Wikipedia

Jeremy Durham

Jeremy Ryan Durham is an American former politician and attorney. From January 2013 to September 2016 he served as the Republican member of the Tennessee House of Representatives for the 65th District, encompassing parts of Williamson County, Tennessee.[2][3] On July 13, 2016 a special committee of the Tennessee House of Representatives released a report that found Durham had had inappropriate "sexual interactions" with 22 women.[4][5] On September 13, 2016, Durham was expelled from the Tennessee House of Representatives on a 70–2 vote.

Jeremy Ryan Durham
Member of the Tennessee House of Representatives
from the 65th district
In office
January 8, 2013 – September 13, 2016
Succeeded bySam Whitson
Personal details
Born1983 or 1984 (age 39–40)[1]
Political partyRepublican
SpouseJessica Durham
Residence(s)Franklin, Tennessee, U.S.
EducationUniversity of Tennessee
University of Memphis Law School
OccupationLawyer, politician

Early years edit

Jeremy Durham was born in Jackson, Tennessee and grew up in Adamsville.[6] He graduated from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville in 2006 and earned a J.D. from the University of Memphis Law School in 2008.[2] From 2009 to 2011 he served as chairman of the Tennessee Young Republican Federation and founded the Tennessee Young Republicans PAC, which raised nearly $25,000 for Republican candidates in Tennessee.[7] He was a partner in the law firm Hawkins, Durham & Associates from 2010 to 2012.[6]

Tennessee legislature edit

Committee assignments edit

Durham was a member of the Tennessee House Insurance and Banking Committee, the House Local Government Committee, and the House Local Government Subcommittee.[2] In December 2014, during the 109th General Assembly, he was elected House Majority Whip.[8]

Legislation edit

As of May 2016 Durham was the primary sponsor of 171 bills.[9]

Awards edit

Durham was named "Freshman of the Year, Republican" in 2014 by Tom Humphrey, the Nashville Bureau Chief and primary political correspondent for the Knoxville News Sentinel.[10][11] In January 2013 he was one of the first recipients of the American Conservative Union's Tennessee House "ACU Conservative" award.[12] As part of the Williamson County legislative delegation, he was awarded the 2015 ACU Award For Conservative Excellence, its highest award.[13][14]

Controversies edit

Durham wrote to a federal judge in 2014 seeking a more lenient sentence for a Bedford County Baptist youth pastor who had been convicted on a federal charge of possessing "'violent' and 'sadistic'" child pornography and state charges of statutory rape.[15] Tennessee Lieutenant Governor Ron Ramsey called the move "poor judgment."[16]

Sexual harassment and expulsion edit

In January 2016, Durham was accused of sexually harassing three women (by text message) who worked at the legislature. When speaking to the media about the allegations, Lieutenant Governor and Speaker of the Senate Ron Ramsey said, "Obviously, we don't want the press lynching anybody. But the press didn't force anyone to send text messages after midnight asking for pictures."[17] Durham resigned as House Majority Whip on January 24, 2016.[18] On January 27 House Speaker Beth Harwell said she agreed with Ramsey that Durham should be expelled from the state legislature.[19][20][21] Durham has said that he did not remember sending the texts. He told the Republican Caucus that he would seek "help", then clarified to the Williamson Herald, a newspaper in his district, that he meant he would speak to his doctor about finding ways to manage stress.[19]

On April 1, 2016 Durham filed papers and announced his intention to run for re-election.[22] On April 7, 2016, Speaker Harwell directed that Durham's office be moved out of the Tennessee State House into a nearby building and restrictions were placed on his access to state facilities. The Tennessee Attorney General had recommended that some action be taken as his preliminary investigation indicated Durham might pose a risk to "unsuspecting women."[23] On July 13, 2016, the Attorney General's special investigation found that Durham had sexually harassed at least 22 women, reportedly "...including a then-20-year-old college student who told investigators Rep. Jeremy Durham plied her with a cooler full of beer and had sex with her in his office in 2014.".[4] On July 14, 2016 Durham announced he was suspending his re-election campaign.[24][25]

Since the AG report, House Democrats had called for Durham's expulsion. Republicans joined in after learning he could still draw his pension even though he would not be in office for the next legislative session. An expulsion would prevent his pension from vesting.[26] Governor Bill Haslam called an extraordinary session of the General Assembly to convene in September 2016. This session was to address DUI laws that would cost the state $60 million in federal funding if the state was not in compliance by October 1.[27] The expulsion of Durham was not included in the proclamation as Haslam said it was not the role of the administration to decide.[26] Speaker Beth Harwell commented that she would push for an expulsion motion during the session. Durham's attorney raised concerns over the constitutionality of an expulsion motion in an extraordinary session as it was outside the scope of the Governor's call. However, the Speaker and the House Clerk's office stated that an expulsion motion is procedural instead of legislative and that there is also precedent for the House passing Resolutions during an extraordinary session. Republican Caucus Chairman Glen Casada pointed to the 1866 extraordinary session where the General Assembly expelled six members following the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment.[28] The expelled Members in 1866 were intentionally absent from the session in an attempt to stop the ratification through the lack of quorum.

On the second day of the extraordinary session, Representative Susan Lynn made the motion to expel Durham during the unfinished business portion of the agenda. Durham spoke from the well defending himself and criticized the lack of due process during the procedures. He also answered some questions from other Representatives during the debate before eventually leaving the Capitol abruptly.[29] A motion was made to force Durham to return to the Chambers to continue answering questions; however that motion failed. Durham was then expelled from the Tennessee House of Representatives on September 13, 2016 with a vote of 70-2-16.[29] Most of the sixteen abstaining voters sided with Durham's criticism over the lack of due process.[30]

Personal life edit

Durham works as a small business attorney in Franklin, Tennessee.[2][6] He is married to Dr. Jessica Durham, an optometrist.[2][3] They reside in Franklin, Tennessee.[3]

2022 arrest edit

On the evening October 22, 2022, Durham was charged with driving under the influence, along with resisting arrest and possession of marijuana, after he crashed at an intersection in Downtown Nashville.[31]

References edit

  1. ^ "Jeremy Durham expelled from Tennessee House in 70-2 vote". The Tennessean.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Representatives - TN General Assembly". Archived from the original on January 12, 2009. Retrieved January 25, 2016.
  3. ^ a b c "Meet Jeremy Durham". jeremydurham4tn.com. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
  4. ^ a b "Lobbyists warned others that TN Rep. Durham "creepy"". Retrieved July 14, 2016.
  5. ^ Boucher, Dave; Ebert, Joel (July 13, 2016). "Jeremy Durham had sexual 'interactions' with 22 women, report says". tennessean.com. The Tennessean. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
  6. ^ a b c "Attorney Jeremy Durham, Franklin, Tennessee". attorneyjeremydurham.com. Archived from the original on January 29, 2016. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
  7. ^ Flagg, Craig (November 4, 2014). "Jeremy Durham retains District 65 seat". The Tennessean. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
  8. ^ "GOP nominates Harwell, Ramsey to keep leadership posts". The Tennessean. December 10, 2014. Retrieved January 25, 2016.
  9. ^ "Tennessee Bills". openstates.org. Sunlight Foundation. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  10. ^ Humphrey, Tom (May 3, 2014). "More superlative performances in the 2014 legislative session". Tom Humphrey's Humphrey On the Hill. Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
  11. ^ "State Rep. Durham Named "Freshman Legislator Of The Year"". advertisernews.biz. The Advertiser News. May 13, 2014. Archived from the original on June 3, 2016. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
  12. ^ "ACU Announces 2013 Ratings of the Tennessee General Assembly". conservative.org. American Conservative Union. January 23, 2014. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
  13. ^ "Williamson County Legislative Delegation awarded top conservative honors". The Williamson Herald. CMD Publishing. January 21, 2016. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
  14. ^ "Rep. Durham Named Top Conservative In Tennessee". jeremydurham4tn.com. January 21, 2016. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
  15. ^ South, Todd (July 22, 2014). "Former Tennessee pastor gets break in child porn sentence". Times Free Press. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
  16. ^ Cowan, Jill (December 11, 2015). "Ramsey: Durham letter in porn case showed 'poor judgment'". The Tennessean. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
  17. ^ Ramsey added, "The press didn't force somebody to have an affair with another state rep and force them to resign." "Rep. Jeremy Durham denies affair with House colleague who later quit". timesfreepress.com. January 28, 2016. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
  18. ^ "Jeremy Durham confirms resignation as whip". The Tennessean. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
  19. ^ a b Boucher, Dave (January 27, 2016). "Speaker Harwell: Expel Durham from legislature". The Tennessean. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
  20. ^ Sisk, Chas (February 9, 2016). "Lawmakers Turn Durham Investigation Over To Tennessee Attorney General". nashvillepublicradio.org. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
  21. ^ "GOP Anti-Trans Rep Can't Stop Harassing Women Co-Workers".
  22. ^ "Jeremy Durham to run for re-election". The Tennessean. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
  23. ^ Ebert, Joel (April 8, 2016). "Jeremy Durham's office moved across street after AG probe". The Tennessean.
  24. ^ Ebert, Joel; Boucher, Dave (July 14, 2016). "Rep. Jeremy Durham suspends his campaign, doesn't resign". tennessean.com. The Tennessean. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
  25. ^ "Married politician nicknamed ‘Pants Candy’ sexually harassed at least 22 women on job"
  26. ^ a b Gervin, Cari Wade (September 8, 2016). "Special Session Will Attempt to Oust Durham". Nashville Post. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
  27. ^ "Haslam To Call Special Session To Prevent Loss of $60 Million in Federal Highway Funds". Tennessee State Government Newsroom. Tennessee State Government. September 2, 2016. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
  28. ^ Gervin, Cari Wade (September 12, 2016). "Motion to Expel Durham Coming Tuesday". Nashville Post. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
  29. ^ a b Ebert, Joel; Boucher, Dave (September 13, 2016). "Jeremy Durham expelled from Tennessee House in 70-2 vote". The Tennessean. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
  30. ^ Associated Press (September 13, 2016). "The Latest: Tennessee governor lauds vote to oust lawmaker". Associated Press: The Big Story. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
  31. ^ "Former TN state Rep. Jeremy Durham charged with DUI, resisting arrest". WKRN News 2. October 23, 2022. Retrieved May 13, 2023.

External links edit

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