TN Dem County Chairs To Call On Exec Committee To Ask GOP/Mcconnell-Backing DNC Rep Bill Owen To RESIGN
Owen, who runs a lobbying firm called Asset & Equity Corporations, donated to Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., and Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, and gave $8,500 to a joint fundraising committee designed to benefit Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., in 2019.
“I am a committed Democrat but as a lobbyist, there are times when I need to have access to both sides and the way to get access quite often is to make campaign contributions,” said Owen, in a brief interview with The Intercept.
“I’m a registered lobbyist and I represent clients and they have interest in front of Congress and I attend the Senator’s Classic, which is a Republican event, each year,” he added.
Owen noted that he understood how his GOP donations could open him up for criticism but stressed that he also gives to Democrats. Federal Election Commission records show Owen has donated to Democrats in previous years, but has not donated to his own party’s congressional candidates this cycle. Owen has not given to any presidential candidates this cycle.
A former member of the Tennessee state legislature, Owen is currently an executive member of the Tennessee Democratic Party and DNC, making him one of the 771 unpledged delegates, also known as superdelegates, who could play a hand in selecting the presidential nomination. Owens is a supporter of former Vice President Joe Biden’s presidential campaign, and has pushed to use superdelegates to make Biden the nominee.
The Tennessee Democrat worked in 2018 to block a Sanders-backed plan to weaken the role of superdelegates in the nomination process. “If we don’t have a vote, then what good are we?” Owen told Politico at the time.
Friends & Fellow County Party Chairs,The TNDP State Executive Committee re-elected Bill Owen, a healthcare lobbyist, for another 4-year term as East Tennessee’s *DNC representative at their January 11th meeting. Yesterday, an online media outlet reported that Mr. Owen contributed thousands of dollars to Republicans, including a joint fundraising committee backing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.Sara and I independently reviewed FEC filings of his individual contributions and found that in 2019 alone, Bill Owen personally contributed $18,000 to Republicans, including $8,500 to the GOP Senators Classic Committee, which funds McConnell and more than a dozen other Republican Senators. Mr. Owen did not contribute a single dollar to Democrats in 2019.
While there is not a mechanism for Mr. Owen to be removed at the state level, we believe that in light of this information, State Executive Committee members have an obligation to ask for Mr. Owen’s resignation and if he does not resign, State ECs should call on the Democratic National Committee to remove Mr. Owen.
We ask you to call on your (elected!) State Executives to act and we invite you to participate in an open letter with us, which we intend to publish and release to media after Super Tuesday.If you are interested, please reply to this email.In Solidarity,Sarah Herron, Blount County Democratic Party Chair | 865-599-2038Sara Thompson, Sevier County Democratic Party Chair | 865-607-0934(State Executive Committee District 2)*Bill Owen’s DNC position automatically makes him one of Tennessee’s Superdelgates. He has been drawing national attention for his public comments concerning his intention to undermine voters as a Superdelegate if it appears Sen. Bernie Sanders may win the nomination. We believe it is worth noting that Sarah Herron is a delegate candidate for Joe Biden, and Sara Thompson is a delegate candidate for Sen. Elizabeth Warren.—
State Executive Committee
Marjorie Ramsey
District 1- Cocke, Greene, Hamblen, Sevier
(423) 623-7610
marjorie4statehousedist11@gmail.com Barbara Wagner
District 2- Sevier, Blount
(865)-654-4496
[email protected]Debbie Harley McClaskey
District 3- Washington, Carter, Unicoi
(423) 676-3567
[email protected]Lori Love
District 4- Sullivan, Carter, Johnson
(423) 367-7627
[email protected]Anne Backus
District 5- Anderson, Knox, Loudon
(865) 556-3099
[email protected]Sylvia Woods
District 6- Knox
(865) 414-4161
[email protected]Emily Gregg
District 7- Knox
(615) 557-6737
[email protected]Rachel Fuentes
District 8- Jefferson, Claiborne, Grainger, Hancock, Hawkins, Union
(203) 918-9006
[email protected]Pam Weston
District 9- Monroe, Bradley, McMinn, Meigs, Polk
(717) 515-2336
[email protected]Demetrus Coonrod
District 10- Hamilton
423-314-9897
[email protected]Rachel Campbell
District 11- Hamilton
(423) 227-0759
[email protected]Tracey Vought Williams
District 12- Morgan, Campbell, Fentress, Pickett, Rhea, Roane, Scott
(865) 742-6569
[email protected]Caroline McGee
District 13- Rutherford
[email protected]Tanea McClean
District 14- Bedford, Lincoln, Marshall, Moore, Rutherford
(629) 335-0698
[email protected]Cheryl Vickers
District 15- Putnam, Bledsoe, Cumberland, Jackson, Overton, White
(931) 260-4467
[email protected]Betty Fraley
District 16- Franklin, Coffee, Grundy, Marion, Sequatchie, Van Buren, Warren
(931) 703-1143
[email protected]Carol Brown Andrews
District 17- Smith, Cannon, Clay, DeKalb, Macon, Wilson
(615) 347-0193
[email protected]Kristi Cornett
District 18- Sumner, Davidson, Trousdale
(615) 454-0490
[email protected]Katharine Heriges
District 19- Davidson
(615) 390-9253
[email protected]Jolie Grace Wareham
District 20- Davidson
(630) 418-0395
[email protected]Marjorie Pomeroy-Wallace
District 21- Davidson
(615) 212-9409
[email protected]Linda Crenshaw
District 22- Montgomery, Houston, Stewart
(931) 801-2014
[email protected]Kelly Baker-Hefley
District 23- Williamson
(615) 631-7577
[email protected]Angela Callis
District 24- Weakley, Benton, Carroll, Gibson, Henry, Obion
(731) 587-2468
[email protected]Martha Shepard
District 25- Dickson, Cheatham, Hickman, Humphreys, Robertson
(615) 330-0419
[email protected]Meryl Rice
District 26- Hardeman, Chester, Decatur, Fayette, Hardin, Haywood, Henderson, McNairy
(731) 609-3236
[email protected]Patsy R. Johnson
District 27- Madison, Crockett, Dyer, Lake, Lauderdale
(731) 668-7139
[email protected]Pame Morrow
District 28- Maury, Giles, Lawrence, Lewis, Perry, Wayne
(931) 626-5836
[email protected]Allison Brownlee
District 29- Shelby
(901) 744-4467
[email protected]Jasmine Boyd
District 30- Shelby
(678) 472-1160
[email protected]Adrienne Pakis-Gillon
District 31- Shelby
(901) 355-6879
[email protected]Deborah Reed
District 32- Tipton, Shelby
(901) 500-8423
[email protected]Kendra Lee
District 33- Shelby
(901) 830-9348
[email protected]
Adam Haynes
District 1- Hamblen, Cocke, Greene, Sevier
(423) 736-1398
[email protected]Tony Webb
District 2- Blount, Sevier
(865) 386-6181
[email protected]Mike Hampton
District 3- Unicoi, Carter, Washington
(423) 330-4671
[email protected]Logan Combs
District 4- Sullivan, Carter, Johnson
(423) 773-0050
[email protected]Jim Hackworth
District 5- Anderson, Knox, Loudon
(865) 603-4225
[email protected]Daniel Brown
District 6- Knox
(865) 258-3777
[email protected]Mark Harmon
District 7- Knox
(865) 524-4026
[email protected]Stephen Miller
District 9- Monroe, Bradley, McMinn, Meigs, Polk
(423) 836-8210
[email protected]Chris Anderson
District 10- Hamilton
(423) 503-0595
[email protected]Ryan Scofield
District 11- Hamilton
(423) 991-1707
[email protected]Bob Cowan
District 12- Roane, Campbell, Fentress, Morgan, Pickett, Rhea, Scott
(865) 466-0418
[email protected]Brandon Thomas
District 13- Rutherford
[email protected]Mark Farrar
District 14- Bedford, Lincoln, Marshall, Moore, Rutherford
(615) 604-4616
[email protected]Amos Powers
District 15- Putnam, Bledsoe, Cumberland, Jackson, Overton, White
(931) 265-2769
[email protected]Bobby Bush
District 16- Coffee, Franklin, Grundy, Marion, Sequatchie, Van Buren, Warren
(931) 607-0779
[email protected]Aubrey Givens
District 17- Wilson, Cannon, Clay, DeKalb, Macon, Smith
(615) 568-2778
[email protected]Leonard Assante
District 18- Sumner, Davidson, Trousdale
(615) 512-6297
[email protected]Will Cheek
District 20- Davidson
(615) 292-3967
[email protected]Richard Langford
District 21- Davidson
(615) 484-8640
[email protected]Charles Uffelman
District 22- Houston, Montgomery, Stewart
(937) 220-5236
[email protected]Brandon Schexnayder
District 23- Williamson
(504) 228-5635
[email protected]Donald Farmer
District 24- Gibson, Benton, Carroll, Henry, Obion, Weakley
(731) 234-8411
[email protected]Gentry Allen
District 25- Dickson, Cheatham, Hickman, Humphreys, Robertson
(615) 636-7291
[email protected]Toney Campbell
District 26- Decatur, Chester, Fayette, Hardeman, Hardin, Haywood, Henderson, McNairy
(731) 549-9202
[email protected]Ernest Brooks
District 27- Madison, Crockett, Dyer, Lake, Lauderdale
(731) 293-4187
[email protected]Greg Hanners
District 28- Maury, Giles, Lawrence, Lewis, Perry, Wayne
(931) 215-2148
[email protected]Darrick “Dee” Harris
District 29- Shelby
(901) 691-8453
[email protected]Bryan Carson
District 30- Shelby
(901) 314-4617
[email protected]Dave Cambron
District 31- Shelby
(901) 830-3283
[email protected]Jeffery Alen “J” Dewitt II
District 32- Tipton, Shelby
(901) 326-2100
[email protected]Issac Freeman III
District 33- Shelby
(901) 690-8023
[email protected]
