Let the debates begin: Henry answers questions; Hilleary declines invitation
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Henry, considered the primary challenger to Hilleary for the Republican nomination, owns a company called OmniVision that employs around 650 people. He didn’t shy away from the fact the state is in dire financial trouble.
“The state has a revenue problem and a spending problem,” said Henry. “Because of e-commerce, the tax system in Tennessee is broken. Plus we lose almost $4 billion worth of tax dollars because of sales tax exemptions. Another four years of this will destroy Tennessee.”
Henry says he wants to put a state income tax in front of the people by holding a constitutional convention. He says we are currently asking our public school system to do too much and many parents need to step up and take initiative.
“We can’t raise people’s children in schools,” said Henry. “It’s no fault of the teachers and principals that a lot of parents in this state are failing their kids.”
Henry doesn’t support eliminating such services as the state department of tourism. He says for every $1 invested in tourism, Tennessee gets $13 in return.
If elected, Henry stressed he would play an active role in industrial development. He said having industrial parks ready for businesses to fill immediately is a big part of winning the recruitment battle.
Henry said he has distinguished himself in every job he has held, which is something Hilleary has failed to do. He noted he was elected mayor of Kingston at the age of 28 and was the top Republican leader in the Tennessee House of Representatives in 1980. He was state Republican party chairman in 1984.
“My primary opponent has never had a job working for anyone except his father and working for Congress,” said Henry. “Everywhere I go, I’ve distinguished myself as a leader and I haven’t seen that from him.”
David Kelley, a lesser known Republican candidate, was also on hand. Kelley believes everyone should own a gun to protect themselves, is anti-abortion and approves of the death penalty for vicious criminals. He says he is dead set against a state income tax “because I’m against the federal income tax too, but I can’t do anything about that.”
Kelley is eager to take a hands-on approach to being Tennessee governor. He doesn’t see a need into throwing a lot of money into education because “that doesn’t seem to solve the problem.” He says instead our current teachers need to buckle down.
“No child should be passed from the third grade to the fourth grade if he can’t read,” said Kelley. “Today, we don’t want to hurt their feelings by failing them so we just push them along.”
Kelley’s solution to the state budget problem is to put a hiring freeze on state employees. He says after a few years of natural attrition, state government would be able to drastically reduce its payroll without having to fire any employees.
Kelly said he has not accepted 1 cent in campaign contributions so he won’t have to repay any favors if he is elected governor.
Lincoln Davis stresses affordable health care
Current state Sen. Lincoln Davis was also in town Monday night as part of his campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives. Davis is vying for the 4th District Democratic nomination.
“I think it’s important to present myself in a public forum without knowing what will be asked,” said Davis. “It’s my job to stand up and be your voice.”
Davis emphasized his desire to keep health care affordable.
“People with an unfilled subscription and an empty plate of food shouldn’t have to make a decision about which one they should fill,” said Davis.
Davis admitted he doesn’t have the answer as to how to keep the price of universal health care down.
“There are 435 representatives and 100 senators up there (in Washington) right now who don’t have all the answers either,” said Davis. “I’m willing to work and do the best I can.”
As far as national defense and homeland security, Davis said much of the responsibility lies with the people. He says the Star Wars defense system, even if it was fully operational, could not have stopped the attacks of Sept. 11. And he said such a system cannot stop suicide bombers.
“We always use money as an indication of the strength of our national defense,” said Davis. “Huge defense contracts, I say we don’t need that. The war we face now is being fought by men and women, mothers and fathers. It’s not the weaponry of the ’40s, ’50s and ’60s, but by being smarter. That’s how we do it.”