Drop It Like It’s Hot: Strip Club Invitations On Capitol Hill Spark Controversy
Posted on May 15, 2008 at 2:32 pmThis evening at 4:00pm a VIP party will be held at Deja Vu Showgirls, a popular Nashville “Gentleman’s Club.” The Tennessee Cabaret Association’s lobbyist, Tracy O’Neill, who is registered to lobby both at the state level and here in Metro Nashville, admits to Post Politics that she handed out invitations to this event at Legislative Plaza but stated that the event “is in no way” a legislative reception as characterized by at least one state representative. O’Neill asserts that she merely shared information about an event being held by one of the Association’s members to “friends and colleagues.”
The invitation, which can be seen at this link, was handed out to various folks at the Plaza, including legislators, offers the chance to “Party like a Rock Star and Rock it Like a Porn Star.” Rep. Stacey Campfield discussed the circulation of the invitation here and described the event as a “legislative reception” sponsored by the Tennessee Cabaret Association.
Within the invitation, along with promises of totally nude performances and $10 dances, is an offer of complimentary drinks and a free buffet.
While free gifts to legislators are largely forbidden, entertainment, food, refreshments, meals, beverages, or health screenings that are in connection with an in-state event to which invitations are extended to the entire membership of the general assembly are permitted by Tennessee law under an exception list in Public Act § 3-6-305.
However, an invitation must be submitted to the ethics commission and to each member of the General Assembly at least seven days in advance of the event by the employer or lobbyist paying for the event.
This event is not listed on the Tennessee Ethics Commission website and Post Politics was told by the Commission that there had been no notification of the event nor were they in possession of a copy of the invite.
Additionally, Rep. Stacey Campfield announced publicly on his blog that he had not been invited to the event.
If all legislators are not invited to the event legislators can attend and receive food and drink in accordance with other provisions in § 3-1-106 so long as they do not receive a per diem allowance for the day. Also, an officer or management-level employee of the sponsoring organization must be present. The sponsor’s registered lobbyist cannot be counted as the officer or management-level employee.
The question of who is the sponsor then becomes important. In an opinion issued by the Ethics Commission in February of 2007, the commission concluded that local affiliates of the Tennessee Education Association were not “employers of lobbyists” or “lobbyists” and thus could “serve refreshments at meetings to which State Senators and Representatives are invited to discuss matters related to public education.”
While the correlation is not a direct one, Deja Vu, as a member of the Tennessee Cabaret Association, could possibly be seen in a similar fashion as the TEA’s local affiliates.
When contacted by Post Politics, lobbyist for the Tennessee Cabaret Association, Tracy O’Neill said that the Tennessee Cabaret Association doesn’t, due to the controversial nature of the adult entertainment business, host legislative receptions.
O’Neill stated to Post Politics that it is “completely inaccurate” to categorize the event as a reception, “The Tennessee Cabaret Association has nothing to do with this event.”
O’Neill went on to castigate a member of the legislature for describing it as such on his website, “Being aware of the history of [Rep. Stacey] Campfield, I can only assume that he is trying to exploit a potential situation here.”
Ms. O’Neill sent an email to Rep. Campfield, copying Tennessee Ethics Commission Executive Director Bruce A. Androphy, registering her dismay with his characterization. You can see that email at this link.
As to the role she did play in regards to the disbursal of the invitation, O’Neill did admit to handing out a few in the halls of Legislative Plaza to “a few friends” but said she made clear to everyone that she personally talked to about the event that it was not a legislative reception.
“I made it very clear that these invitations were being handed out at the request of one of our members and not on behalf of the Association,” O’Neill explained.
When asked whether or not she personally put an invitation in any legislator’s hand, O’Neill responded, “I cannot say that for sure.”
Comments
15 Responses to “Drop It Like It’s Hot: Strip Club Invitations On Capitol Hill Spark Controversy”
[…] one line (strip) tease: Kleinheider has the latest on a racy ethics controversy swirling around state lawmakers at the moment. addthis_url = […]
Wow.
A reception by another name is a reception all the same…
Is this a bachelor party for Majority Leader Gary Odom? I’m just asking.
Can yo’ monkey do the dog?
Oh come on now, you don’t think his fellow legislators would kick in to buy Campfield a lap dance? If for no other reason than to see the look on his, er, face?
I can’t imagine, LWC, Campfield “making it rain.” The visual is making my brain hurt.
HA! Some reps had their own table at that club back in the day.
I think if you asked Camp about making it rain, he might respond that he cannot control the weather.
Gandalfus,
That’s the funniest thing I’ve read all day.
Hee,
Thanks.
Sounds like Campfield is just upset that he didn’t get invited.
This has to be a joke. The General Assembly and Governor are toying with an over extended budget that they created and now must fix and they are receiving invitations to an adult strip club party. I hope our legislatures did not attend and those that did attend need to pack their bags and find a new job next session. thousands of state employee’s lives hang in the hands of these “Rock Stars”. Home schooling parents are being told they can not teach their own children. Our legislators refuse to allow important bills out of committees so as to prevent a house vote that would make them accountable to their constituents, but yet they “Rock Like Porn Stars”. We the public have a right to know who went to this event.
This is to Timothy Lee:
A little FYI…
As far as I know, homeschooling parents are NOT being told that they cannot educate their children at home. The bureaucratic bungle I believe you are referring to, the amendment to HB 1652 by the Department of Education, is as dead as a doornail. I know this because I am a home educator and I do my best to stay current with legislation that could impede my right as a parent to educate my children as I see fit.
Now, back to the subject at hand. According to the above article, the event which has several folks with their panties in a wad was not an event designed for the legislators.
From the tone of your reply to the above article, it seems as if you are more miffed about the industry involved than the fact that some members of the legislature may have been invited to a function that was hosted by a member of the Tennessee Cabaret Association. Would you have been as upset if the event were instead a spaghetti supper at a Baptist church sponsored by a local homeschool group?
I am no personal fan of the adult entertainment industry…far from it. However, as a group, they have the same right to exist as any other group.
From what I get from the above article, the person who deserves a good old-fashioned finger wagging is Rep. Stacey Campfield for what appears to be a gross misrepresentation of the event in question. I checked out every link in the article above and could see no evidence that this event was a reception for legislators. I held my nose and checked the calendar of events listed for the Nashville Deja Vu club. I saw nothing on their calendar that would suggest that the club was hosting a legislative reception.
I also did a little researching on Rep. Stacey Campfield. From what I have read, it seems to me that Rep. Campfield is looking for a problem where one does not exist and is an opponent of the adult entertainment industry as a whole. I was not aware until I read his own blog site that last year he proposed a “porn tax”. Even though I personally find the adult entertainment industry distasteful, one cannot legislate morality…unless we as a state decide to become a theocracy.
I apologize for making my intent unclear. What our legislators do on their time at the end of session is their business. When in session it our business. A spaghetti dinner is not in the news it is the Tennessee Cabaret Association. This group has ever right to lobby politicians, but our elected officials are the ones that we have to watch. They are the ones that are supposed to be representing you and I.
The General Assembly is soon to end the session and the most important issue is at hand that requires more attention then it will be given. To offer any distractions during this time is a injustice to all Tennesseans. Many state employee’s will be out of work in a few months. It is for this reason our officials should stay focus and have their undivided attention.
There is a time and place for everything and if the Tennessee Cabaret Association wants to lobby politicians then do it in a less critical time. That is the point.
Yes, I agree that this is a very important time for our legislators to remain focused while they are at work. I also agree that the state employees desperately need their attention at this time while the legislators are at work.
Where we seem to differ is in who was hosting the event in question and what our legislators can and cannot do, or where they can and cannot go, after their workday is complete.
I can see no clear evidence that the Tennessee Cabaret Association hosted a legislative reception, as this event in question has been called. A member of the association, the Nashville Deja Vu club, hosted this event. From every source I have found, this was not the only VIP event this club has ever hosted nor was this event geared towards the legislators.
What I do see is an apparent misrepresentation by Rep. Stacey Campfield on his web site of who was hosting this event and for whom this event was hosted. After doing a bit of reading yesterday, it also appears to me that Rep. Campfield was using this event to farther his own agenda against the adult entertainment industry by deliberately calling the event in question a “legislative reception” when there was no confirmation that this was the case.
I also see no clear evidence that would suggest to me that the members of our legislature who may have attended this event should be held accountable for accepting an invitation to a non-legislative function. Or, that by going to this event, it would anymore distract them from the job that they were elected to do than if they went to a more (so-called) socially acceptable function. It seemed premature to have assumed that this event would have a negative impact on the performance of the legislators who may have attended. If these legislators perform their jobs poorly the next day, then I see an issue. In addition, at this point, it seems punitive and puritanical to me to request a list of names.
If my lobbyist . . . is passing out invitations . . . to a free event I’m hosting . . . in the halls of the state capitol . . . to legislators . . . it’s kind of hard to argue that it isn’t a “reception,” it seems to me.