The Tennessee Star has obtained two separate complaints filed against State Senate District 27 candidate and executive director of the nonprofit Tennessee Stands, Gary Humble.
Humble is running in the August 4 Republican primary against State Senator Majority Leader Jack Johnson.
The first complaint, which was filed with the Tennessee Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance on Monday, alleged that Humble engages in lobbying activities without filing the proper registration forms.
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According to the Tennessee Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance Ethics Commission website:
A lobbyist is a person who communicates, directly or indirectly, with state government officials for the purpose of influencing action by the official for compensation. (T.C.A. § 3‐6‐301(15) and (17)) The term lobbyist does not include an employee of a governmental entity. However, a third party contracted to lobby for governmental entity is included in the definition of lobbyist. (T.C.A. § 3‐6‐301(15))
Employer of a lobbyist or employer is any person or entity that employs, retains, or otherwise arranges for a lobbyist to engage in lobbying on behalf of the person or entity for compensation. T.C.A. § 3‐6‐301(8). Entities not included in the definition of “employer” for registration purposes include:
Governmental entities. (T.C.A. §3‐6‐301(15))
A person or entity that utilizes the services of a volunteer lobbyist whose reimbursement for out‐of‐pocket expenditures does not exceed ten (10) days. See Manual for Lobbyists and Employers of Lobbyists for definition of volunteer lobbyist.
The second complaint, filed with the Registry of Election Finance, alleges that Humble made an “unlawful campaign expenditure” by sending out a mail piece without a disclaimer. That complaint is dated July 23, 2022.
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See the mail piece front and back:
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The Star reached out to Humble for comment, who provided an emailed reply from his Tennessee Stands (tennesseestands.org) email account.
The Star asked:
1 – Are you aware of these complaints?
2 – Can you confirm/deny that you have not filed as a lobbyist and if you have not filed, why you have not filed as a lobbyist and your reaction to that complaint.
3 – Confirm or deny that your campaign sent out the attached mail piece and your reaction to the complaint filed that alleges the “unlawful campaign expenditure.”
4 – Could you also comment on the inclusion of the Tennessee Stands logo in that mailer and the potential conflict of interest that can occur with cross-promotion between your campaign and the 501c4 that you control? What steps do you personally, as well as the campaign and Tennessee Stands, take to avoid conflicts of interest between the non-profit and the campaign?
Humble noted that he was aware of the complaints and provided a lengthy response to The Star’s inquiry.
On why he has not registered as a lobbyist, Humble said:
I have not registered as a lobbyist because I am not a paid lobbyist. I am not paid to lobby for any special interests. Tennessee Stands is an advocacy group that engages citizens all across the state of Tennessee in grassroots lobbying efforts. I have travelled across the state engaging citizens to work with their legislators, email, and call to support conservative legislation. And yes, as a citizen of the state of Tennessee, I myself have asked our legislators to support conservative legislation. Those are not efforts that require a permission slip from the government to engage in and are constitutionally protected for any citizen.
On the issue of a mailer being sent out without a disclaimer, Humble said:
We did send out a mailer where the “paid for” disclaimer was unintentionally missed in the design. The mailer came directly from my campaign. The mailer contained my branding, my image, and a personal message from me as the candidate and was clearly sent from my campaign. The mailer was invoiced to my campaign and paid for in full by my campaign. Further, that invoice has already been provided to the DA’s office satisfactory to the complaint that was filed. This was a clerical error, nothing more.
On the issue of potential conflicts of interest, Humble said:
No, there is absolutely no conflict of interest with Tennessee Stands. I promoted a podcast for which I host weekly. The Freedom Matters Podcast releases every Wednesday and has since the beginning of the year. The invitation was clear. If you want to know more about me and where I stand on the issues as a candidate, go listen to the podcast. Seems like an incredibly reasonable invitation. Every week, I spend about 45 minutes diving into the 2nd amendment, medical freedom, our constitutional rights, the right to life, legislation, national issues, etc. My beliefs and positions on a host of topics are out there for any voter to hear. I am a candidate for office who also happens to have a podcast. That is about as controversial as it gets.
At this time, it is unclear what repercussions Humble will face, if any, because of these complaints.
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Aaron Gulbransen is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected]. Follow Aaron on GETTR, Twitter, Truth Social, and Parler.
Photo “Gary Humble” by Gary Humble.
