New House Speaker Cameron Sexton doesn’t boast or brag. He’s just here to listen – The Tennessean

CROSSVILLE, Tenn. — A fish tank bubbled inside Danny Wilson’s 24-student classroom at Cumberland County High School an hour before the end-of-the-day bell rang. A whiteboard offered a reminder — pay your $25 FFA dues — and a John F. Kennedy quote, “Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction.”

A guest briefly introduced himself before opening the discussion up to the roomful of juniors and seniors to go in whatever direction they saw fit.

“I’m Cameron,” said the guest, who sported a blue polo shirt tucked into his khaki pants, completed with brown loafers. “I live here in Crossville.”

It’s a Wednesday afternoon in late August. Five days before, the guest — Rep. Cameron Sexton — was sworn in as the 83rd speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives.

But that didn’t matter to Sexton nor the students, as they peppered him on a variety of subjects ranging from gerrymandering to why young voters should engage in the political process.

With an unassuming presence and mild-mannered demeanor, Sexton wasn’t flashy or boastful. He didn’t tout his access to a state plane, a personal driver or his recent increase in taxpayer-funded salary. He didn’t mention he was succeeding the shortest serving House speaker since Ralph Davis’ two-month stint in 1893.

Instead, Sexton talked about his passion for serving in public office, his family, the qualities of good leaders and teenage suicide rates. He also talked about the finite nature of politics.

Sexton’s comments to the classroom, while fleeting and perhaps unremarkable for many of the teenagers eyeing their end-of-school routines, contained many messages.

Among them was a reminder to have a balanced point of view. “You can’t get so consumed with your title that you lose perspective of who you are, and what you do and where you come from,” he said.

These days, such thinking defines the 48-year-old one-time failed mayoral candidate, whose political aspirations date back to a casual conversation with his father about nuclear war.

An unassuming, quiet speaker

Sexton began that August day at the Cumberland County Fair, where he greeted early morning bingo-playing seniors. 

“It’s great to be your representative in Nashville,” he said, never mentioning his name.

As he milled about the crowd, Sexton offered a warm greeting to anyone who approached him.

“I’m glad for you, I really am,” one woman said. Sexton gently tapped her on her shoulder, mindful of her coffee cup, telling her to be careful.

“You be careful, too,” she responded.

As seniors declared bingo, others offered their own folksy, congratulatory messages to Sexton.

“I heard six months ago you couldn’t even spell speaker. Now you are one,” a man in a Korean War hat jokingly said. Those in attendance bent Sexton’s ear on a variety of subjects: benefits for veterans, constituent services and medical marijuana.

Sexton typed notes into his phone and took a phone number.

Throughout the morning, he helped hand out gift cards to Subway, Walmart, Cracker Barrel and the like to the seemingly never-ending procession of winners. On occasion, he helped verify their numbers.

But for the most part, Sexton quietly stood on the sidelines, holding a large lidless Dunkin’ Donuts cup.

Unlike many politicians, Sexton has a much more reserved approach. He’s infrequently the first person to speak, a quality he says dates back to his childhood.

“I know enough to know that I don’t know hardly anything down there,” he said in an interview with The Tennessean later that day, referring to the legislature.

‘The perfect gentleman’

Sexton is the son of two teachers, and his roots trace back to East Tennessee, where he lived throughout his formative years.

He called Knoxville, Kingston and Oak Ridge home before attending the University of Tennessee. After college, he spent time working for the state in Memphis before ultimately settling into Cumberland County in 1998. He made the move to Crossville so he could work for then U.S. Rep. Van Hilleary, R-Spring City.

And although his employment has changed several times — he’s sold pharmaceuticals and had jobs in hospice care and a nonprofit organization before joining the Cumberland County Bank nine years ago — the close-knit community of Crossville has been his home ever since. 

Sexton got his start in politics working for now Lt. Gov. Randy McNally in 1994 when the Oak Ridge Republican was seeking his third term in the state Senate.

McNally had known Sexton’s uncle, Dr. Curtis Sexton, a physician who was politically active and who had worked with McNally on the campaign of Republican Gov. Winfield Dunn. 

And then there was the time when the Oak Ridge High School basketball player had taken McNally’s daughter Maggie out on a date in high school. The two talked while Sexton waited for Maggie, whom McNally said had described Sexton as a “perfect gentleman” at the time.

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After seeing McNally’s swearing-in, Sexton paid a visit to the state Republican Party, which he would eventually work for as a field representative.

Years later, when Sexton would ultimately make it to the statehouse as House member, the two quickly began working together as sponsors on the same bills, specifically legislation cracking down on opioid abuse.

Today, Sexton considers McNally a mentor and friend. 

Key supporter: ‘Governor is next’

Sexton traces his initial intrigue in politics back to a conversation he had with his father during a car ride in the 1970s. After seeing ads about nuclear bombs, Sexton asked his father how to prevent a disaster.

“He said you need people who run for office,” Sexton recalls.

But it wasn’t until 2008 that he vied for elected office. That’s when he ran against J.H. Graham, losing by fewer than 100 votes in the race for Crossville mayor. 

Despite the loss, Sexton said the election provided him several life lessons. Among them: the importance of campaigning in nursing homes.

The loss also provided him the groundwork for running for the state House in 2010, when he challenged Rep. Eric Swafford, a three-term incumbent Republican lawmaker. Sexton handily defeated Swafford, netting nearly 63% of the vote.

McNally said he had always had confidence in Sexton’s ability to be an effective leader in politics.

“I knew he’d be good, because he could, you know, get along with people,” McNally said. “And he can say things that didn’t make people mad. He was somebody that was very knowledgeable and had great organizational skills and management skills.”

Sexton chalks up his statehouse bid to the encouragement he received from local officials. Among them was Everett Bolin, who runs the Crab Orchard Utility District and remains one of Sexton’s most outspoken supporters.

When Sexton first ran for the statehouse, Bolin said he had hopes that one day he would become House speaker.

“We just didn’t think it’d come this early,” said Bolin, who along with his wife, Jo, and Cumberland County clerk Jule Bryson, met Sexton for lunch later during that August day.

“Governor is next,” he proudly said.

Despite such encouragements, Sexton is reserved about higher office.

“You never rule anything out,” he said when asked if he’d consider running for U.S. Senate, Congress or governor. “Timing is the essence of everything. Right now I’m focused on getting the House back to where we need it.”

And while such responses have been uttered by countless politicians before him, Sexton adds a twist while returning to the message he delivered to the high school students.

“None of us know how long we’re going to be here. Whether it’s on Earth or in office or wherever. All you can do is make the best of what you can at the moment that you’re there,” he said.

“That’s really what I want to try to do. Whether something happens in the future or not, I’m satisfied with what I’ve done.”

Serving the community

Back at the Cumberland County Fair later that day, Sexton traversed pieces of plywood placed on top of a muddied field to get to a stage opposite a grandstand. He once again briefly addressed the crowd, thanking them for allowing him to serve as their representative for the last nine years.

“I appreciate that very much,” he said, making a brief mention of his new role as speaker.

While he reeled off the legislature’s accomplishments, two elderly women sitting in the grandstands blew kisses toward Sexton.

The jovial audience then turned to its annual awards show, handing out prizes to the winners of contests ranging from Miss Senior Cumberland County and craziest hat to yodeling and rooster calling.

After lunch, Sexton — who on this particular day drove himself around town — headed to Cumberland County High School to speak to Wilson’s classroom.

In front of an entirely different audience, Sexton fielded questions that occasionally left him briefly stumped when asked about his toughest decision and aspirations when he was a teenager.

Although he doesn’t stumble, he is thoughtful in his responses. And he doesn’t hesitate to wade into heavier topics, such as the development of the frontal lobe, teen suicide rates, school shootings and some Tennesseans’ lifetime struggles with opioid and drug abuse.

Asked why leadership is important to him, Sexton touted the need to respect others. In his initial days as speaker he’s made ovations to reach across the aisle — despite the fact that Republicans maintain a supermajority in both legislative chambers.

And it doesn’t appear such rhetoric is all lip service. Sexton says he is spearheading an effort to have the House participate in community service projects that will send members to different parts of the state.

“People need to see us working together outside of Nashville,” he told The Tennessean.

While Democrats in the statehouse have invited Sexton’s bipartisan moves, others have balked. After he became the GOP nominee for speaker, Mary Mancini, chair of the state Democratic Party, criticized Sexton for standing by his predecessor, Rep. Glen Casada.

“If the people of Tennessee expect anything to be done about vouchers, rural hospital closures, the opioid crisis or crumbling infrastructure, they should know right now that under Rep. Sexton’s leadership, nothing will get done and the Republican culture of corruption will continue,” Mancini said in late July.

Maintaining a work-life-politics balance

When the end-of-the-day bell rang, Sexton walked among the frenzy of students bee-lining for the door. He took a short trip across town to pick up his own burgeoning student: his 5-year-old daughter, Greer.

Inside the car, the young girl shared details about her day: the amount of homework she had and how other kids hindered her ability to take a nap.

For Sexton, maintaining a balance of family, work and politics is important.

While not in Nashville, Sexton said he enjoys spending time in his community, going to high school football games and local businesses while occasionally playing golf. He enjoys mowing his roughly half-acre yard in his John Deere tractor and worships at Central Baptist Church.

In addition to Greer, Sexton’s family includes his wife, Lacey, and his two older children — Olivia, a high school senior, and Nathanial, a college student — from a previous marriage.

With his political ascension, Sexton knows the need for juggling his schedule.

“You want to be part of the family life and not just be absent,” he said.

And in a sense, he’s tried to maintain that balance for years. Greer has been a semi-regular presence at the legislature in the past, often joining Sexton on the House floor. Most recently, Greer and the daughter of Sexton’s chief of staff, Scott Gilmer, joined them at the statehouse and struck up a friendship.

“I want other members to feel like they can bring their kids,” he said.

Such ovations, while small and in some ways unremarkable, are yet another indication of the new direction Sexton hopes to move the House toward.

Not only is he faced with avoiding the missteps of his predecessor — Casada faced a vote of no confidence from his GOP caucus after months of tumult — he is hoping to have the chamber celebrate its differences while remaining focused on moving Tennessee forward.

“I think his leadership style will be more about fairness and more about what’s the best public policy, rather than what is politically expedient,” McNally said of his new House counterpart. “I think he’ll try to mend the divisions that exist in the House, and I think he’ll be fair with the minority party as well.”

Sexton stresses the need to move in the opposite direction of national politicians, where he says people are more about divisiveness than working together.

“It’s really trying to get us back to where we were in Nashville 10 years ago, 20 years ago, working together for the betterment of Tennessee,” he said.

Natalie Allison contributed to this report.

Reach Joel Ebert at jebert@tennessean.com or 615-772-1681 and on Twitter @joelebert29.

Updated 11:01 PM EDT Sep 19, 2019