Lewis proud of his record, seeks re-election
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He was first elected to the state house of representatives in 1992 and has served in the 98th through 102nd general assemblies.
Lewis serves on the Fiscal Review Committee, the House Finance Ways and Means Committee, the House Commerce Committee and is chairman of the Small Business Subcommittee. He has sponsored and passed legislation concerning education, crime prevention, child protection, economic development, and consumer protection.
He was appointed by Speaker Jimmy Naifeh to the Special Study Committee on Fireworks Safety and was chairman of the committee. He was also appointed to the committee to study graduated driver’s licenses and was one of the members who authored the legislation.
“One of the bills I’m most proud of is the graduated license legislation, which will hopefully reduce the number of traffic deaths on Tennessee roads,” Lewis said.
He has also served on the House special task force to study foster care and was the prime sponsor of a crematory bill which helps protect Tennesseans against the horrors that happened in North Georgia recently.
“Education is a top priority for me,” Lewis said. “I have worked diligently for the passage of the Education Improvement Act and creation of the 21st Century classroom across the state to better prepare children for the future. I have also fought and continued to work to secure and maintain continued funding for our K-12 education system and our higher education system, including Motlow College, Tennessee Tech at McMinnville and UTSI.
“In order to attract high-tech, high-paying jobs to our area, we must have an educated, trainable workforce. I was also a prime sponsor of legislation creating family resource centers across the state, which identifies at-risk children. Coffee County currently has more family resource centers than any other county in the state with six.”
In the area of jobs and commerce, Lewis said he has worked to recruit new industry into the area, taking care to improve infrastructure to help attract businesses. Lewis noted a record amount of highway dollars has come to the district.
Lewis was educated in Coffee County’s school system and served in the U.S. Air Force from 1966-70. He is a member of the Coffee County Farm Bureau, Manchester Chamber of Commerce, Tullahoma Chamber of Commerce, UTSI Support Council, and Coffee County Beautification Committee. He is also a life-time member of the VFW, a Mason, a life-time member of American Legion, the Coffee County Democratic Executive Committee, the Motlow Foundation Committee, and the board of directors for Hospice of the Highland Rim.