After being stripped of committee assignments and certain pay in June, Nashville Democrat Sen. Charlane Oliver is now threatening legal action against outgoing Lt. Gov. Randy McNally if he declines to rescind punishments for her desk-top protest against Republican redistricting in May.
Oliver stood on her desk to protest as Senate Republicans voted in May todivide the historically Democratic stronghold into three Congressional districts in Memphis. Atop her desk, Oliver unfurled a banner that read “No Jim Crow 2.0,” and began singing the Black National Anthem, later attempting to cast her vote against the measure. Senate clerks removed the banner from her hands, but she remained standing on her desk until the chamber adjourned.
As punishment for
the disruption, McNally removed Oliver from a state Senate committee and barred her from receiving state-paid travel expenses and per diem payments until the legislature returns in January.
Since then, Oliver has been unable to sit on the Senate Government Operations Committee, which meets year-round. The panel's next meeting is scheduled for Aug. 19.
In a press release on Aug. 13, Oliver said she has also since cancelled plans to attend legislative conferences, declined invitations to constituent events and opted not to travel to town halls with the Tennessee Black Caucus of State Legislators because she would not be reimbursed.
Now, Oliver is threatening to take legal action if she's not reinstated to committees and reimbursement privileges. On July 8, attorneys for Oliver wrote to McNally claiming his punishments violated the state and U.S. Constitutions, and demanding she be reinstated, requiring an answer by July 31. Oliver said on Aug. 13 she's received no response.
“If Senator Oliver’s punishments are not promptly revoked, she will consider any and all avenues for seeking legal redress,” her attorneys wrote in the letter, made public on Aug. 13.
In addition to reinstatement to committees, Oliver asked that the legislative record be updated to reflect her vote against the new Congressional map. She also asked the state to pay for travel to the National Conference of State Legislatures annual summit in Chicago in late July.
Oliver is represented by attorneys from the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown University Law Center.
“Fam, they singled me out for punishment. The other members got a warning. I got the full weight of their retaliation, because they know I won’t back down quietly from their authoritarian actions. And now they want to redistrict me out of my seat next year.” Oliver said in a social media post on Aug. 13. “I’m exploring every avenue at my disposal for seeking legal redress — not just for me, but for every Tennessean whose representative gets punished for doing their job.”
Attorneys argued that the punishments are retaliation against Oliver for exercising her First Amendment right to free expression, and effectively deprive her constituents of equal representation.
“When a legislative supermajority uses its power to silence a dissenting voice, erase a duly cast vote and punish a Senator for protesting that abuse of power, the damage reaches far beyond one person,” Oliver said. “The people of Senate District 19 lose representation when their elected Senator is denied a vote and prevented from fully participating in the work of the General Assembly.”
A spokesperson for McNally called Oliver’s legal threat as “performative,” and defended his decision as “an entirely legal and appropriate sanction” that followed “an embarrassing and performative display.”
Tennessee’s Constitution allows the Senate to “punish its members for disorderly behavior,” including expulsion if two-thirds of Senators agree. Senate rules give McNally sole discretion over committee appointments.
“The decision to violate the Senate’s rules of decorum was hers to make. But that decision also carried consequences,” McNally spokesman Adam Kleinheider said. “The claim that she was prevented from voting is simply false."
Kleinheider said that McNally called for the vote and the board was closed before Oliver attempted to cast her vote. In similar circumstances, Senators can go to the clerk’s desk and ask to record their vote before the chamber adjourns.
Kleinheider also said McNally gave Oliver more time to speak than any other member during the debate, and “repeatedly advised” her to finish up her speech.
“Only after those warnings were disregarded was her microphone turned off,” he said.
“At every stage, Senator Oliver had opportunities to fulfill her responsibilities as a senator. Instead, she chose to prioritize a political performance over the duties of her office,” Kleinheider said. “Every action Lt. Governor McNally has taken in response to her immature, aberrant and disrespectful display has been measured, appropriate and entirely legal."
Vivian Jones covers state government and politics for The Tennessean. Reach her at vjones@tennessean.com.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Oliver threatens legal action over committee removal, travel expenses
