Blackburn campaign drops legal threat of Registry over reappointments

Days after threatening to take Tennessee’s Registry of Election Finance to court over a public records request, gubernatorial candidate U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn dropped the demand for communications dealing with board reappointments.

An initial request for records filed by Blackburn attorney Brandon Smith turned up nothing substantive between Registry board member Tom Lawless, who died suddenly during a weekend trip to New York City, and Executive Director Bill Young regarding gubernatorial appointments of Democratic board member Paige Burcham Dennis and Republican David Golden. The Registry sent no responses to an expansive request by Smith, telling him it had none to provide, mainly because appointments are handled by word of mouth.

Young said Tuesday that Assistant Director Lance Frizzell handles details dealing with appointments but acknowledged that he spoke about the matter with Lawless, who said he would call the governor’s office about appointments, before his untimely death.

The terms of Golden and Burcham Dennis run out at the end of the year, and their reappointments would be made Jan. 1, 2027, unless new gubernatorial appointments are made based on nominations by the state’s Republican and Democratic parties.

A spokesperson for the Blackburn campaign did not respond to questions by the Lookout Tuesday asking whether she was trying to circumvent the governor’s reappointments and make her own.

Blackburn’s campaign hasn’t had a good relationship with the Registry in the last week, blasting the board for forwarding a sworn complaint to the Attorney General’s Officer for an investigation into dark-money spending that targeted her during the Republican primary. A Blackburn spokesperson said the Registry shirked its responsibility by declining to mete out punishment.

Comparably, Blackburn caused a stir in August when she said she would appoint her replacement to the U.S. Senate, if she wins the gubernatorial race. If she resigns from the federal seat before an inauguration, Gov. Lee could make the Senate appointment, creating potential for conflict between the two.

Young said Tuesday he didn’t know exactly why the Blackburn campaign was seeking records but noted the Registry provided a response. 

After receiving no records from the Registry, Smith sent an email letter Sept. 15 to the agency saying, “The notion that not a single communication exists across all nine categories strains credulity.” He further wrote that, “Should the Bureau fail to provide an adequate response, we will not hesitate to pursue all available remedies” under state law, which involves seeking a court order for public records. He gave a Sept. 29 deadline.

The initial request dealt with records of communications between Young, the Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance Director, Lawless, whose death creates a vacuum on the board, Gov. Bill Lee’s office, other Registry board members, state lawmakers and others relating to the reappointment of Burcham Dennis and Golden.

The letter asks Registry staff to go through a wide-ranging search of records on personal devices, email accounts and personal messaging applications used for public business and specifies Young’s and Lawless’s cell phones and email accounts.

But early Tuesday morning, Smith sent a follow-up email to the Registry’s legal counsel canceling the public records request.

The Registry’s attorney, Seth May, sent Smith a letter Monday saying the Registry doesn’t appoint members and that appointments “generate almost no paperwork.” He added that “almost all relevant” communications are done in person or over the phone.

Young also sent a letter to the chairs of the Tennessee Democratic and Republican parties Monday notifying them of the expiring terms of Burcham Dennis and Golden. The Republican and Democratic party executive committees can provide the governor three nominees each to fill the posts, and he requested that each group give the governor enough time to fill the posts before the terms expire.

The governor can request a second list of nominees, Young’s letter says. Young added that he and Assistant Director Lance Frizzell recommend reappointing Golden and Burcham Dennis because of their “exemplary and diligent service.”