influence or by manipulation of the rules governing the committee derived from Mason’s Manual,” the letter continued. “In a stunning abuse of power, State Rep. Barry Doss (R-Leoma) broke a long-standing rule of the Tennessee House of Representatives to ram…
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