GOP leader, who voted to expel ‘Tennessee Three,’ resigns following report of workplace harassment
By Rebekah Riess and Jamiel Lynch, CNN
Tennessee House Representative Scotty Campbell resigned from his seat Thursday following a report that he violated the General Assembly policy on workplace discrimination and harassment, according to a subcommittee’s memorandum and a copy of the Republican’s resignation letter.
“Based on the completed staff investigation, the Ethics Subcommittee finds that Representative Campbell violated the Policy” against workplace discrimination and harassment, the memorandum from the workplace discrimination and harassment subcommittee states.
“I had consensual adult conversations with two adults off property,” Campbell told CNN affiliate WTVF when asked about the interactions. “I did not know that a workplace policy can be enforced when you’re not at work.”
According to the letter, Campbell resigned from the Tennessee House of Representatives “effective immediately” at 2:18 p.m. on Thursday.
Campbell had been part of the April 6 vote to expel Democratic lawmakers who had led a gun reform protest in the chamber a week earlier. When asked about his votes to expel the “Tennessee Three,” Campbell told WTVF, “they broke the house rules of decorum.”
The “Tennessee Three” refers to Democratic state House Reps. Justin Jones, Justin Pearson and Gloria Johnson, who underwent the rare process of an expulsion vote. They protested days after a mass shooting at an elementary school in Nashville left six dead, including three adults and three 9-year-old students.
Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson, both young, Black Democrats who represent Districts 52 and 86 respectively, were ousted from the GOP-dominated chamber. Johnson, who is White, survived the vote and held on to her District 90 seat.
Jones and Pearson returned to the Tennessee House after they were reappointed through unanimous votes by local officials in their respective districts.
CNN has requested comment from the Tennessee House Ethics Committee and Campbell.
The subcommittee said in its memo that it “is committed to protecting members, employees, and visitors by providing an environment free of discrimination, harassment, or retaliation. Discrimination and harassment in any form will not be tolerated.”
Correction: An earlier version of this story gave the incorrect date for the vote to expel Democratic lawmakers. It was April 6.
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