A Nashville state senator is suing the GOP leadership that sanctioned her for protesting redistricting.
In May, state lawmakers met for a special session to redraw Tennessee’s congressional districts mid-cycle. As the Tennessee Senate voted to carve up the state’s remaining majority-minority district in Memphis, Sen. Charlane Oliver, D-Nashville, stood on her desk, holding a banner that read “No Jim Crow 2.0.”
Because she was standing, Oliver’s “no” vote was not recorded in the official vote tally. At the time, Senate Speaker Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, said, “you have to be in your seat to vote,” but Oliver argued that the chief clerk routinely records oral votes from senators even when they are away from their desk.
In response, McNally stripped Oliver of a committee appointment, refused to pay her for legislative work done outside of the regular session and denied her reimbursement for legislative conferences.
Oliver and her lawyers from the Campaign Legal Center argue that amounts to retaliation. They allege the sanctions not only violate Oliver’s First Amendment right to free speech but her constituents’ rights to equal representation in the legislature.
“As the only Black senator representing Nashville, I carry the voices of people who have been pushed to the margins of this state’s policies for generations,” Oliver said in a statement. “I stood for my constituents and for every Tennessean who needed a voice to reflect their staunch opposition. Punishing me for that speech punishes them.”
MORE: How Tennessee redistricting mirrors a historic split in Nashville’s Black community
McNally’s office did not respond to a request for comment by publication time, but his spokesperson previously told WPLN News that Oliver had the chance to vote and correct the record on the day of, calling both her protest and potential legal action “performative.”
“At every stage, Senator Oliver had opportunities to fulfill her responsibilities as a senator. Instead, she chose to prioritize a political performance over the duties of her office,” said Adam Kleinheider, McNally’s communications director.
Oliver remains the only state senator to face sanctions for her protest. McNally, who is not running for reelection, did not take action against the other Democrats in the Senate who staged a walkout after the measure passed. House Speaker Cameron Sexton, meanwhile, imposed sanctions against every Democrat in the Tennessee House for staging a similar walkout.
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