House Speaker Kent Williams

NASHVILLE -- Like most House Republicans, Rep. Eric Watson, R-Cleveland, was furious with fellow Republican Kent Williams on Jan. 13 when the Elizabethton lawmaker allowed Democrats to elect him speaker after striking a secret deal with Democratic leaders.

But by the time lawmakers finished their annual session last week, Rep. Watson said he thought Speaker Williams had "done a decent job with what he's had to work with and how things started."

Rep. Williams, whose election initially was greeted by Republican jeers, curses and calls for his resignation, said he has tried to be fair in an often fractious House where there are 50 Republicans, including himself, and 49 Democrats.

"I've had Democrats upset with me; I've had Republicans upset with me," Speaker Williams, an Elizabethton restaurateur, told reporters last week. "So that tells me I'm being fair if everybody gets mad at me on occasion."

As speaker, he successfully backed passage of pro-gun bills as well as the start of a lengthy process to amend the Tennessee Constitution to make it neutral on abortion rights.

He said the furor among fellow Republicans after his election was a "tough" start, but prayer as well as family and the support of Carter County friends helped him get through the difficult period.

Being speaker is "a unique experience," he said.

"I've really enjoyed it, and I'd love to do it a long time," he said. "But it depends on the makeup" of the House after the 2010 elections as to whether he becomes speaker again.

Tennessee Right to Life President Brian Harris said he thinks many conservatives' initial fears about Rep. Williams "were allayed by the fair treatment that the speaker gave to pro-life concerns. ... We're very grateful for his leadership. Pro-life Tennesseans would be very happy to see Speaker Williams continue in his position" after 2010.

Democrats, who lost their House majority in 2008 elections, said the fairness issue was why they backed Rep. Williams. Rep. Henry Fincher, D-Clarksville, said if Republican Leader Jason Mumpower, of Bristol, had been elected as expected, "we'd have had Republican extremism to the fourth power."

The first thing the new speaker did was split almost every House committee, subcommittee and chairmanship evenly between Democrats and Republicans.

Former House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh, D-Covington, said the new speaker has "performed quite well" and was "very fair."

But in his view, Rep. Williams "tried to be overly fair at times" given some Republicans' attacks.

Earlier this year, then-Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Robin Smith banned Rep. Williams from running for the House again as a Republican. Rep. Williams said he still considers himself a Republican.

"I don't know, some (Democrats) ... expected me to lean more toward their party because they elected me speaker," he said. "(But) I didn't feel obligated at all because I told them going in what I was going to do. I was going to even things up -- I am a Republican -- that things are going to be fair."

While Rep. Williams sided with Republicans on guns and abortion, he wound up backing Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen in his fight with Senate Republicans on the budget.

Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, R-Blountville, the Senate speaker, acknowledged that he had backed Rep. Mumpower, a friend and ally, but he said, "Kent Williams and I personally got along fine. There were a few times he said things I wish he hadn't, to say the least."

The lieutenant governor also said evenly divided committees "kind of set it up for disaster unless the speaker comes and breaks that tie. There was some disarray in the House."

Middle Tennessee State University political science professor John Vile said Rep. Williams' performance as speaker "didn't turn out as badly as I thought it was going to."

"When he first came in I thought, 'OK, here you have half of your colleagues thinking you're a backstabber and they're never going to get anything done,'" Dr. Vile said. "But I think they sort of got over it."