Former Tennessee Representative Campbell Files Lawsuit Against Top House Administrator
Image Credit: John Partipilo & capitol.tn.gov
By Sam Stockard [Tennessee Lookout -CC BY-NC-ND 4.0] –
Former state Rep. Scotty Campbell is suing the state Legislature’s top administrator, saying he was forced out amid a workplace harassment complaint filed by an intern in 2023.
Campbell, an East Tennessee Republican, filed a lawsuit Tuesday saying he was “forced to resign upon threat of being expelled – that day – and losing his health insurance” by House Republican Caucus Chairman Jeremy Faison. The filing also says Faison was believed to be conspiring with others to keep the media from finding out a similar complaint had been filed against him.
The former lawmaker filed a public records petition Tuesday in Davidson County Circuit Court against Connie Ridley, director of Legislative Administration, court documents show. The filing contends Ridley and others refused to disclose state records Campbell requested and is entitled to receive under state law.
Campbell resigned April 20 after a subcommittee investigation found he sexually harassed an intern.
Around noon that day, Campbell told the Tennessee Lookout he would not step away from the Legislature even though the Workplace Discrimination & Harassment Subcommittee determined he violated state policy. The subcommittee’s work was done secretly, and members were not allowed to comment on their deliberation.
Two hours later, though, he had vacated the Capitol complex, including the Cordell Hull Building where legislators’ offices are located.
House Speaker Cameron Sexton and House Majority Leader William Lamberth that night denied telling Campbell to leave, but Faison declined to say anything when asked by the Tennessee Lookout.
State documents in a separate open records lawsuit dealing with Campbell’s case contained notes dealing with an alleged victim complaint against Faison, a recent court ruling shows.
Sexton said in a social media post, “Contrary to the serious inference included in the (judge’s) order, no complaint has been filed against Chairman Faison.” Faison has not commented on the matter.
In his filing, though, Campbell “categorically denies that he violated” the workplace discrimination and harassment policy.
NewsChannel5 last year first reported Campbell sexually harassed two legislative interns, making vulgar comments and unwanted advances.
The state spent around $900 to relocate one of the interns from her apartment, shipping her furniture home and paying for her to stay in another downtown apartment the rest of her internship.
Campbell, who served in the House from 2010 to 2012 and then won election again in 2020 and 2022, claims he told Ridley he had consensual conversations with the women after work and tried to show her text messages that would prove his point but that she stopped him from proving his. Campbell’s lawsuit claims one of the interns had been “flirting with him and spending time with him after work.”
Campbell tried to obtain documents to clear his name but was rebuffed, according to the filing.
About the Author: Sam Stockard is a veteran Tennessee reporter and editor, having written for the Daily News Journal in Murfreesboro, where he served as lead editor when the paper won an award for being the state’s best Sunday newspaper two years in a row. He has led the Capitol Hill bureau for The Daily Memphian. His awards include Best Single Editorial from the Tennessee Press Association. Follow Stockard on Twitter @StockardSam