Tennessee Senate RINO Leadership Responsible For Appointment Of TREF Member That Leads Crusades Against Conservatives

Image Credit: tn.gov

The Tennessee Conservative [By Olivia Lupia] –

The Tennessee Registry of Election Finance (TREF) is comprised of six appointed members, three Republicans and three Democrats. The House Republican and Democrat Caucuses each appoint a member, as do the Senate caucuses, and the other two are appointed by the Governor, one from each party.

TREF board member Tom Lawless, a Nashville lawyer, was first appointed by the Senate Republican Caucus in 2014 and has never served in the state legislature, but ran for Congress in 2002.

Lawless has come under much scrutiny for his track record of appearing to deliberately target conservative candidates and groups while leveraging his influence to protect establishment and RINO players. 

Lawless has used his tenure on the board to open an audit into candidate Gary Humble, founder of Tennessee Stands, telling members to, “dig into it”, despite no evidence or complaint ever being filed.

He also advocated to increase scrutiny and oversight of conservative organizations, one of which filed a successful lawsuit against TREF and Lawless.

Most recently, Lawless threatened to turn a complaint against the Sumner County Constitutional Republicans over to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) despite no evidence of wrongdoing, let alone criminal action. 

Yet he has declined to investigate incumbent Republicans, called for votes to dismiss complaints while crying  “weaponization”, and even interceded on behalf of an establishment Republican to have a lawsuit by the Attorney General for campaign finance mismanagement dropped.

The Tennessee Conservative reached out to a contact within TREF to confirm the nomination and appointment process to the board. 

In offering clarification on if the entire Senate Republican Caucus votes on the appointment, the response was, “Yes indeed. My understanding is that, by rule all their caucus meetings are open to the press so that would be a vote cast in a caucus meeting.”

This means the appointee garnered a majority vote of the caucus members to hold the position and infers the appointee would have won this vote multiple times if the member has served numerous terms on the TREF board.

Current members of the Senate Republican Caucus are: Adam Lowe (D-1), Art Swann (D-2), Rusty Crowe (D-3), Jon Lundberg (D-4), Lt. Gov Randy McNally (D-5), Becky Massey (D-6), Richard Briggs (D-7), Frank Niceley (D-8), Steve Southerland (D-9), Todd Gardenhire (D-10), Bo Watson (D-11), Ken Yager (D-12-Caucus Chairman), Dawn White (D-13), Shane Reeves (D-14), Paul Bailey (D-15), Janice Bowling (D-16), Mark Pody (D-17), Ferrell Haile (D-18), Bill Powers (D-22), Kerry Roberts (D-23), John Stevens (D-24), Ed Jackson (D-25), Page Walley (D-26), Jack Johnson (D-27-Majority Leader), Joey Hensley (D-28), Brent Taylor (D-31), and Paul Rose (D-32). 

When asked if any specific members of Senate leadership tend to be the driving force behind nominations in the Caucus, the source answered, “My impression is that any member is welcome to nominate someone during the caucus meeting.”

However, it would seem much of the responsibility for this appointment could be laid at the feet of Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally and the line of Senate leadership, Ferrell Haile, Shane Reeves, John Stevens, Dawn White, Jack Johnson and Ken Yager. All of whom have been labeled RINOS for their anti-conservative values and policies, wield incredible influence in the Caucus, and have been known to accept special interest PAC money and recycle it into bolstering each other’s re-election campaigns.

All caucus members will have the chance to nominate and vote on the TREF appointee at the expiration of Lawless’ current term in January 2028. It is unconfirmed, though likely, that Lawless and the RINO Senate leadership will advocate for his continued position on the board.

It could be argued that this board’s actions appear to reiterate the sentiment shared by many conservatives that unelected bureaucrats maintain too much power, especially as the people they investigate have no or means of holding them accountable or say in their appointment other than to press their state representation in both Houses to vote in the interest of their constituents. 

Olivia Lupia is a political refugee from Colorado who now calls Tennessee home. A proud follower of Christ, she views all political happenings through a Biblical lens and aims to utilize her knowledge and experience to educate and equip others. Olivia is an outspoken conservative who has run for local office, managed campaigns, and been highly involved with state & local GOPs, state legislatures, and other grassroots organizations and movements. Olivia can be reached at olivia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.