State Representative Kent Williams of Elizabethton, whose unexpected election as House Speaker last month cast him upon the statewide political scene as a major player, will experience something like a total immersion in the Memphis environment when he visits here this weekend.
Williams, an unheralded second-termer from a remote corner of East Tennessee, was elected Speaker on January 13 by adding his own vote to that of 49 Democrats, derailing the anticipated election of House Republican leader Jason Mumpower of Bristol. At the time Williams was a conventional Republican, but he has since been formally ousted by the state Republican Party and is listed in the General Assembly roster as a ยCarter County Republican.ย
Williamsย Memphis itinerary begins with a ยstudent legislative breakfastย at Southwest Tennessee Community College on Friday morning and concludes with a ยDutch Treat Dinnerย with fellow legislators on Beale Street on Saturday evening.
In between, he will make appearances at LeBonheur Childrenยs Hospital, Juvenile Court, City Hall, The Med, LeMoyne-Owen College, Graceland, Uncle Louยs Restarant, a Grizzlies game, the Fairgrounds, the University of Tennessee facilities, and the National Civil Rights Museum, among other stops.