Griffey Says Wife Rebecca Will Run for His Seat in the 75th State House District

 

Live from Music Row Wednesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – host Leahy welcomed State Representative Bruce Griffey (R- District 75) in studio to discuss his retirement from the State House, his future aspirations, and his wife’s announcement to run for his seat.

(Aaron Gulbransen clip plays)

Leahy: State Representative Bruce Griffey, that seems to me like they’re just trying to raise money off this. It doesn’t sound like they’re all that serious in filing a challenge. Your thoughts?

Griffey: (Chuckles) I think it’s funny. I don’t believe they’ll be very successful. They’ll just try to raise money and they may not even challenge it and just pocket the money.

Leahy: You have made a public announcement that you’re not running for re-election in the 75th District. That’s Henry, Benton and Stewart County.

Griffey: That’s correct.

Leahy: Stewart County kind of on the fringe of Nashville. We’ve a good friend up there, Kyle Mallory. He’s a social studies teacher who has been a big supporter of the National Constitution Bee.

Griffey: Absolutely.

Leahy: I think he may be one of the very few, actually, public school teachers who are supporting the National Constitution Bee. We’ve got a few more now since then.

Griffey: He’s actually vice-principal now.

Leahy: He’s moving up. Moving up in the world.

Griffey: Absolutely. Friend of mine.

Leahy: You’ve got a little that’s sort of on the edge of Metro Nashville, but mostly this continues further Western Tennessee. You have made an announcement about your career. Tell us a little bit about what your next step in your career is going to be.

Griffey: Thank you, Mike. I’d like to get back to the law. Being in the Legislature is kind of like fighting Medusa with a 1,000 headed snake or whatever sometimes. The circuit judge positions only come open once every eight years.

I really feel like I can serve my constituents better in that position. It’s important that we get Republican judges in those positions because they impact the safety of the community. And that’s really sort of where my real heart is, trying to protect the community and be helpful for others.

Leahy: That district is that basically Henry, Benton, Stewart County? What counties are in that district?

Griffey: Benton, Henry and Stewart. But with redistricting, what they’ve done is they’ve combined the 75th and kind of pushed it over into the 74th, which is Jay Reedy’s district. And so three quarters of Henry County will go over to Tandy Darby because he needs population growth to meet the redistricting limits.

And then the southeast corner of Henry County will move over. It’ll be Benton, Stewart, the southeast corner of Henry County and then Houston and Humphreys counties, which are Jay Ready’s counties.

Leahy: And that would be the legislative district or the circuit court district?

Griffey: Legislative.

Leahy: The 75th. Okay. We’re going to break some news about the 75th District August primary in just in a bit. But I want to note, you are a graduate of Ole Miss?

Griffey: Correct.

Leahy: I went to that campus for the very first time last year. It’s beautiful.

Griffey: Yeah, it really is.

Leahy: It’s a beautiful place. You got your JD there undergrad.

Griffey: Undergrad.

Leahy: Were you there at the same time as John Grisham?

Griffey: No. I think he’s before me.

Leahy: He’s a little bit before you.

Griffey: Yeah. I think Glenn Funk was there.

Leahy: Did he go to Ole Miss? Interesting. Well, it’s a beautiful campus. I was very impressed by Oxford, Mississippi. Not too far from the Tennessee state line. Not too far. Are you from Mississippi or Tennessee?

Griffey: No. I was born in Charleston, South Carolina. My dad was in the Public Health Service, and then he relocated back to Paris, Tennessee, when I was about two years old. And we’ve lived there ever since.

Leahy: We’re talking about who will succeed you. Who will run for the Republican nomination in the 75th District for the House of Representatives here in Tennessee. I think you’re going to make a little news with us right now. Do you know somebody who might run for that seat?

Griffey: I know somebody that might run for that seat. And I hope she doesn’t get mad at me, but I believe my wife, Rebecca Griffey, is going to pull her papers and run for that position.

Leahy: We just made some news here.

Griffey: Absolutely. She’ll be 10 times better than I am as a legislator. I can promise you that. (Leahy laughs)

Leahy: When will she pull her papers?

Griffey: I think this week.

Leahy: This week?

Griffey: Yes.

Leahy: Well, we did make some news. I don’t think she’ll be mad at you. And we can have her call in on the newsmaker line after she’s announced and we talk about what her agenda would be right here.

Let’s get back to the Tennessee General Assembly. What are your big issues this year? I saw you introduced a very interesting bill about the standards for charging somebody in a case of self-defense.

Griffey: Self defense.

Leahy: Yes. Thank you.

Griffey: The Kyle’s Law. Yes. It was interesting to find out, I don’t recall whether legal services advised me or I did get an email from someone today that Washington State has had this law since 1977.

Leahy: And just describe what the law would do.

Griffey: The law would do if someone is charged with murder committing a homicide and self defense is one of the defenses from the defendant, if that person is found not guilty, normally that’s the end of things. And they don’t get any money for their attorney or lost wages or their life can be ruined, so to speak.

Leahy: Pretty much.

Griffey: Yes, absolutely. If they’re found not guilty by the jury, what Kyle’s Law does and what this law in Washington State has done for a number of years that at that point the attorneys for the defendant can move the judge and say, look, this should never have been prosecuted.

There was a valid self defense. And so the judge will ask the jurors to go back and consider. And they have to decide unanimously by a preponderance of the evidence was this a justifiable self-defense case such that the person should not have even been prosecuted?

If they do that, the judge can award damages to try to put the defendant back in a position where he was before he got charged. The judge also can deny the request if the defendant was involved in other kinds of criminal activity that contributed to the incident.

Leahy: The question then would be what are the prospects of this bill passing in the house, then the Senate and then being signed by Governor Bill Lee?

Griffey: I don’t know. The General Assembly, I think, really wants to be cautious the way they proceed on things and sometimes things move slowly.

It may not pass this go around. I think this law being enacted in Washington state for 20, 30, 50 years, whatever it is, may have a big bearing. So I think it could pass.

Leahy: Okay. And do you have a Senate co-sponsor yet?

Griffey: Yes, Joey Hensley.

Leahy: Joey Hensley. All right.

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Tune in weekdays from 5:00 – 8:00 a.m. to The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy on Talk Radio 98.3 FM WLAC 1510. Listen online at iHeart Radio.