Rep. Gerald McCormick
Rep. Gerald McCormick has bought a house in Nashville after his wife got a job transfer there, and he put his Big Ridge home up for sale. However, he said he remains a resident of House District 26.
The former House Majority Leader said he continues to live much of the time at his home near Greenway Farm and has the family dogs there.
A UTC student who said he was studying campaigns and elections last year with a case study of Gerald McCormick said he went out to his house. He said, "There was a huge for sale sign when I went there to interview him. Then I looked him up on the register of deeds and found that he moved to Nashville. So I paid $40 to pull the mortgage and found that was his permanent residency - meaning, it seemed to me, he was not a voting citizen during his time in office."
The student, who asked not to be identified, said under the terms of the Nashville mortgage that Rep. McCormick averred that the Nashville home near Belle Meade Plantation was his permanent residence for at least six months.
Also, the student said he questioned per diem payments from the Legislature that Rep. McCormick has been receiving. Legislators from Chattanooga receive a higher per diem than those who live in Nashville.
The student said the McCormick house in Hixson went off the market shortly after he got opposition in the upcoming election. But he still has a version of the earlier listing from Zillow.
Rep. McCormick said he and his wife, Kim, had been renting the Nashville house and decided to buy it last August after she took a position with the state Board of Regents. He said when former Chattanooga State president Dr. Flora Tydings got elevated to head of the Board of Regents, she asked Ms. McCormick to join her there.
He said since his wife may be on the Nashville job for the next several years they decided to buy the house they had been renting.
Rep. McCormick, who has stated he plans to run for the House Speaker post now held by Beth Harwell, said if the Hixson house had sold he would have bought a condominium in the district.
Concerning the student, he said he did not know why he was at his house. He said no one had called him about an interview.
The student said, "I went over there because I had not seen him around the city in a while. I wanted to get his opinion of why he voted on the 30 credit hour a year regulation of the Hope Scholarship and that is when I noticed all the chairs in the backyard were all stacked up and the house was abandoned inside. There was like pictures on the wall, but there was not anything in the general floor area.
"So that's when I ran the retail search on the property and uncovered all the information about his residency. I thought this was weird so I called the Election Commission and asked if it was legal for a representative to just move out of the district like that and they stated that they must be a voting member of the district.
"That's when I looked up the voting law which states you must register with your permanent address, and I know in real estate to take a mortgage you must claim the new residence as your primary within 60 days.
"Nothing was adding up. I contacted Rep. Glen Casada's office as well as I was trying to get the per diem records pulled from the state.
"If he really is living in Hixson, it seems to me that would mean he lied to his lender. All of this to me as a citizen is super concerning especially with the call to action as citizens to hold our lawmakers accountable."
Rep. McCormick said, "Here are the facts:
- We have owned our home in Hixson for 18 years and continue to own it although as empty-nesters since our children moved out we look forward to down-sizing at some point.
- I spend most of my time in Chattanooga where I am a small business owner and work in the commercial real estate field. I have also spent a significant amount of time in Nashville in the last 14 years and continue to do so with my duties in the state legislature.
- My wife, Dr. Kim McCormick, continues to have a very successful career and is now based in Nashville. We purchased the home there that we had been renting since we felt it wiser to own the house rather than pay rent. She lives in the home and I stay there when I spend nights in Nashville.
- Legislators are paid a per diem to help cover living expenses in Nashville and I receive it just like other members of the Legislature.
- The anonymous person raising these issues could have called me to learn the facts, rather than creeping around our home, if they were truly interested in talking with me."