Williamson Lawmaker Jeremy Durham Gets No Sympathy From Ron Ramsey

State Rep. Jeremy Durham, R-Franklin, was the subject of a “robo-call” over the weekend that urged him to resign.

According to the Tennessean, many residents of Williamson County received anonymous calls that featured a recorded message from a woman who identified herself as Carol. The calls described recent coverage of Durham and said he should either step down or be removed by Republican leadership.

Original post, Dec. 11:

One of Tennessee’s top Republicans says allegations a Williamson County lawmaker tried to obtain medication illegally are “very serious.”

Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey says state Rep. Jeremy Durham has shown questionable judgment. Ramsey says he’s troubled after reading the transcript of Durham’s interview with law enforcement at a Kroger pharmacy in 2013.

Investigators believed Durham
altered an outdated prescription and submitted it to a pharmacy, in violation of state law. A grand jury did not recommend prosecution, but that doesn’t satisfy Ramsey.

“It looks very serious to me — even though they chose not to indict,” says Ramsey.

Ramsey is equally harsh about a letter Durham sent on official stationary to a judge on behalf of Joseph Todd Neill, a pastor in Bedford County who was convicted in 2014 for possessing images on his phone of a 16-year-old who went to his church.

Durham
wrote that Neill “comes from a very reputable family” and had already suffered from the publicity his case received.

Ramsey says the letter, which came to light this week, shows poor judgment because such things can come back to haunt lawmakers.

“This wasn’t shoplifting,” said Ramsey. “It wasn’t anything like that. You’d have to think twice about anything like that.”