Image Credit: capitol.tn.gov & Ichabod / CC & Pixabay
The Tennessee Conservative [By Jason Vaughn] –
Receipts show that the state legislature spent thousands of taxpayer dollars trying to rectify a sexual harassment scandal involving now-former State Representative Scotty Campbell.
News broke late last month of Campbell’s alleged violation of the Tennessee General Assembly’s workplace harassment policy. The complaint was brought by a legislative intern, and Campbell was found to be in violation by an ethics subcommittee.
According to the intern, whose name has been withheld to protect her identity, several thousand dollars were spent to move her furniture back home and to provide her with new housing to finish out her internship.
Receipts obtained by NewsChannel 5 Investigates show a total of $5411.76 being paid to the TownPlace Suites for 22 days of lodging and parking fees. Two Men and a Truck were paid $2495 to move her things back to her home.
The moving expenses were allegedly paid for with a credit card provided by Connie Ridley, the director of legislative administration.
The intern also says she was given $935 in cash to cover $85 of prorated rent at Capitol Towers and $850 for the loss of her rental deposit. She said she was told that the person who provided the cash would be reimbursed by the state for those expenditures.
House Speaker Cameron Sexton says he knows nothing about any of the payments and suggested that they were possibly the work of the ethics subcommittee.
The intern noted that, while she was thankful for the assistance, “it feels as if they are trying to buy my silence.” She says Ridley asked her not to talk about the violations with anyone else.
She also stated that a legislative assistant told her that “some version of this happens almost every year to an intern and they rarely come forward or are silenced if they do.”
Representative Bill Beck (D-Nashville-District 51) previously passed a law that would allow the public to have access to sexual harassment settlements of any government agency.
Tori Venable, state director for Americans for Prosperity, said, “I think if you keep digging, you’ll probably find additional expenses that were covered by taxpayers to hide this from taxpayers…there’s no reason that taxpayers should pay for this – none at all.”
The House Democratic Caucus released the following statement regarding the expenses:
“The GOP supermajority believes in accountability for everyone – except themselves. Now, we learn they reportedly spent thousands of taxpayer dollars as a direct result of another embarrassing scandal involving a member of their leadership team.
“Questions still requiring answers are: Who authorized these expenditures? Why were they not disclosed earlier? Were appropriate steps taken to protect the victim from further harm? Would earlier public disclosure of the conduct have better protected the victim and/or other women from exposure to a known threat to their safety?
“Tennesseans deserve a full explanation of this latest abuse of power.”
About the Author: Jason Vaughn, Media Coordinator for The Tennessee Conservative ~ Jason previously worked for a legacy publishing company based in Crossville, TN in a variety of roles through his career. Most recently, he served as Deputy Director for their flagship publication. Prior, he was a freelance journalist writing articles that appeared in the Herald Citizen, the Crossville Chronicle and The Oracle among others. He graduated from Tennessee Technological University with a Bachelor’s in English-Journalism, with minors in Broadcast Journalism and History. Contact Jason at news@TennesseeConservativeNews.com
3 Responses
Tax payer money should never pay for this. Should go to court and be PROVEN not pay offs.
This is just so pathetic. Our legislators have no moral compass whatsoever. They are the poster children for, “The love of money is the root of all evil.”
Since this is our money being spent, we have a right to know why. If this really is serious, then file charges and go to court if there is sufficient evidence to prosecute.
This is typical of democrats, hide it, why are the RHINOS?