Kirk A. Bado

kbado@tennessean.com

Rep. Jeremy Durham is "despicable" and makes a person want to "smack him in the mouth," Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey said during a Thursday news conference, a day after the attorney general published a report detailing sexual harassment claims from 22 women.

"If he is re-elected, I will call Beth Harwell and say 'I think it's time to have a special session,' but she has to initiate that," Ramsey said.

One woman, cited in the report, said when she rebuked Durham's advances because he was married and she was engaged, Durham allegedly said "Welcome to Capitol Hill." Ramsey said that Durham does not speak to the larger culture at the state Capitol.

"When someone like Jeremy Durham says 'welcome to Capitol Hill,' it makes you want to smack him in the mouth," Ramsey said.

The report paints a portrait of Durham, 32, using his power and influence to harass women. In one instance, a 20-year-old college student told investigators Durham and she had sex three times — twice at his legislative office and once at his home.

Ramsey is ready to expel him if he is re-elected.

On Wednesday, House Speaker Beth Harwell and Rep. Steve McDaniel, R-Parkers Crossroads, who chaired a special committee tasked with leading the Durham investigation, expressed skepticism about the prospects of holding a special session, given the timing of the Aug. 4 primary election.

Harwell is set to meet with Ramsey later this afternoon to go over a new sexual harassment policy for the House. Ramsey has not seen the policy yet, and he hopes to go over the proposed policy with his legal team to make sure that an incident like the one involving Durham never happens again.

Women, Democrats stand in solidarity against Durham

An attorney general report released Wednesday stated that Durham engaged in inappropriate sexual conduct with 22 women, including sexual harassment, and his actions warrant expulsion from the Tennessee General Assembly.

While blasting Durham, Ramsey praised the larger culture of the General Assembly, citing witnesses in the report who said Durham was an isolated incident, and not indicative of a larger problem of sexual harassment at the Capitol.

"It's a good culture in the sense that it's not reoccurring, but a bad culture in the fact that (lawmakers) should have turned him in," Ramsey said.

The report cited unidentified House representatives who victims went to after being sexually harassed by Durham. No formal complaints were ever filed against Durham.

Ramsey emphasized the differences between the House and Senate rules for sexual harassment, and how he would have handled a situation like Durham. He said that if anyone came to him, legislative staff or lobbyist, he guaranteed he would take care of it.

Chairwoman of the Tennessee Democratic Party Mary Mancini has called for a special legislative session to expel Durham, and while Ramsey said it was a House decision, he would make sure the Senate was there. But if he were in charge, he said he would wait to see what happens in the election three weeks from now.

"I just have this gut feeling that, after yesterday, he won't be re-elected, and that saves the taxpayers a lot of money."

If a special session were to be called and Durham is expelled, he could still serve in the next legislative session if he is re-elected. He would not face any more charges if he is expelled once already.

While the report painted a bleak picture of women's experience at the state legislature, Ramsey is hopeful that a culture change will come in the report's wake.

"If anything good comes out from this, and it won't be much," Ramsey said, "it will be the fact that from this point forward, not only will people feel free to come forward when something like this happens, but a lawmaker will understand it is his or her obligation to bring this forward."

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