Joey Garrison

USA Today Network - Tennessee

Davidson County Election Commission Chairman Ron Buchanan resigned from his post Monday in advance of an investigative television report that showed him turn combative with a female reporter and call her a “b ----.”

Buchanan submitted a resignation to the Tennessee Division of Elections before the story aired Monday evening. In an interview with The Tennessean, he was unapologetic about his choice of words and disputed the basis of the reporting that led to his confrontation with WSMV-TV reporter Alanna Autler.

“I said it. I meant it. I still mean it,” Buchanan said. “That was the one word that I could think of that accurately conveyed what I was thinking at that time.

“I should not have used that terminology, but as the media has the freedom of press, individuals have the freedom of speech. And I can tell her what I think about her. And I did that, and I don’t apologize for it. There are people that don’t think I should have done it and that it hurts politics in this area, and so be it.”

The TV report shows a visibly angry Buchanan grabbing a television camera and ending the interview by telling Autler: "That's exactly the b ---- I thought you would be."

On multiple occasions, Autler told Buchanan that he cannot touch the camera. At one point, she said doing so is assault on a photographer.

"Wow, you want to say that again, Mr. Buchanan?" Autler said in response. "Do not touch me. Do you want to say that again for the camera?"

The subject of the report questions expenses of election administrator Kent Wall that he made using a Metro-issued credit card paid for with tax dollars. Credit card charges include a $614 payment for a custom-made picture frame to display an oversize map of Metro Council districts and a separate $123 payment to cover a dinner that Wall and Buchanan had at Sperry’s restaurant in Belle Meade.

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Those expenses came at a time when early voting sites for the August election were in jeopardy because of a budget feud with then-Mayor Karl Dean’s administration. Commissioners had claimed they had been shorted of funding.

Buchanan, one of three Republicans on the five-member commission, said he used the vulgar term because of a "personal comment" he alleged Autler directed at him, but declined to say what it was. Footage from WSMV-TV did not appear to show her saying anything beyond the subject matter of the story.

WSMV news director Jim Gilchriest, in a brief statement, called Buchanan's take of events leading to the confrontation "wrong" and said the news station would let the story speak for itself.

Based on seniority on the commission, Buchanan's chairmanship has been filled on a temporary basis by A.J. Starling, one of two Democrat commissioners.

Buchanan's comments drew criticism from both Nashville Mayor Megan Barry, a Democrat, and Republican Tennessee Speaker of the House Beth Harwell.

In a prepared statement, Barry called Buchanan's behavior and treatment of Autler "outrageously inappropriate." She also announced she has now directed the Metro Finance Department to revoke the election commission's credit card privileges and to perform an audit of the recent purchases.

Barry said that although Metro has worked to reduce the number of credit cards that are available to departments, she wants to be certain that the city is following best practices.

"It is good that Mr. Buchanan has resigned, but unfortunate that he has shown no remorse for his words or actions," Barry said. "Government officials should be able to withstand tough questions."

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Buchanan was appointed to the election commission in 2013. In accordance with that appointment process, he was recommended by Nashville's Republican delegation of the General Assembly and approved by the state election commission.

“The actions of Mr. Buchanan were completely inappropriate and unacceptable," said Harwell, the Nashville delegation's top Republican. "He did the right thing by resigning.”

At an already-scheduled meeting with the election commission Monday, several Metro Council members also criticized Buchanan's behavior and offered support for the mayor's audit.

In his resignation letter, Buchanan said his decision to resign had nothing to do with the subject of the reporting, but he decided it was the right move because of the altercation with the reporter. He said he did not want to become a "lightning rod" and distraction on the election commission.

"There are some that may feel my description of her conduct was inappropriate," he wrote. "That is understandable, but it is certainly not uncommon. I would estimate 90 percent of the adult men would have used the same term to describe the reporter's conduct if they had been present, or a similar word would have been used by women to describe the conduct if it had been a male reporter."

When asked to respond to criticism that his choice of words was sexist, Buchanan disagreed, arguing, "The b-word goes both ways. There’s b-words for both male and female genders.”

Buchanan also defended Wall's use of the credit card, claiming the expenses detailed in the television report met “all Metro codes” in regards to procurement requirements. He said he doesn’t believe there was anything inappropriate with the Sperry's dinner, which came after a compromise between the Metro Council and election commission last year resolved the budget spat.

Buchanan justified Wall treating him to the meal as a reward for hard work.

“(Wall) said, ‘I think you’re entitled to the election commission buying you a dinner for all the time you’ve put into this,' ” Buchanan said. “And he did.”

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Last month, Wall announced his intention to retire at the end of March.

Buchanan called the TV report “an effort to discredit Kent that goes back to the budget battle last year.” He said he repeatedly declined interview requests from the TV reporter “because I knew it was a setup.”

Finally, he said, he agreed to meet last Friday, when he accused the reporter of violating interview guidelines that he had agreed to. He said he tried to stop the interview, but alleged the reporter continued asking questions and then “made a personal comment to me.

“I turned around and she made that personal comment. It had nothing to do with the issue at hand. And when she did, I turned around and said, ‘You b---- .’ "

Buchanan, who said he made his decision Monday morning to resign, said he had already intended to resign in the summer to accommodate a move to a house he is building in Florida.

"This situation has just accelerated that by about six months," he said.

Reach Joey Garrison at 615-259-8236 and on Twitter @joeygarrison.