Updated at 6: 16 p.m.
The Nashville Metropolitan Council voted 30-0 on Mondayt to reinstate Rep. Justin Jones back to House 53 seat, according to CNN.
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Things could be looking up for the two Democratic lawmakers
expelled from the Tennessee state legislature last week. Local elected officials appear poised to reinstate former Representatives Justin Jones of Nashville and Justin Pearson of Memphis, whose constituents are currently without representation.
But the question on everyone’s mind is, can they actually pull this off? Here are the three things you need to know;
Will The Expelled Tennessee Lawmakers Be Reinstated?
While Republicans may have been able to successfully expel Jones and Pearson last week, local elected officials aren’t backing away from their chosen representatives just yet. In Nashville, Vice Mayor Jim Shulman called for a special Metropolitan Council meeting on Monday to fill Jones’ district, according to a tweet from councilmember Bob Mendes.
As it turns out, the council can vote to reappoint Jones as his own interim successor, even though he’s been expelled. And it looks like they have the votes. According to NBC News, the majority of the Nashville council says they’ll vote to reinstate Jones ahead of the Monday meeting. That means Jones could be restored as early as Monday night.
In Memphis, the local Shelby County Board of Commissioners is devising a similar strategy. Board Chairman Mickell Lowery told News 5 that he was holding a special meeting to “consider the action to reappoint Mr. Justin Pearson to his duly elected position.”
Although we don’t know as much about what’s happening inside the Shelby County Board of Commissioners, reporting suggests that Pearson has a strong chance of coming out on top. Democrats have a super majority on the commission, and Commissioner Erika Sugarmon told the Memphis Commercial Appeal that there were enough votes to reappoint Pearson.
What Happens After The Council Members Are Restored?
It’s worth noting that this debacle won’t be entirely over after these meetings. The reappointments would only be to temporary positions. That means both Pearson and Jones would have to run for re-election in special election races.
So far, we don’t have a specific date for when they’d have to run again. However, both politicians have made it very clear that they plan to seek re-election. Considering the outcry over their ousting, their re-election campaigns should start on solid footing.
Will Other States Follow Tennessee’s Playbook?
Although it seems like Memphis and Nashville could be on their way to having representation in the state legislature once again, the ousting of two Black politicians for speaking out about gun violence could cause a slippery slope effect.
The Root spoke with Ohio State University Professor Hasan Kwame Jeffries, who did not shy away from sharing his concerns:
“I can guarantee you that we will see something similar in similar places going forward,” he said. “That is a bad precedent.”
Whether it’s anti-Democratic measures to ban women’s rights, decrease voting rights, or censor what can be taught in schools, “when one red state does it, the others will follow,” Jeffries said.
He also noted that the laws in Tennessee are not unique, and we could see this being done on a national scale. “Don’t be surprised if we see this when you have either Black legislators or progressive legislators trying to amplify their voice,” he said. “In one way or another, rules will be used to silence them.”
Back in Tennessee, it’s clear local officials have decided not to take these attacks on their Democratically elected leaders lying down.