Jamie Woodson, The New Senate Pro Tem

By Kleinheider Posted on January 15, 2009 at 2:18 pm

Tom Humphrey reports:

Knoxville’s Sen. Jamie Woodson was appointed as Senate speaker pro tempore by Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey.

The move came as Ramsey announced Senate leadership roles and committee assignments for the 106th General Assembly.

In contrast to last session, all committee chairmanships went to Republicans, who have a 19-14 Senate majority. Some Democrats, however, will serve as vice chairmen.

Senate speaker pro tempore is considered the No. 2 in Senate leadership, though historically some have been more activist than others in the position. Woodson said she plans to be “very active.”

SEE ALSO: Ken Whitehouse

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Tags: Jamie Woodson, Ron Ramsey, Speaker Pro Tempore  

No Matter Who The Republicans Put Up As Pro Tempore, Williams Was Voting For DeBerry

By Kleinheider Posted on January 14, 2009 at 1:10 pm

Kent Williams immediate after the recess after his election as Speaker but before the vote for Speaker Pro Tempore. Williams voted for the Democrat Lois DeBerry, not the Republican Beth Harwell.

He says on the hot mic to Naifeh, “They asked me if I could vote for any Republican. I told them no.”

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Tags: Kent Williams, Lois DeBerry, Speaker election, Speaker Pro Tempore  

One Man, Many Votes

By Kleinheider Posted on December 2, 2008 at 9:25 am

David Oatney says the powers of the Speaker Pro Tempore in our state House of Representatives are more extensive than many may believe:

For while the Speaker Pro Tem does not often preside over the House in Tennessee, he or she does have the ability to walk into any committee of the House and vote a bill up or down, just as the Speaker does. Bill Dunn, who is not a man out to seek any leadership position for the sake of his own advancement, once told me that from a personal perspective-if he were only considering himself-he would like being Speaker Pro Tempore for that very reason.

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Tags: Bill Dunn, Speaker Pro Tempore, Steve McDaniel