GOP meeting too late to address Tenn. House Speaker's status

[Ghost in the Machine]

GOP meeting too late to address Tenn. House Speaker's status
Posted: Dec 18, 2009 6:18 PM EST

NASHVILLE (AP) -- The next scheduled opportunity for House Speaker Kent Williams to try to have his Republican credentials restored falls after the filing deadline for next year's elections.

The Elizabethton restaurateur would have to run for re-election as an independent next year if the state party doesn't reverse an earlier decision to strip him of his GOP credentials.

Williams was ousted for banding together with Democrats to thwart the Republican nominee in the speaker's election in January.

State Republican Party Chairman Chris Devaney has scheduled the next executive committee meeting for April 3, two days after the filing deadline.

http://www.wate.com/Global/story.asp?S=11702214