During my 12 years in the state senate, Tennessee has emerged as a national leader in conservative governance. Our citizens enjoy low taxes, a thriving economy, and a low cost of living. A welcoming business environment serves as a magnate for companies relocating to Tennessee and international investment. As a result, our citizens are enjoying higher paying jobs, low taxes, and a better quality of life.
But with this good news, there is a downside. Families and retirees from high cost states are fleeing to Tennessee. With them come increased home prices and congested roads. More and more Tennesseans are struggling to keep life affordable. I recognize these concerns and feel prepared to address these kitchen table issues.
I have a broad background in life experiences. I was raised in a lower middle class family of five where every penny was counted to meet life’s necessities. My parents stressed the importance of education, community service, and a love of America. I went medical school to fulfill my dream of becoming a heart surgeon. I was commissioned in the U.S. Army and served multiple tours as a combat surgeon and commander. I retired as a full colonel. In my community, I have been the president of the local medical society, served on a hospital board, and spent 7 years on the Knox County Commission.
In the state senate, I chair one of the nine major committees and my medical background has been instrumental in forming state healthcare policy and law.
In a democracy, officials are elected to represent the citizens of their community. Citizens do not have the available time or inclination to read all the reports, listen to hours of committee hearings, nor to meet with a multitude of subject area experts. They elect trusted fellow citizens to do that for them and then, with that knowledge, to vote in their interests.
The core responsibilities are to balance the various interests of those you represent, faithfully fulfill the duty of thoroughly understanding an issue, and then voting in the best interest of the community you represent.
As a medical doctor, I have a lifetime experience of listening to medical and personal problems and look for solutions. These often involve life and death situations and decisions.
As a military officer and combat trauma surgeon, I have seen first hand the often horrific sacrifices our young men, women, and veterans have make to preserve the American way of life. I consider it a sacred duty to honor their sacrifices by upholding both the letter and spirit of the U.S. and Tennessee constitutions.
1) Addressing, where we can in state government, the every day cost of living, the cost owning and buying a home, and inflation. Realistically, many of these are federal issues but a conservative state government can reduce over-regulation and bureaucracy which run up the cost of living. The state government can establish a business environment for higher paying jobs, provide training for those jobs, and cut taxes to put more money in our citizens’ pockets
2) Never forget that conservative Tennessee values are prime reasons our state is thriving and improving the lives of our citizens.
3) Traffic congestion on our interstate highways and main roads has become a quality of life issue. We must address these infrastructure issues now.
1) I am a Christian and a strong supporter of conservative Tennessee family values. These values are what have made Tennessee one of the most attractive states where to live, work, and raise a family.
2) I hear the pleas about inflation and the cost of living. I will do what I can at the state level to make living in Tennessee more affordable. We need to quit fighting among ourselves and fix these problems.
3) Whether it’s the cost of living, education, immigration, healthcare, jobs, traffic congestion, or the opiate crisis, I pledge to study the issues in depth and vote in the interests of Knox County and East Tennessee. I will not follow the crowd nor submit to pressure. I will vote my district and vote my conscience.
I'm running for office to bring accountability to our government and affordability to Tennesseans. I will work to implement laws that help ensure those in power are accountable to the people and not the corporations and special interests. I will fight for campaign finance reform to get money out of our politics. I will work to enact term limits for every representative, senator and judge in Tennessee, and I will fight for community based districting requirements to prevent gerrymandering.
To provide Tennesseans some financial relief my plan includes ending the sales tax on all groceries, clothing under $50 and shoes under $100. I will also fight to expand Medicaid and repeal the 2018 bill SB0363 that banned affordable housing in Tennessee.
I am currently a stay at home dad, and up until recently, I worked in blue collar jobs. I have worked in everything from kitchens to water treatment to most recently being a plumber. I like to build things and know first hand what working Tennesseans face to put food on the table, clothes on their backs and a roof over their head. We are being squeezed to the limit and our current legislature has been far too happy to serve their corporate donors and help them drain every last penny from our citizens and our land. I believe I'm in a unique position compared to most of our legislators because I have experienced it myself and have seen how hard it is for working Tennesseans to get ahead in the current system.
I believe the core responsibility of an elected official is to work for the people and improve the lives of Tennesseans while taking care of our state for future generations.
This is a little difficult because I'm not really good at talking about myself. So, I would say one of my best qualities, and one that has helped me immensely throughout my life, is that I am a problem solver. I am persistent and willing to look at an issue from all angles in order to find the solution. I am also open to new input and willing to consider new information when making a decision. I believe these are qualities that all leadership needs to be effective. I believe that if someone is to make decisions that will affect all Tennesseans, they must be able to look at a problem from multiple angles, look at a bill from someone else's perspective, and accept and weigh new evidence. Otherwise, they are not doing their job properly.
1) Campaign finance reform to get the influence of corporate and special interest money out of our elections.
2) Sales Tax Relief Act to end of sales taxes on groceries, clothing under $50 and footwear under $100 because I believe every Tennessean deserves to have food in their stomach, clothes on their back and shoes on their feet.
3) Community based districting because the true will of Tennessee is not being represented in Nashville. Instead we have representation that has chosen its voters through meandering districts. I will work tirelessly to get the power back to the people and ensure the voices of our communities are properly represented in our legislature.
I'm a hardworking Tennessean that will fight to bring accountablility to our government and affordability to the people of Tennessee.
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