Paul Stanley Begins The Rehabbing Of His Political Career

He’s taking a mission trip to Haiti. He files this report.

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Paul Stanley’s Asterisk

Jeff Woods takes a look at the new Tennessee Blue Book.

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State House Candidate’s Website Featured A Pic Of McKensie Morrison

McKensie Morrison. That’s a name you probably didn’t expect to hear again in connection with any politician in Tennessee other than Sen. Paul Stanley. But Brett Ramsey, who has pulled papers to run for Rep. Curtis Johnson’s seat, had a picture of her on his website until it was pointed out by Post Politics.

The website, which is devoted to selling T-shirts to benefit a company that sells carbon offsets, has a section where people who have bought the shirts can send in a picture of themselves wearing the shirt to be displayed. The one and only photo that appeared in that section until Saturday was that of McKensie Morrison, the intern who brought down Sen. Stanley.

Ramsey is currently a full-time instructor at Austin Peay, the school Morrison was attending while doing her internship at the legislature. Ramsey told Post Politics that Morrison was a student of his and had expressed interest in the mission of the site and offered up her photo for the section.

“That site was a side project of mine at the time. McKensie saw it and asked me about it after class one day,” says Ramsey. “After the end of that semester, she bought a shirt and e-mailed that picture of her wearing it.”

Ramsey said that Morrison did “extremely well” as a student in his class which led to his decision to recommend her for the internship at the legislature. In hindsight, of course, he wishes his decision had been different.

“Obviously, she wasn’t quite as forthright about her background as we know now and it’s a shame what ended up happening,” said Ramsey.

Ramsey reports that his wife actually reminded him about the picture once Morrison made the news back in July and counseled him to remove it. He never got around to it.

Ramsey, while himself a political neophyte, boasts an impressive pedigree. It turns out Ramsey is not only the grandson of former Gov. Ned McWherter but also a cousin to Rep. John Tanner.

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Tags: Brett Ramsey, Curtis Johnson, McKensie Morrison, Paul Stanley, state legislature  

Mr. White Goes To Nashville

Mark White has a big lead over his opponents tonight in the special election to succeed Rep. Brian Kelsey in state House District 83. Kelsey is now a state Senator after winning election to Paul Stanley’s seat and, well, you know who he is.

UPDATE: Sen. Mark Norris congratulates White on his win.

UPDATE II: From the TNGOP:

Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Chris Devaney issued the following statement after Republican Mark White was elected to represent District 83 in the Tennessee House of Representatives:

“It is fitting that Mark was elected on the day in which the General Assembly has convened for a special session to address education,” said Devaney. “His experience as a teacher, school administrator, and education foundation director will prove invaluable as the General Assembly focuses on ways to improve the quality of education in Tennessee.

“Mark’s election also means that Tennessee small businesses have gained a valuable ally in the State House. His business ownership and advocacy demonstrate his commitment to creating jobs and fighting for policies that will help spur economic growth across our state. I congratulate Mark and his family on tonight’s victory and I look forward to seeing him sworn-in to the 106th General Assembly.”

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Using The Gay Adoption Issue As A Weapon In Tennessee

Chris Sanders argues that it isn’t all that easy:

There was no vote on adoption issue. You can’t pin it on anyone other than the Senate sponsor, former Senator Paul Stanley. Neither party moved the bill. The NRCC isn’t asking why the bill didn’t move. The Senate majority leader didn’t seem to push for it, nor did the Senate Judiciary Committee chair. What about the Caucus chair? Nothing. The reasons probably vary from individual to individual. But I suspect the price tag of the bill has something to do with it. It carries a hefty fiscal note. So to try to pin a position on one legislator is to ignore the more important context of the issue. The NRCC’s own party hasn’t chosen to advance the bill.

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Post Politics Top 25 Of 2009

If you are looking for the best posts of the year on Post Politics, this ain’t it. But it is a list of the most clicked on permalinks on the site during the 2009 calendar year. In descending order…

• Al Gore Leaves The Light On For Ya
• Al Gore Responds To Earth Hour Accusations
• This Is Huge: Rep. Bart Gordon Will Not Run For Re-Election
• GQ Drew Stands By His Story
• The Salad Days
• Switch-Hitters
• ATF Declares Tennessee Firearms Freedom Act Null And Void
• The Steve McNair Jenny Kazemi Knew
• Corker Flips The Script
• Tennessee Firearms Freedom Act To Pass Without Signature
• Ford, Jr. Would Have Voted For Torture
• Stanley Mistress McKensie Morrison Took A Cocaine Charge In ‘05
• Leave Jim Cooper Alone!
• Tense Nazis: Is The President A Smoker?
  
• The Nashville Tea Party
• Stanley’s First Wife Swore Out A Restraining Order In 1994
• Dems Throw The Dean Out Of A Meeting
• MTSU Poll: Belief In Obama Conspiracy Theories Still High
• County GOP Moves To Oust Ron Paul-Supporting Vice Chair
• On Burning It Down
• The Coop Is Loose
• McKensie Morrison Pics
• Call Me Mrs. Ford
• Bredesen Goes To DC And Your World And Mine Ain’t Gonna Be The Same
• The Coverup Is Always Worse Than The Crime

UPDATE: NashvillePost.com’s list. My favorites are numbers 9 and 12. See the most read over at PostBiz as well.

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The List

The Tennessee Journal came across Santa’s list for some of Tennessee’s politicos. A sampling:

Kent Williams — A 1950s rotary telephone to remind him of the party line. And an extra week’s pay, which, you never know, might come in handy.

Paul Stanley — A new job. As personal crisis management consultant to Tiger Woods.

Ron Ramsey — To show that he’s a frugal public servant not given to ostentatious displays, a smaller nameplate for his desk. One with the “Lt.” lopped off.

Lincoln Davis — An autographed copy of the David Baldacci novel Last Man Standing.

Stacey Campfield — Orange boots and a sleeveless jumpsuit to go with the Mexican wrestler’s mask he wears to UT football games. Also, a map of Neyland Stadium to help him find his seat.

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The Boner Awards Are Out

And first prize was kind of a no-brainer:

Sen. Paul Stanley, R-Germantown, who started 2009 with the most noxious piece of “family values” tub-thumping to come down the legislative pike in years: a bill that would ban gay and lesbian couples—and really, any unmarried couple—from adopting children. In case the bill’s fundamental ugliness were unclear, Stanley spelled out that children should be placed with families who “will foster an appreciation for the policies of this state”— you know, since there’s nothing a hungry, lonely child needs more than an indoctrination in state policy. As it turned out, though, the married Stanley was all the while fostering an appreciation for his 22-year-old legislative intern— which turned into even tawdrier spectacle when the intern’s boyfriend found a disc with sexually explicit photos seemingly taken in Stanley’s apartment. The boyfriend tried to extort $10,000 from the wayward moralist, leading to a suitably tacky face-off with the TBI behind the El Rey Azteca Mexican restaurant in Whites Creek. Manning up, the senator placed responsibility right where it belonged—on the media. “I hope some positive things will come out of this and maybe it’ll be an example for others,” he said. Positive thing No. 1: Stanley resigned.

SEE ALSO: The Cover Art

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Former State Rep. Joyce Hassell, RIP

From Richard Locker:

Mrs. Hassell ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination for Shelby County tax assessor in the spring of 2000 and then lost a GOP primary challenge to hold the House seat that summer to Paul Stanley, who went on to serve in both the House and Senate before resigning in August of this year.

Joyce Barnett Hassell was born in 1932 in Baldwyn, Miss., and earned a bachelor of science degree from Blue Mountain College, which named her its alumna of the year in 1996. She was a teacher in the Memphis City Schools. She earned a master’s degree in office administration and management from Memphis State University.

In addition to her husband, she is survived by a sister, Mary Lou Martin, and a brother, Roger Barnett, both of Baldwyn.

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Kelsey Skips Joint Appearance With Opponent For Birthday Party

From the Commercial Appeal:

The Memphis Area Women’s Council and others are hosting a conversation with the candidates session on Saturday from 5 to 6 p.m.

Democrat Adrienne Pakis-Gillon, who is running for the State Senate District 31 seat formerly held by Paul Stanley, will be there to answer questions, but not her Republican opposition.

“We invited Brian Kelsey but through his campaign manager he said he has a family obligation with his nephew’s birthday party in Cordova. We asked if he wanted to send a stand-in or a surrogate but he has not responded,” said Deborah M. Clubb, the council’s executive director.

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NFIB Endorses In Race To Replace Kelsey

The Memphis Daily News:

The National Federation of Independent Business, a small business advocacy organization, is endorsing Memphis businessman Mark White in the special election for House District 83.

White, who recently sold the Grand Events & Party Rentals business he founded, is running for the House seat vacated by Memphis attorney Brian Kelsey, who in turn is running for the state Senate seat vacated a few months ago by Germantown investment banker Paul Stanley.

The primary for House Dist. 83, which includes parts of East Memphis and Germantown, will be held Dec. 1, with the general election to follow on Jan. 12.

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Queer To The Right, Prude To The Left

Thomas F. O’Connell pens a very personal tract about his reaction to a push to ban gay couples from adopting which would have prevented any unmarried couple from adopting:

Nashville is my hometown, and Tennessee is my home state. As a man who has only so much as kissed one woman in his entire life, who has been with her for 10 years, and who expects to be with her for the rest of his life, I challenge anyone who questions my moral values or my choices to actually live according to them. The only thing wrong with them to practitioners of various organized religions is that I belong to no organized religions. Other than that, though, my personal life is about as conservative as it gets in contemporary America.

So imagine my surprise when a great moralizer appeared from the western part of Tennessee to assert that I should be considered unqualified for adoption. Exacerbating the offense of a previous incarnation of a bill targeting same-sex couples, state senator Paul Stanley (R-Germantown, Tenn.), in our most recent legislative session, perhaps seeking to blunt criticisms that he was merely anti-gay embarrassingly included unmarried couples in his list of people unqualified to adopt on moral grounds. More embarrassingly still, he specifically mentioned unmarried “sexually cohabiting” couples in his bill. I suppose this means that there would have been a state test of some variety to determine what constitutes sexual cohabitation.

I highly encourage you to click through and read the whole thing.

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The Salvation Army Will Come And Pick It Up For You

Sen. Paul Stanley’s office furniture is in limbo:

But if Stanley takes the furniture home or sells it and keeps the money, Rawlins said, he could run afoul of laws prohibiting personal use of campaign funds.

“The statute doesn’t really address (the specific situation),” Rawlins said. “But you can’t buy things and convert them to personal use.”

Rawlins said the furniture could be sold at fair market value, with the proceeds going into the campaign fund and then used for permitted expenditures if the account is later closed.

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Another Conservative Firebrand State Rep. Looks To Get Upped

Brian Kelsey, Susan Lynn and Stacey Campfield now have a little company as their group of conservative state representatives looking to become state senators has just grown by one.

According to the Associated Press, Sen. Dewayne Bunch, the Nashville roommate of former Sen. Paul Stanley, will not seek reelection to the state Senate. Bunch reportedly met today with the state house members representing his senate district to inform them of his decision not to run.

One of them, Rep. Mike Bell has decided to he would like the job. From a press release:

State Rep. Mike Bell (R-Riceville) announced today that he will be a candidate for the State Senate. He will be seeking to represent District 9 in the Tennessee State Senate which is made up of Bradley, McMinn, Meigs and Polk Counties.

“Three years ago, the people of McMinn and Monroe County elected me and gave me the privilege of serving them in the State House of Representatives,” said Rep. Bell. “Now I am asking the people of Bradley, McMinn, Meigs and Polk Counties to give me the opportunity to represent them in the State Senate.”

Bell currently lives on a farm in Southern McMinn County with his wife and 5 children:

Michaela (11), Rachael (15), Zack (17), Laura (20), and Nathan (22). Nathan, who is in the United States Marine Corps, is currently stationed at Camp LeJuene in North Carolina.

A small business man, farmer and volunteer firefighter, Bell was elected to the Tennessee State House of Representatives in 2006. In his first term, his peers elected him to be Freshman Leader and Assistant Floor Leader of the Republican Caucus. Bell is currently the Republican Caucus Secretary.

While in the House of Representatives, Bell has served on the Agriculture Committee, Children and Family Committee, Conservation and Environment Committee, Consumer and Employee Affairs Committee, and Government Operations Committee.

Bell is the current chairman of the House Family Justice Subcommittee of the Children and Family Committee.

I am looking forward to seeing the faces and hearing the voices of this district. I want to continue the tradition of having a principled, conservative voice in the state Senate.”

SEE ALSO: Tom Humphrey

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2009 St. Crispin’s Day: The Awards

Remarks by Ken Whitehouse as prepared for delivery last night at Flyte. A taste:

We present former state senator and noted ladies man Paul Stanley the “Shroud of Tunica.” The former state senator will find that this garment matches what he wore on his shirtsleeve and will dissuade him from playing his cards close to the zipper, I mean vest, and busting on 21 again.

SEE ALSO: Bruce Barry

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What Did Pat Marsh Mean By The Term ‘Gun Flasher’?

Mark Brown thinks we might want to ask Paul Stanley.

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Sextortion

Paul Stanley makes a Talking Points Memo photofeature.

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Anybody But Kelsey Fundraiser

From the Memphis Daily News:

Community activist Adrienne Pakis-Gillon will be the subject of a Cordova meet-and-greet fundraiser today from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Fox Ridge Pizza, 1769 N. Germantown Parkway.

A Democrat, Pakis-Gillon will face state Rep. Brian Kelsey, R-Germantown, in the December general election bid to decide who will finish out the term of Paul Stanley, the Republican state senator for District 31 who resigned in August. The winner will serve through 2010.

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Sen. Jack Johnson The New Big Cheese On Commerce

He replaces Paul Stanley:

(NASHVILLE, TN), September 17, 2009 – State Senator Jack Johnson (R-Franklin) has been appointed Chairman of the Senate Commerce, Labor and Agriculture Committee. The announcement was made by Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey during a speech to the Tennessee Associated Builders and Contractors in Nashville today.

The Commerce Committee has jurisdiction over legislation concerning banking and lending institutions; communications; regulation and licensing of occupations; protections of trade and commerce; corporations; labor and industrial relations; consumer affairs and consumer protection; and unemployment compensation. Due to the scope of legislation considered there, it is considered one of the most powerful committees in the General Assembly.

“I am very honored to have been selected as Chairman of the Senate Commerce committee,” said Senator Johnson. “It is important that Tennessee has a pro-business climate that is attractive for bringing new jobs to the state. I look forward to the challenges we face in a very competitive environment.”

Senator Johnson was previously Chairman of the Government Operations Committee in the State Senate.

SEE ALSO: Andy Sher

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Fingers Crossed

Steve Ross is hopeful a Democrat can take down Rep. Brian Kelsey in the special election to replace Sen. Paul Stanley:

Now that the withdrawal deadline has passed, the race is on. Both parties have cleared the decks for their preferred nominees. On the Democratic side is Adrienne Pakis-Gillon. The Republicans have rallied around current HD-83 Rep. Brian Kelsey.

Pakis-Gillon has some impressive Democratic bona fides, and widespread support from Democrats in Shelby County. However, name recognition will be a bit of an issue for the first time candidate. The hill is steep, but it’s possible that in a special election, she could win this thing.

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