Harwell: State ends behavior investigation after resignation
Hours after freshman state House Rep. Mark Lovell resigned amid allegations he had inappropriate sexual contact with a woman last week, Speaker Beth Harwell said any investigation into the conduct of an outgoing member would end with his departure.
But House Democrats say the legislature must continue to delve into what happened because allegations about Lovell’s behavior mark the second time in two years that concerns about inappropriate sexual contact by a lawmaker have rocked the Tennessee state Capitol.
The resignation comes a day after The USA TODAY NETWORK-Tennessee began asking legislative leadership about the allegations and the existence of an investigation into Lovell. Several sources, including a Tennessee Republican lawmaker, told The USA TODAY NETWORK-Tennessee Lovell engaged in "inappropriate touching" with a woman last week.
Lovell, R-Eads, confirmed in a phone call Tuesday morning that he resigned, but said the accusations against him are "100 percent false."
“I’m taking away from my family, I’m taking away my business, and now I’ve got accusations of improperness, and it’s like, you know what, I just need to focus on my family and my business and I don’t need people throwing stones at me when it’s not necessary," Lovell said in the phone call.
After Lovell's resignation Harwell said the legislature is no longer allowed to look into his alleged misconduct. “My jurisdiction has ended,” she said Tuesday afternoon.
House Democratic Caucus Chairman Mike Stewart, D-Nashville, said the resignation shouldn't stop any investigation into Lovell's actions.
"We’re just coming off this extraordinary scandal that we had with Representative (Jeremy) Durham, we haven’t been here 90 days, shoot 30 days, and already from reports, if reports are true, we have another problem. So, we have to ask ourselves, ‘Are the systems in place working?’ We need a full investigation into that, but one that protects the confidentiality of any victims," Stewart said in a phone interview Tuesday morning.
There is nothing in the legislature's new sexual harassment policy, adopted in the wake of the Durham scandal, that says an investigation can't proceed if the alleged perpetrator or victim resigns.
Lt. Gov. Randy McNally said Monday night, in general, he wouldn’t comment on any investigation until it was completed.
“If the complaint (was) deemed valid, the Senate would demand a full and public vetting of the matter immediately. The Senate is committed to taking all actions within the law and the rules to ensure a safe workplace for our Senate staff members,” McNally said in a statement emailed by a spokesman.
Lovell, 58, who is married and has three children, defeated incumbent lawmaker Curry Todd in the Republican primary last fall. The defeat came after Todd, a longtime House member who had his own controversial track record, was arrested for stealing some of Lovell’s campaign signs. After Todd's arrest, Lovell bailed him out of jail.
Sources told The USA TODAY NETWORK-Tennessee there was an investigation into the sexual misconduct allegations, although they could not confirm by whom. Under the legislature’s recently adopted sexual harassment policy an investigation could be performed by the House speaker’s office or Legislative Administration.
Connie Ridley, director of Legislative Administration, would not confirm or deny the existence of an investigation. However, she did say in general, her office could not release any findings of an investigation before those findings were reviewed by a House subcommittee created to examine workplace discrimination and sexual harassment.
Read more:
Exclusive: The culture that allowed Durham to thrive
Power opens door to sexual harassment
To combat sexual harassment, lawmakers required to watch video
Incumbent Curry Todd loses to Mark Lovell
Lovell to push for driver's licenses for ex-prisoners
Todd arrested for stealing Lovell’s signs, but Lovell bails him out of jail
See the bills Lovell sponsored in the House
Legislative leaders talking with a lawmaker about inappropriate acts should sound familiar: Harwell asked Ridley to speak with Durham, then the House majority whip, in 2015 about “appropriate behavior.”
Durham’s behavior embroiled the 2016 legislative session after a USA TODAY NETWORK-Tennessee investigation found Durham sent inappropriate late-night text messages to women. Lawmakers later expelled Durham after an attorney general report found the Franklin Republican had inappropriate sexual contact with at least 22 women.
The attorney general's findings prompted calls for change at the legislature, long perceived as a good-old-boys club fueled by late-night deals over drinks and partying. Although Harwell and others in leadership said Durham’s conduct was not typical of the Capitol, Harwell did initiate a special committee to investigate Durham and another to examine the House sexual harassment policy.
Democrats wanted more, and renewed that call Tuesday. Rep. Bo Mitchell, D-Nashville, called for a special prosecutor to look into the Lovell case and the repeal of a law he says makes it harder for possible victims of sexual harassment to sue the state. The law requires those who bring a legal suit to pay for attorneys fees if the suit is not successful; proponents of the law, passed last year, say it will help cut down on frivolous lawsuits.
Mitchell also renewed his call for the House to investigate whether a House lawmaker fired a staff member due to a connection the representative may have had with Durham. Harwell has said the allegation, cited in the attorney general's report, will not be investigated further.
Upon adopting the new sexual harassment policy, Harwell and now-retired Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey assured the changes would lead to a safe working environment for women and men at the statehouse. The additions create more mandatory reporters, including lawmakers, who are now required to tell legislative leadership when they witness or learn of possible harassment.
The policy also states any findings of harassment, and corrective action, will be included in the personnel file of the offender. However Ridley, who also defended House policy before playing a key role in the Durham investigation, has said the state won’t notify the public when someone has been punished.
While the previous complaint policy prohibited anyone involved from discussing the investigation, the new policy does allow the accused and accuser to speak. However, the legislature won’t confirm any details about any investigation before its completion.
The incident involving Lovell, who was scrubbed from the legislative website Tuesday, came less than a week after a deadline for when lawmakers had to watch a 22-minute sexual harassment training video.
READ MORE: Democrat questions effectiveness of sexual harassment video for lawmakers
In addition to the new policy and sexual harassment video, Harwell created a House Ethics Subcommittee that will look at any findings of a harassment investigation. On Monday, Subcommittee Chairman Steve McDaniel, R-Parkers Crossroads, said he could not confirm or deny the existence of any investigation.
The last Tennessee House of Representatives member to resign was Leigh Wilburn, another West Tennessee Republican who left her seat in December 2015.
Lovell defeated Todd and two other contenders in the GOP primary, which essentially earned him the legislative seat representing the very conservative district.
Diane George, a former real estate agent and former Shelby County school board member who came in third in the primary, said Tuesday her phone began "blowing up" after news of Lovell's resignation spread.
Asked if she was ready to go to Nashville, she replied, "I can be ... I have a place to stay, and I've got new tires on my car.
"I want the job."
Reporters Jake Lowary and Clay Bailey contributed to this report.
Reach Dave Boucher at dboucher@tennessean.com or 615-259-8892 and on Twitter @Dave_Boucher1. Reach Joel Ebert at jebert@tennessean.com or 615-772-1681 and on Twitter @joelebert29.