Outspoken Tennessee Registry board leader Tom Lawless dies at 72

The voice of Tennessee’s campaign finance watchdog has gone silent.

Tom Lawless, a Nashville attorney and veteran member of the Registry of Election Finance, died suddenly during a weekend trip to New York City at age 72.

Lawless, who also served as judge for the city of Oak Hill in Metro Nashville, was known widely for his sarcasm and banter during Registry board meetings, especially with counterpart Hank Fincher.

Appointed to the board by Senate Republicans, Lawless could be harder on GOP candidates who he didn’t feel followed campaign finance rules than Democrats. In recent years, he rarely missed an opportunity to take a public shot at the office of Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, who he felt gave the Registry short shrift on investigations it requested.

Lawless also called for an investigation into Williamson County political activist Gary Humble to determine whether his state Senate campaign illegally coordinated with his nonprofit organization Tennessee Stands.

“There’s some smoke there, which usually means there’s something underneath that causes it to rise,” Lawless said. 

Eventually, the Registry board took no action against Humble, who narrowly lost to Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson in a 2022 Republican primary. Humble considered the investigation a political attack.

Registry members considered Lawless an independent voice on the board, as well as a mentor.

Lawless earned a bachelor’s degree at MTSU and his law degree at Nashville School of Law and practiced business law, earning multiple national awards. He also served as chairman of the Tennessee Governor’s Commission for Judicial Appointments and was secretary of the Tennessee Board of Judicial Conduct.

He was chairman of the Davidson County Republican Party and one-time candidate for the 5th Congressional District seat in 2002, coming in second. He was a founding member of the Federalist Society of Davidson County.

Fincher, a former Democratic lawmaker from Cookeville, called Lawless “a political warrior of the old breed” who was mentored by the late Democratic Lt. Gov. Frank Gorrell, whom he often quoted.

Fincher characterized him as a “staunch friend and honorable opponent,” as well as a “superb raconteur.”

“Tom could fight savagely over an issue then turn around, share a meal and laugh about what went on, whether he won or lost. But he didn’t lose much, that I ever saw,” Fincher said.

Lt. Gov. Randy McNally said Lawless’ years of service “benefited” the state.

“Tom Lawless was a life-long conservative and a dedicated public servant who brought sound judgment, integrity and a strong commitment to accountability to the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance,” McNally said.

Lawless had his detractors, though, including former House staffer Cade Cothren, who told the Tennessee Journal he was not an “independent” vote on the board.

Lawless and Fincher pushed for the subpoena of Cothren in connection with a secretive political action committee called the Faith Family Freedom Fund. Invoking his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, Cothren refused to testify before the board, which ultimately issued $80,000 in civil penalties against him for eight violations in formation of the PAC. The case remains in dispute.