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Tennessee state house speaker raises more questions about whether he actually lives in his district [1]

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Date: 2023-04-12  

Sexton nominally represents the 25th district, a swath of exurban and rural territory between Knoxville and Nashville. He claims a condo in Crossville as his residence. However, Sexton’s youngest child attends a private Christian school outside Nashville. Sexton frequently shows up at school events with his wife, Lacey—even though the school is some 200 miles west of Crossville.

This is significant, because one of Sexton’s nominal neighbors told Legum that Sexton only shows up at that condo on weekends, as well as occasional weekdays when school isn’t in session. How does the neighbor know? Every time Sexton shows up, he’s accompanied by a law enforcement detail.

In the past, Sexton has brushed off questions about his residence. As late as February, he simply brushed off a question from The Tennessee Holler, a local political blog.

x WATCH: “TN is at the bottom in crime, poverty, education funding… why is attacking 🏳️‍🌈 people the priority? Is Tennessee a theocracy? —- Where do you actually live, Cameron? Crossville or Nashville?”



So many questions for speaker @CSexton25, so little time. pic.twitter.com/HsWOu6uVCm — The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) February 3, 2023

However, he realized he could no longer ignore these issues, so he reached out to Phil Williams, longtime investigative reporter at Nashville CBS affiliate WTVF. Williams peered into the guts of Tennessee’s residency statute and noted that Sexton seems to be relying on two exceptions to the presumption that a married person’s residence is determined by where that person’s spouse and family live. For instance, a person doesn’t lose their residency by leaving provided they have the intention of returning.

x Tennessee's residency statute also states that "a person does not lose residence if, with the definite intention of returning, the person leaves home ... for temporary purposes, even if of one or more years duration." 3/ pic.twitter.com/HzwAI8IdvS — Phil Williams (@NC5PhilWilliams) April 10, 2023

Additionally, a Tennessean doesn’t lose their residency if he or she is employed “in the service of the United States or this state” and the nature of that employment keeps him or her elsewhere. Fair enough. But Sexton undermines that claim by admitting that since he spends so much time in Nashville, he might as well have his family there as well.

x The statute also says that "a person does not gain or lose residence solely by reason of the person's presence or absence while employed in this service of ... this state." Sexton argues, as Speaker, he has to be in Nashville so often that it's easier to have his family here. 4/ pic.twitter.com/TrgFCMmEVY — Phil Williams (@NC5PhilWilliams) April 10, 2023

According to Legum, the issue isn’t the amount of time Legum spends in Nashville on official business, but where he lives for the rest of the year. According to the 2022 House Ledger Sheet, Sexton spent just 42 days on official business outside of the legislative session, which normally runs from January to April.

Legum spoke with a couple of Tennessee election law experts who think there are some real questions about whether Sexton actually lives in Crossville. One of them, John Spragens, concluded that based on what has been revealed, “someone could easily conclude that Sexton is living in Nashville.” Spragens recalled that while it wasn’t out of the ordinary for a speaker to live outside of his district for most of the year, Sexton was definitely “the first to expel members while his own house is not in order.” Spragens added that the legislature is “the sole arbiter of any member’s qualifications,” but added that Sexton’s residency could be challenged in court if he runs in 2024.

The other lawyer, Gary Blackburn, believed that Sexton was almost certainly “violat(ing) the spirit of this law” and was acting “contrary to the intent of the statute.” He cautioned, however, that the statute is vague enough to make enforcement difficult. Despite this, Blackburn agrees that Sexton could potentially be forced into court to defend his residency.

From where I’m sitting, though, it’s awfully hard for Sexton to explain how he can spend a little more than a month on official business apart from the legislative session and only show up in Crossville mostly on weekends during the rest of the year. Unless he can provide such an explanation, then at a minimum he ought to stand down as speaker. Preferably, though, he ought to resign altogether while he can at least appear to be going decently. Failing either of those, if anyone is willing to challenge Sexton’s residency in court—the best route to hold Sexton to account, given the GOP supermajority—they had better be about it.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/4/12/2163570/-Tennessee-state-house-speaker-raises-more-questions-about-whether-he-actually-lives-in-his-district

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