The Standouts and the Holdouts
Who stood out in the
106th Tennessee General Assembly?:
Rep. Glen Casada (R-Franklin), the House GOP Caucus Chair now has more influence than he ever has before, and he will almost certainly run to succeed Jason Mumpower as House Republican Leader and perhaps run for Speaker of the House. Rep. Beth Harwell (R-Nashville) a well-liked member on both sides of the aisle, is also in a position to run for Speaker of the House if the Republicans pick up seats at the General Election.
Labels: Democrats, Elections, Republican Party, Tennessee politics
Sine Die-It's Over
The 106th General Assembly of the State of Tennessee
bites the dust:
The 106th General Assembly has certainly had its share of color, controversy, and excitement. From a man elected Speaker of the House with the votes of the minority party plus his own, to the crafting of one budget padded with surplus money and the other somehow balancing the books without a tax increase in a terrible economic downturn. The exit from the political stage of some of the more prominent members of the General Assembly, from hardworking Senator Dewayne Bunch to "consensus-building" Representative Joe McCord and House Republican Leader Jason Mumpower, will also be noted in future histories, as some of Tennessee's most prominent State-level political figures used the looming election filing deadlines to declare that they were leaving public life-some for now, and some permanently. Still others announced they were running for other offices. Representatives Susan Lynn (R-Mount Juliet), Mike Bell (R-Riceville), and Stacey Campfield (R-Knoxville) all announced they would seek Senate seats to join their colleague Sen. Brian Kelsey (R-Germantown) who won a special election and ended up there at the end of the last legislative session. Meanwhile, Senator Tim Burchett (R-Knoxville) will likely be the next Knox County Mayor, and Rep. John Litz (D-Morristown) is running for county executive in Hamblen County.
Labels: Democrats, Elections, Republican Party, Tennessee politics
It 'Will End" (We Hope)
The Tennessee Senate so badly wants the 106th General Assembly to end this week that it
unilaterally declared that the General Assembly will end tomorrow:
There will be both a House and a Senate calendar for tomorrow, with numerous messages exchanged between both Houses. Today was the 90th Legislative Day for the Tennessee House of Representatives, and that means that as of tomorrow, neither Representatives nor Senators will receive per diem or mileage for their stays in Nashville and will be there on their own dime.
Labels: Tennessee politics
Was the Ball Dropped?
The Tennessee House of Representatives-or at least the Speaker-seems to have dropped the ball on
when the legislative session should have ended:
Norris is quite correct, of course. It is a waste of the Senate's time, the State's time, and the people's time and money for the House to meet an extra week when they simply did not have to. What other purpose, other than merely to be seen on the internet, has the House for convening tomorrow when they could have been finished by now?
Labels: Democrats, Elections, Republican Party, Tennessee politics
