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The Tennessee Conservative Staff –
Taxpayer-funded lobbyists (i.e. lobbyists who receive state salaries) are receiving more than $5 Million in taxpayer dollars per year in the State of Tennessee to lobby for government interests over the interests of average-everyday Tennesseans.
A lobbyist is defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as “one who conducts activities aimed at influencing or swaying public officials and especially members of a legislative body on legislation: a person engaged in lobbying public officials.”
Lobbyists populate the halls of Tennessee’s capitol building to interact with lawmakers and other individuals of influence.
Some of these individuals are citizen lobbyists, simply volunteering their time to lobby for a cause or organization they are personally passionate about.
However, the vast majority of lobbyists and ultimately those who can afford to be at the Capitol on a daily basis are being paid by either a private interest group or a government entity.
“There’s definitely a difference,” Rep. Clay Doggett told The Tennessee Conservative back in December when asked specifically about family members of legislators being paid lobbyists in comparison to volunteer lobbyists.
Rep. Doggett’s wife advocates as a volunteer lobbyist on behalf of the Alzheimer’s Association of Tennessee once a year. However, she and her family receive no compensation, much less taxpayer-funded compensation, for that work.
Lobbyists receiving state salaries according to the Transparent Tennessee State Employee Salary Search include:
Lily Douthitt – Dept. of Agriculture – $6,000/mo.
Carol McDonald – Dept. of Agriculture – $15,985/mo.
Hayes O’Donnell – Dept. of Children’s Services – $6,825/mo.
Candice Dawkins – Dept. of Commerce & Insurance – $9,931/mo.
Graham Tudor – Dept. of Commerce & Insurance – $8,654/mo.
Michael Aldana – Dept. of Commerce & Insurance – $5,050/mo.
Ashley Fuqua – Dept. of Correction – $11,251/mo.
Braden Stover – Dept. of Economic & Community Development – $9,982/mo.
Cameron Snow – Dept. of Economic & Community Development – $6,667/mo.
Jack (John) Powers – Dept. of Education – $13,750/mo.
Emily Cornute – Dept. of Education – $7,875/mo.
Anna Hall – Dept. of Education – $5,417/mo.
Alli (Alice) Williamson – Dept. of Environment & Conservation – $12,333/mo.
Emma Ousley – Dept. of Environment & Conservation – $9,083/mo.
Jonathan (Robert) Springer – Dept. of Finance & Admin – $10,444/mo.
Mary Dobbs – Dept. of Finance & Admin – $8,025/mo.
Todd Staley – Dept. of Finance & Admin – $10,668/mo.
Tyler Cosby – Dept. of General Services – $11,030/mo.
Valerie Yancey – Governor’s Office – $13,553/mo.
Liz Alvey – Governor’s Office – $15,783/mo.
Hayley Pirrera – Governor’s Office – $6,688/mo.
David Solon – Governor’s Office – $9,209/mo.
Ryan Hamilton – Governor’s Office – $6,167/mo.
Caroline Kaufman – Governor’s Office – $4,167/mo.
Holt (Robert) Whitt – Dept. of Health – $15,919/mo.
Olivia Johnson – Dept. of Health – $6,834/mo.
Eric Mayo – Dept. of Human Resources – $14,205/mo.
Paige Foster – Dept. of Human Services – $7,115/mo.
Trey Jones – Dept. of Disability & Aging – $3,886/mo.
Dane Mortensen – Dept. of Disability & Aging – $6,479/mo.
Matthew Grove – Dept. of Labor & Workforce Development – $6,192/mo.
Tia Xixis – Dept. of Labor & Workforce Development – $14,659/mo.
Angela Jackson – Dept. of Mental Health & Substance Abuse – $9,508/mo.
Krysten Velloff – Dept. of Mental Health & Substance Abuse – $11,941/mo.
Brian Celatka – Dept. of Military – $10,120/mo.
Autumn Cole – Dept. of Revenue – $8,025/mo.
Logan Hess – Dept. of Revenue – $9,291/mo.
Elizabeth Stroecker – Dept. of Safety & Homeland Security – $13,009/mo.
Ben Voytas – Dept. of Safety & Homeland Security – $7,905/mo.
Ashley Reed – TennCare Department – $15,985/mo.
Amanda Pettry – TennCare Department – $10,432/mo.
James Held – TennCare Department – $7,073/mo.
Mary Price – Dept. of Tourist Development – $7,511/mo.
Jay Klein – Dept. of Transportation – $12,520/mo.
Liz Ashwood – Dept. of Transportation – $10,351/mo.
Kathryn Held – Dept. of Veterans Services – $11,976/mo.
Amanda Terry – Bureau of Workers’ Compensation – $12,572/mo.
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The monthly salaries of these individuals totals up to approximately $458,045, meaning the combined yearly salary for these Tennessee taxpayer-funded lobbyists is approximately $5,496,540 per year.
State-level employees are not the only taxpayer-funded lobbyists though. Some local governments also hire individuals to go to Nashville and lobby for that local government’s interests.
One example of this is Will Denami, who allegedly receives between $80,000 and $100,000 in taxpayer dollars per year to lobby for the Assessors of Property Association, as well as Hamilton, Williamson, Blount, and Davidson Counties.
One Response
Legislators, too lazy to do their own research, are dependent on these crooks for “information”, while we are not listened to and have near zero representation.