Buckle Up Buttercup...We're in for a Wild and Bumpy Ride.
What do the culture wars, penalty boxes and a special session have in common...? It's only the first week of the 114th Tennessee General Assembly!
Kate, my campaign manager, loves the phrase “Buckle up, buttercup.” It’s a response that mostly follows as I’m lamenting about a specific situation that is a direct result of my decision to run for political office in Tennessee.
I knew it would be rough, jaw-droppingly punitive, and volatile, and it is… probably worse. But, I’m still happy I did run and immensely grateful for the opportunity to lead in this particular moment in American and Tennessee history… I know so many of you are counting on me, and it’s why I wake up every morning, kiss Franky, my pug, and say “Mom has to go to the legislature to fight some bullies.”
The initial week of this session was fraught with one-sided rulemaking, an announcement from our Governor to take up a special session (during our regular session?!?!) to force a vote on school vouchers (see below for more information), and, of course, our GOP supermajority’s favorite tailgating activity… bullying our trans community.
Regarding the House procedural rules, our Chairman told us that based on the rules alone, the GOP supermajority could carry over 2000 bills to ours… wait for it… 200. If that’s not enough, they decided that the third strike-your-out rule this year includes being escorted out of the Chamber and thrown in time-out in a remote “penalty box” where you have to vote remotely. You can’t make this up.
To the folks who don’t live in Tennessee and are reading this, I’m grateful you’re still here. Perhaps you’re nosy like me, or maybe you want to observe the wrath of an unhinged electoral autocracy spiraling into “Southern nice” fascism. For those of us who live here, you already know, you’re in for a wild ride…. meanwhile, some of us will probably be watching from the penalty box.
Aftyn
Legislative Updates
Session Housekeeping
Opening week was a chaotic frenzy of scheduling, committee selection, and House chamber officers/constitutional officer swearing-ins…next week (Jan.20-24th), as members head to DC for the inauguration, we have an “organizational session” when it’s pretty quiet around Cordell Hull and the Tennessee General Assembly staff can implement the administrative changes.
I did not receive any of my committee preferences, but I will serve on the Agriculture, Transportation, and Naming and Designation committees.
Little do they know that much of my organizing portfolio with RuralOrganzing.org over the past few years has held institutions like USDA, “Big Ag,” and the Farm Bureau accountable for their actions.
You may also remember that last year, we launched the “Rocky Top, Not Rocky Roads” campaign, raising awareness about the lack of investment in our transportation infrastructure, which put pressure on TDOT (Tennessee Department of Transportation) to ask the Legislature for more money.
We relaunched my legislative website! You can find my legislative priorities with their supplemental one-pagers and recorded informational videos here. I’ll add ongoing legislation to this page and hope to complete everything before the bill filing deadline on February 6th. You can also find my legislation for this session on the Tennessee General Assembly’s website by clicking here.
Lastly, a new “Legislature” sub-section has been added to my Substack. I plan to share specific updates about legislation and aim to record videos that will also be posted there.
Voucher Scam and a Special Session
Governor Lee has called for a special session starting January 27th, during which the Legislature will consider education vouchers, relief for Hurricane Helene, and immigration issues. In short: the governor is holding aid relief hostage to motivate votes for his private school voucher initiative by coupling it with stricter anti-immigration measures. Last year, we successfully halted vouchers, and if we accomplish this again, it will mark one of the most significant acts of resistance in Tennessee's history.
For further details on the harmful effects of vouchers in Arizona, click here.
If you want to plug into ongoing organizing efforts, check out SOCM’s Public Ed LinkTree.
Helpful Links for the Legislative Session
See below for various information outlets to understand what’s happening at the Tennessee Legislature. If you have others, please respond to this e-mail, as I’ll keep adding them!
Senator Charlane Oliver’s The Senator’s Source e-mail: way more thorough and professional than my Substack 🤣… she’s doing it better than anyone!
Adam Shoop’s Substack Shoop.WTF which contrasts different pieces of legislation backed by empirical evidence
Our grassroots organization, the East Nashtivists’ People’s Pulse, features invaluable insights from Michele Flynn’s Substack, who thoroughly highlights the latest antics
Keel Hunt’s Field Notes substack: Keel served under former Governor Lamar Alexander and is a prolific author documenting Tennessee politics
Announcements
IT’S TOWNHALL TIME IN TENNESSEE! We are fortunate to have fabulous Council Members in House District 51, and we’re collaborating to arrange town halls throughout the district in 2025. Please mark your calendars and return to our events page on our website for continuous updates on logistics.
In the Press
State Democrats Expected to Push Universal Pre-K, Recycling, Roads, and More
Tennessee bill would let students self-administer lifesaving seizure medication at school
Resolution to honor anti-trans activist Riley Gaines passes Tennessee House
On The Go
First Day of Session
I loved seeing so many friends and constituents on the first day of the session! A big thank you to Indivisible TN and Change TN for hosting the grassroots kick-off event before we gaveled in at 12 PM! Reyn, who’s been on our team since Day 1, also joined for the festivities!
Girl Power Event
A heartfelt thank you to everyone who purchased tickets and joined us for our 2nd Annual Girl Power Event in Nashville! We launched our Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) campaign alongside advocates, community leaders, and supporters from all over the state. We also expressed our gratitude to many of our female candidates who ran in 2024. Special thanks to Ailina Carona (District 57) for collaborating with these small businesses to create thank-you gift bags for our candidates: Tennessee Lavender Company, Easy to Love Plants, The Nook, Apple and Oak, and Amber Reese from the MRL group!
Sending you strength and courage because I imagine even someone as strong as you will need some extra! Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Great roundup! Learned a lot and signed up for all the new recs. (And appreciate the mention!)