GOP quarterback, zookeeper, Tennessee House majority leader: Who is William Lamberth?

Most people only know politicians for the bills they sponsor. It’s not often people think about their lives outside of politics.

For this story, WPLN News sat down with Tennessee House Majority Leader William Lamberth and talked about his life outside the capitol and his life leading up to becoming a state elected official.

The interview took place in Lamberth’s office in Cordell Hull. But before plans fell apart, he really wanted it to take place at his home in Sumner County — so he could show off his zoo.

Courtesy William Lamberth

Rep. William Lamberth with his hedgehog at his office at Cordell Hull.

“We have 50-something chickens and four peacocks and a duck and four rabbits and a dog and four cats — three of which are outside, one of which inside. That’s my daughter’s pampered cat, the one inside,” Lamberth said. “We also have two guinea pigs, a hedgehog and a ferret.”

He says for as long as he’s been alive, animals have been around.

“That’s always been a part of kind of my life, so it’d be kind of weird if we didn’t have animals kind of running all over the place,” Lamberth said. “We were hog farmers.”

Not all of his family had pigs, but all had farms.

“I had family members that had tobacco farms and row crops and other type of farms,” said Lamberth.

That was essentially Lamberth’s life growing up, for the most part — hopping from farm to farm, helping his family out with whatever the day’s tasks were.

He, of course, went to school. But like most of his family, he didn’t have any great ambitions to leave farming.

“It just wasn’t something we did. We were primarily farmers and small business owners,” Lamberth said. “You work. You make a living. You take care of your community and your family. And you just try to be a benefit to the community, not a burden.”

It wasn’t until his senior year of high school, when he took a trip to the University of Tennessee of Knoxville, that he decided to become the first in his family to attend college.

“I thought, ‘Wow, these people are not that different from me. College is not something that’s unobtainable,'” said Lamberth.

Courtesy William Lamberth Facebook

Rep. William Lamberth and his wife, Lauren Lamberth, at the University of Tennessee’s last home game in 2012.

So he applied for scholarships, got help from his parents and worked a lot.

“I worked at Outback Steakhouse. I worked at Red Lobster. You know, just worked at different restaurants and stuff, and so I just worked my way through school.”

Lamberth studied political science while at UT, and after he graduated, he went on to law school.

“And one of the reasons why was that Ray Whitley, who’s the district attorney in Sumner County till this day, had prosecuted the man who had struck and killed my Aunt Lola,” Lamberth said.

Lamberth’s aunt was hit by a drunk driver and killed when he was two years old.

“And I thought, ‘Boy, that sounds like something great — to be able to help people through a horrible circumstance and keep your community safe.’ And so I thought, ‘Well, I’ma look into law school,'” said Lamberth.

Once he graduated from William & Mary Law, Lamberth went to work for U.S. District Attorney General Ray Whitley.

After several years, Lamberth was approached by the Republican Party chairman, who suggested he run for state office. Of course, like any smart spouse, he asked his wife what he should do.

“The moment I told her, ‘Hey, they’d like me to run for state representative.’ My wife’s reaction was, ‘Well, yeah, of course you should.'”

He won that election in 2012, and ever since, Lamberth has been representing the Sumner County area in District 44 — and rather successfully. Since being elected, no Republican has run against him.

Lamberth became majority leader in 2019. He likens the position he plays in the General Assembly to a quarterback on the football field.

“It’s helping call the plays. It’s helping get the ball out to guys that are making plays. You know, it is kind of the axis around which a lot of things happen, but it’s not necessarily happening because of me.”

Every now and then though, Lamberth does run out of the pocket and create plays himself. During his time as Majority Leader, he’s sponsored the truth in sentencing bill, which eliminates early release for most violent crimes, and another that bans gender-affirming care for minors.

And he’s showing off those playmaking skills so far for the upcoming special session on public safety. To date, he’s filed eight bills. Below is a short summary of each.

House Bill 7002 requires all public and private Tennessee schools to develop safety response procedures that distinguish whether an emergency is a fire, inclement weather or an active shooter situation.

House Bill 7003 extends lifetime protection for victims of aggravated stalking. The law prohibits convicted offenders from communicating with their victims for life.

House Bill 7004 requires courts to notify local law enforcement agencies when an individual is released from court-ordered emergency evaluation, treatment or care.

House Bill 7007 keeps private sensitive information generally included in autopsy reports, including the child victim’s medical history, photos, toxicology and communication with family members and law enforcement. A parent or guardian can give explicit consent to release the information if they are not a suspect in the crime, or a court may also order the release of the records.

House Bill 7012 provides free firearm locks to Tennessee residents upon request, requires department-approved handgun safety courses to contain instruction on the safe storage of firearms, and makes firearm safes and firearm safety devices tax exempt.

House Bill 7013 changes from 30 days to 72 hours the time frame within which a clerk of the circuit or general sessions court must notify the TBI of the final disposition of criminal proceedings against a person.

House Bill 7014 requires the commissioner of finance and administration to obtain a TennCare new demonstration waiver or amendment to provide medical assistance to members who are receiving care in an institution for mental diseases.

House Bill 7015 expands the offenses for which a person who has been arrested is required to have a biological specimen taken for the purpose of DNA analysis to determine identification characteristics specific to the person if probable cause exists for the arrest.