Tag: Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey

Former Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey Now a Lobbyist

Wendy Wilson

Former Tennessee Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey will return to the halls of the state legislature as a lobbyist. The former Republican lawmaker, who retired from the legislature in January, has accepted a position with the Nashville law firm Farrar and Bates, the firm announced this week in a news release. The firm, which specializes in the defense of real estate errors and omissions actions against real estate licensees, is expanding in the area of government relations. Ramsey will work for its new lobbying affiliate, Ramsey, Farrar and Bates. Ramsey revealed his plans in June at a Northeast Tennessee Association of Realtors (NETAR) legislative luncheon. “I’ll be working for you,” Ramsey told NETAR members, according to the Kingsport Times-News. He noted that his one-year ban from lobbying expires in November. In the law firm news release on his new post, Ramsey said,“For 30 years, Russ Farrar has been drafting legislation, managing the political landscape, and building close relationships with clients and elected officials. It is an honor to work alongside my good friend, who is a dynamic leader and has a proven record of success throughout the state. I look forward to seeing what we can accomplish together for the people of Tennessee.”…

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Former Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey: ‘I Have Never Felt the Need to Have Anything in Writing’ From Legal Counsel on Consultant Role to Pro-Gas Tax Group

Tennessee Star Staff

Former Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey tells The Tennessee Star that his legal counsel, James Weaver, a partner with the prestigious Nashville law firm Waller Lansden Dorch & Davis, who has advised him that his appearance at a WWTN Gas Tax Town Hall to advocate in favor of Gov. Haslam’s gas tax increase, a position held by his client, the Transportation Coalition of Tennessee, is “perfectly acceptable under all Tennessee laws” has done so verbally, but not in writing. “James and I have had lots of discussions about what I can and cannot do in this first year,” Ramsey tells The Star in an emailed statement. “James is an expert in this area. As my council, I have never felt the need to have anything in writing from him. I simply wanted his advice and council,” Ramsey adds in the statement. At former Lt. Gov. Ramsey’s invitation, The Star has reached out to Mr. Weaver and anticipates providing more details on the Tennessee statutes as they relate to guidelines for consulting and lobbying as they apply to former members of the Tennessee General Assembly during their first 12 months out of office. At issue is whether Ramsey, as a paid consultant…

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Former Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey: Appearance on WWTN Gas Tax Town Hall ‘Perfectly Acceptable Under All Tennessee Laws’

Tennessee Star Staff

“My appearance on the WWTN Gas Tax Town Hall program, and my statements and comments during the program, were perfectly acceptable under all Tennessee laws and in complete conformance with the rules and regulations of the Tennessee Ethics Commission,” former Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey tells The Tennessee Star in an emailed statement on Tuesday. Last week The Star broke the news that Ramsey is a paid consultant to the Tennessee Coalition on Transportation, a group that supports Gov. Haslam’s proposed gas tax. Here’s the full statement from former Lt. Gov. Ramsey:   I am more than completely confident that I have followed all the rules regarding a retired elected official in Tennessee. I have consulted with legal counsel, who advised me in great detail regarding the limitations in Tennessee’s ethics laws on my activities and my right to speak my mind as protected by the free speech protections in the Tennessee and U.S. Constitutions – the same rights enjoyed by every other person in this great state and wonderful nation. I have followed the laws and rules to the letter. I have said publicly many times that repairing our outdated transportation infrastructure funding formula was about the only important piece…

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Former Lt. Gov. Ramsey A Paid Consultant to Pro-Gas Tax Coalition

Tennessee Star Staff
Ramsey at Townhall

Former Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey told The Tennessee Star on Thursday he is a paid consultant to the Tennessee Coalition on Transportation, an advocacy group that supports Gov. Haslam’s 7 cents per gallon gas tax increase and a 12 cents per gallon diesel tax increase. Ramsey’s revelation came during a break in the two hour broadcast of the WWTN Gas Tax Town Hall, moderated by Nashville Morning News host Ralph Bristol on the Dan Mandis Show. The event featured a studio audience, which was virtually unanimous in its opposition to the gas tax. Ramsey advocated strenuously on behalf of the gas tax increase. He was one of eight panelists at the event. Other members of the panel included Andy Ogles, executive director of the Tennessee chapter of Americans for Prosperity, which opposes the gas tax, David Smith appearing on behalf of Gov. Bill Haslam, State Sen. Jim Tracy (R-Shelbyville), State Sen. Paul Bailey (R-Sparta), State Rep. Barry Doss (R-Lawrence County), Rep. Brian Terry (R-Murfreesboro), and Rep. David Alexander (R-Winchester). “I did leave the legislature back, I made my announcement in March, and left in November, of course, at the election,” Ramsey said in his opening remarks as a member of the…

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