MILLERSVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - Each time Millersville mayor Tommy Long and his wife Martha leave their Millersville home, their view is of a row of arborvitaes on one side and a dumpster on the other.
Written in bold white letters on the side of the dumpster: “FU TOMMY LONG, LLC.”
“It’s ruined our life,” Martha Long said. “Everybody is outraged about it.”
The dumpster first showed up in the middle of town, but it was moved last week onto the property directly next door to the Long’s in which a new construction is underway.
It’s the LLC at the end of the name that Tommy Long said is “ridiculous.”
A search of the Tennessee Secretary of State’s website shows that, indeed, a new company was created on May 23, 2023, named “FU Tommy Long, LLC.”
“I think it was just a form of harassment,” Tommy Long said.
And the registered agent of that company: Winston Templet.
Winston Templet is married to Cristina Templet, a Millersville commissioner, who Long has repeatedly accused of election fraud.
In documents sent to the district attorney and detailed in a statement read during the comment period on August 14 to Sumner County officials, Long detailed why he believes Cristina Templet broke election laws.
Long contends that when Cristina Templet ran for commissioner in 2020, she didn’t live at the address that she listed on her nomination petition.
According to Cristina Templet’s nomination form, she lived at 7711 Ruby Lane, which is in the city limits of Millersville.
But according to emails from the Tennessee Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance, when they tried to send her mail to the Ruby Lane address, it was returned, reading, “no mail receptacle.”
The question about Cristina Templet’s actual address was also addressed in an email sent from the Sumner County Election Commission in which Templet is quoting as saying that the home on Ruby Lane had not been completed at the time she was elected in 2020. Permit records also show that the home on Ruby Lane didn’t get its final authorization to move in until 2021.
“The record speaks for itself,” Long said.
Both Cristina and Winston Templet agreed to interview with WSMV4 Investigates after we shared the documentation, but then backed out, citing that their attorney advised them not to speak for reasons they could not elaborate on.
WSMV4 Investigates then came to the Millersville City Commission meeting and spoke with Cristina Templet outside.
“Do you believe you broke election laws?” asked WSMV4 Investigates.
“Oh, I did not,” Templet said. “Can you offer proof to the contrary?” asked WSMV4 Investigates. “Can you explain why you –”
“I can’t. I have 5 minutes to get in (to the meeting),” Templet said.
WSMV4 Investigates reached out to Lori Atchley, the Administrator of Elections in Sumner County, asking if they had determined that Cristina Templet violated election laws.
In an email to WSMV Investigates, Atchley wrote in part, “We worked with the State Election Office regarding this matter to ensure compliance with statute, and their response was that they/we do not determine ‘the nature of residency.’ I understand from Ms. Templet that she and her husband were constructing a new home at the time, and they were living in a camper behind the property during construction.”
Cristina Templet said she and her husband would speak with WSMV4 Investigates in the future if their attorney allowed them to do so.
“But I feel like it’s important for voters to hear from you about whether or not this dumpster is simply political retaliation,” said WSMV4 Investigates.
“You’ll have to talk to my husband about that. I don’t own the dumpster,” Cristina Templet said.
WSMV4 Investigates did ask Winston Templet about his ownership of the company and the dumpster, but he replied, “I got nothing to say, boss.”
So we asked Cristina Templet about the name of her husband’s new company. “My husband is a taxpayer in Millersville and has not done anything wrong,” she said.
“Do you think it’s offensive?” asked WSMV4 Investigates.
“I guess it’s what you think FU stands for,” Cristina Templet said.
“I mean, come on. Everyone knows what ‘F U’ stands for,” WSMV4 Investigates said.
“Honestly, it doesn’t matter what I say. People are not going to be happy with what I said, and (others) are going to be happy.”
Whatever conflicts exist between them, Long said the dumpster is simply going too far.
“No, I’m not going to put up a fence, but hopefully God will pull on their heart strings and remove it,” Long said.
This not the first time Long has been critical of what he calls corruption in Millersville.
In July, Long told WSMV4 Investigates that his city’s police department needs to be “cleaned up,” following a series of scandals involving the force.
If there’s something you want WSMV4 Investigates to look into, you can tell us here.
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