TN Senate, District 19
State senators are elected to four-year terms. They must be at least 30 years old, a citizen of the United States for at least 9 years, a resident of the state of Tennessee at least 7 years prior to an election and a qualified registered voter. Tennessee legislators are in session from January until May each year.
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Charlane Oliver
(Dem)
What steps should the State Legislature take to ensure a quality education for students?
What, if any, should be the role of the State Legislature in the regulation of data centers?
What is something that you would like to accomplish during the next legislative session?
What do you think the State Legislature should do about the affordability crisis facing Tennesseans
Education
B.S. - Vanderbilt University (2005), M.P.A. - University of Tennessee Knoxville (2008)
Campaign Phone
615-491-4882
Tennessee must recommit to fully funding public education in every district: competitive teacher pay, updated facilities, adequate classroom support - regardless of zip code. The Legislature must also reverse course on diverting public dollars through the voucher program and Charter School Commission. Every dollar redirected to private education and underperforming charters is a dollar that should strengthen public schools, which educate the overwhelming majority of Tennessee's students. We can't claim to prioritize educational quality while defunding the institutions responsible for teaching most of our kids. Quality education requires sustained, full investment, not competition for scarce resources. I'll keep fighting for public schools.
As data centers expand across Tennessee, the Legislature must ensure this growth serves the public interest, not just corporate bottom lines. That means clear guardrails on energy and water usage, transparency from developers, public benefits for the community, and meaningful community input before facilities are sited.
Tax incentives should never come at the expense of public schools, infrastructure, or working families' utility bills. I support responsible growth that protects our natural resources, ensures fair treatment of ratepayers, and holds corporations accountable to the communities they operate in.
I'll introduce legislation ending corporate PAC money in politics, modeled on Hawaii's Act 011 (SB 2471), signed by Gov. Josh Green in May 2026. Unlike past reform efforts, it doesn't regulate corporate speech, it redefines corporate powers. Since corporations only exist because states create them, Tennessee's version would clarify that state-granted privileges like limited liability and tax benefits never included the power to spend on elections. It's a distinct path forward for real reform.
Over 4 years, I've introduced real solutions: eliminating the grocery tax, banning private equity from buying single-family homes, stopping predatory cash-offer harassment, raising child care worker pay and provider reimbursement rates, expanding Smart Steps vouchers, and pushing universal pre-K. I've also passed bills easing burdensome child care regulations. These solutions speak for themselves. Now the Legislature needs to get serious and actually take them up. Tennessee families can't wait.
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