Tennessee Senate Republicans on Thursday voted unanimously to nominate Senator Randy McNally, an Oak Ridge Republican, to the top leadership post-lieutenant governor and speaker of the Senate.
Lieutenant Governor Ron Ramsey, a Blountville Republican, will continue to hold the position until the Tennessee General Assembly convenes on January 10, when the full Senate will formally vote on his successor.
The nomination of McNally of Thursday was part of the Senate Majority Caucus leadership elections in Nashville on Thursday. The elections were for leaders in the 110th General Assembly.
"I am tremendously honored to be the nominee of my party for the position of lieutenant governor and speaker of the Senate," said McNally, who currently serves as chairman of the Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee. "I am proud to serve with such tremendous and talented membership and am looking forward to building on the success we have seen under Lieutenant Governor Ramsey."
McNally said fiscal responsibility is the cornerstone of success in Tennessee.
"We have cut taxes, limited spending, and balanced our budget," McNally said. "Our state carries little debt and boasts AAA ratings from all three credit rating agencies. But we still have challenges ahead and mountains to climb. I am confident Tennessee's best days are ahead of us. I look forward to standing before the full Senate in January, and I hope I am blessed to serve as lieutenant governor as we enter a new era of Tennessee success."
During the Thursday election, the Senate Republican Caucus also voted unanimously to re-elect Senator Mark Norris, a Collierville Republican, for a sixth term as Senate majority leader and Senator Bill Ketron, a Murfreesboro Republican, for a fourth term as Republican Caucus chairman.
Born January 30, 1944
Married with two children
1962 Graduate of Oak Ridge High School
B.S., Memphis State University, 1967
U.T., College of Pharmacy, 1969
Hospital Pharmacist, 1978 to present, at Methodist Medical Center, Oak Ridge, TN
Senate member of the 95th through 110th General Assemblies
House member of the 91st through 94th General Assemblies
Distinguished Service Award, UT College of Pharmacy 1996
Paul Harris Fellow, Rotary International 1996
Bill Bates Award 1994
MADD Outstanding Legislator, Distinguished Service Award, American Council on Alcohol Problems 1994
Common Cause "Bird Dog" Award 1994
Sertoma Man of the Year 1991
Recipient of Republican Legislator of the Year 1990
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - House Speaker Beth Harwell on Thursday won the Republican nomination to serve for another two-year term as leader of the lower chamber of the Tennessee General Assembly.
The former professor from Nashville defeated Rep. Jimmy Matlock of Lenoir City in a 40-30 vote. The vote came after a tumultuous year for the House amid a series of allegations of sexual harassment by Republican Rep. Jeremy Durham that ultimately led to a September vote to expel a sitting member for the first time in 36 years.
While Democrats criticized Harwell for not doing enough to go after sexual harassment, some fellow Republicans argued she did too much to facilitate Durham's ouster.
"This past year has been a difficult one on this body, but I commend you for remaining focused on what is important, and that is moving Tennessee forward," Harwell said.
The chamber has also been roiled by disagreements over a North Carolina-style bill to ban transgender students from using restrooms of their choice and an effort to make the Bible the official book of Tennessee.
Republican Gov. Bill Haslam had opposed the bathroom bill and vetoed the Bible measure.
Matlock said his supporters had expressed disdain about what they see as outside interference with the chamber's initiatives.
Matlock said members told him: "Stop, push back, do not allow us any longer to be led by the media or the administration. We're the House; we will be the House; we want to rule as the House. We're separate."
Born on July 24, 1957 in Norristown, PA
Married, spouse Sam, three children, Allie, Sam and Tucker
Church of Christ
Former Associate Professor, Belmont University
Ph.D. Vanderbilt University
M.S. George Peabody College
B.A. David Lipscomb University
House Speaker, 107th through 108th General Assemblies
House member of the 96th through 110th General Assemblies
Douglas Henry State Museum Commission
Tennessee State Museum Foundation Board
Mental Health America of Middle Tennessee Board of Directors
Republican Legislative Campaign Committee Executive Committee
National Speakers Conference, President
Montgomery Bell Academy Board of Directors
RSLC Right Women Right Now Co-Chair
PearlPoint Cancer Support Board of Directors
Jobs for Tennessee Graduates Board of Directors
Economic Council on Women 1999
Agape Board of Directors 1992-1998
Nashville Vanderbilt Club, Board of Directors 1996-1998
Women's NETWORK Advisory Board - 1998
Luton Mental Health, Board of Directors 1988-1996
American Heart Association, Board of Directors 1995
Centennial Medical Center Board of Directors - 1995
David Lipscomb University Business Advisory Council - 1995
Knowles Senior Citizens Center - Board of Directors - 1995
Child Abuse Prevention, Board of Directors 1989-1994
Leadership Nashville, 1992
Economic Council on Women Nashville Women Careerist, 1983
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The Caucus members also reelected Sen. Mark Norris of Collierville as Senate majority leader, Sen. Bill Ketron of Murfreesboro as Senate Republican Caucus chairman, Sen. Becky Massey of Knoxville as caucus secretary and Sen. Ferrell Haile of Gallatin as treasurer.
Longtime ethics champion McNally poised to become speaker Associated Press • Nov 16, 2016 at 9:19 PM
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Republican state Sen. Randy McNally, a longtime champion of ethics and transparency, is poised to become the next speaker of the Tennessee Senate
Senate Republicans, who control 28 of 33 seats in the upper chamber of the General Assembly, are scheduled to meet Thursday to nominate their leaders. McNally has been the consensus choice to succeed Speaker Ron Ramsey, who has retired.
McNally played a key undercover role in the FBI's Rocky Top bingo investigation in the 1980s, and later in the response to the agency's 2005 Tennessee Waltz bribery sting operation that sent five former lawmakers to prison.
As a member of the state House in 1980, McNally was among lawmakers voting to oust then-Rep. Robert Fisher, an Elizabethton Republican had been convicted of bribery for asking for a bribe to kill a bill.
Fisher was the last sitting member expelled from either chamber of the General Assembly until the House ousted Rep. Jeremy Durham, R-Franklin, over sexual harassment allegations in September.
McNally had been elected to the state Senate by the time the FBI launched its investigation into fishy bingo operations in Tennessee. Frustrated by state regulators ignoring his concerns, McNally called the FBI to complain and ultimately agreed to wear a wire during his interactions in the legislative office complex.
McNally was almost immediately offered an envelope with $300 in cash from a lobbyist helping the gambling operations, which the lawmaker did not report as a campaign contribution under the direction of his FBI handlers.
Once lobbyists saw he was willing to take money off the books, other offers started coming McNally's way - including one for $10,000 if he would vote in favor of a horse racing bill.
"At first, it was rather stressful," McNally recalled a decade later. "You don't get used to walking around with a recorder on your back."
The probe eventually led to a prison sentence for Democratic state Rep. Tommy Burnett and the suicides of Secretary of State Gentry Crowell and legislator Ted Ray Miller.
The 2005 Tennessee Waltz operation involved an FBI front company that secretly recorded 2,000 hours of video and audio of lawmakers being wined and dined - and paid off in cash by undercover agents.
Other House Republican leadership positions filled in the voting:
Speaker Pro-tem: Curtis Johnson
Majority Leader: Glen Casada
Caucus Chairman: Ryan Williams
Caucus Vice-Chairman: Rep. Dennis Powers of Jacksboro.
Assistant Republican Leader: Rep. David Hawk of Greeneville.
Republican Whip: Rep. Timothy Hill of Blountville.
Republican Floor Leader: Rep. Micah Van Huss of Gray.
Secretary/Treasurer: Rep. Dawn White of Murfreesboro
Assistant Floor Leader: Rep. John Crawford of Kingsport and Rep. Ron Gant of Rossville
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