Archive for February, 2010

Yesterday, Mayor Haslam released his Ten Principles for Fiscal Conservative Leadership as an outline of how he plans to govern our state.  He’s clearly the only fiscal conservative in the race who has a proven record based on these principles—not just empty rhetoric.  For example, as Knoxville’s Mayor Bill has been able to triple the city’s rainy day fund while lowering the debt at the same time.

Mayor Haslam’s ten principles are:

1. First ask the question, should state government actually be doing this?
2. Always ask the question, is this the most efficient and effective way to do it?
3. Manage conservatively and spend less than you take in
4. Hold the reins when times are good
5. Prioritize when times are bad
6. Avoid debt
7. Keep taxes low
8. Ensure Tennessee remains a state WITHOUT an income tax
9. Ensure every initiative of state government is producing a measurable, positive outcome
10. Be a faithful steward of taxpayer dollars

Families across the state are turning to local community groups, their churches, and Dave Ramsey-type programs for guidance and as Governor Bill will apply many of these time-tested, common sense principles to guide our state.

If you get a chance, go to our Facebook® page and let us know what conservative, common sense financial principles you and your family use. Click the image below to join the discussion:

We had a very full day yesterday that was blanketed with snow and several visits in Springfield and Clarksville. The snow was absolutely beautiful, but made the drive in to  a little perilous. Thankfully, the food didn’t disappoint and the people were so welcoming and supportive of my plan for Tennessee. I really appreciate everyone braving the weather and slick roads to join us at Tricia’s!

After breakfast, we jumped on Tennessee 49 and headed to Orlinda where we stopped by the Gammon Family Dairy for a tour. The Gammon family has been in the Grade A dairy business since the 70s and just recently started to bottle the milk they produce. What’s unique about their milk is the fact that it’s all natural and does not include any hormones, steroids, or antibiotics.  After a great visit with the Gammon family we headed towards Clarksville.

Once in Clarksville I met with a dozen or so veterans and had a chance to hear their concerns about the direction our state is headed. Almost all of these brave veterans had spent some time at Fort Campbell (which is just north of where we met on the Tennessee-Kentucky line). A common theme of our conversation was the unique bond between Clarksville and Fort Campbell. According to these veterans, Clarksville is a very tight-knit community that goes above and beyond in their support of military families.

After a great visit with the veterans we switched gears a bit and headed to a local business where we discussed economic development. The first group I met with had experience across many industries, but shared the common goal of continuing to improve the Clarksville economy. The second economic development meeting shared a lot of the same themes as the first, but from the perspective of a small business. Thankfully, Clarksville has weathered the economic downturn quite well and is on the path to further job growth with the Hemlock Semiconductor announcement.

We wrapped up our busy day campaigning with a knocking tour of the Hilldale neighborhood and then headed to a meet and greet at Austin Peay State University. The number one concern for people that we met during our neighborhood knock and the meet and greet was jobs. I had a chance to share my plan for bringing high quality jobs to Tennessee which seemed to resonate well the group.

I look forward to hearing from more Tennesseans during my state-wide jobs tour in early March.

A February 14 article by the Knoxville News Sentinel’sTom Humphrey provided a thorough summary of the gubernatorial candidates’ positions on education. The summary format, however, left a bit of confusion regarding Mayor Haslam’s position on charter schools.  Mayor Haslam strongly supports charter schools because innovation and choice are vital components of a successful education system.  He believes that the new charter schools law passed by the General Assembly last year was a victory for innovation and a step in the right direction, but the law did contain language the Mayor opposes. Mayor Haslam opposes restrictions such as the cap on the number of charter schools allowed in the state and restrictions on who can enroll in charter schools, and as governor will advocate for their removal. In fact, the Mayor’s education platform – released last October – calls for the development of a statewide charter school incubator to support the creation of high quality local charter schools.

To learn more about Mayor Haslam’s education priorities, please visit:

http://www.billhaslam.com/site/c.ieJPIWOtEnH/b.5541325/k.B569/Bills_Priorities_for_Education_Reform.htm

Mayor Haslam’s combination of executive and public service experience
makes him uniquely qualified to be Tennessee’s next Governor.

Earlier this week, the University Of Tennessee’s Center for Business & Economic Research released their annual outlook on the state’s economy. The news for the most part is centered on unemployment. In fact, the center expects unemployment to remain above 10 percent through 2011.

This report reinforces my belief that it is critical for our state to have a leader with real experience. I’ve created thousands of jobs in both the private and public sector and led Knoxville to be repeatedly named as one of the top ten metropolitan areas for business and expansion. As Governor, my number one priority will be creating high quality jobs for Tennesseans.

Read the full report at the University Of Tennessee’s Center for Business & Economic Research.

This past weekend I had a chance to attend a couple of Reagan Day Dinners and spend some time campaigning in West Tennessee. We started out at the Madison County Reagan Day Dinner in Jackson with almost 500 in attendance. After an enjoyable evening I headed home to rest up for a Saturday full of campaign stops.

The next morning, we headed over to the Southern Flair Buffett in Jackson for a meet and greet and a delicious breakfast! Most of the people I spoke with were very concerned about unemployment and agreed that we need an executive leader to be our next governor. After breakfast, Crissy and I jumped in the car and headed north to Humboldt. Once we arrived in Gibson County we knocked on doors and headed to the Gibson Grocery for a lunchtime meet and greet.

Crissy and I then drove to Milan to knock on some more doors. The people of Milan had pretty much the same concerns: unemployment and electing a governor that has business experience and a plan for creating quality jobs. We wrapped up our West Tennessee tour on Saturday night at the Henry, Benton, and Stewart County Reagan Day Dinner.

All in all our West Tennessee tour was great success and I’ll be heading that way again next week…

Until next time,

Bill

Today marks the 278^th Armored Calvary Regiment’s official deployment ceremony at Camp Shelby, Mississippi. As the volunteer state, Tennessee has a long tradition of military service.  I’m incredibly proud of all our service members and in particular, the thousands of Tennessean’s that have chosen to bravely serve our country. It is truly humbling to see these individuals stand up for freedoms we often take for granted.  My hope is for their safety as they defend our country abroad.  Crissy and I send our heartfelt thoughts and prayers to the troops and their families.

Bill

In response to Gov. Phil Bredesen’s State of the State speech Monday night and the release of his proposed budget, Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam offered the following statement:

“The severity of Tennessee’s current budget outlook is the primary reason why there is a rainy day fund. While I support using a portion of the state’s Rainy Day Fund, our problems won’t magically go away after this year, so we must protect the fund as much as possible to get us through the difficult days ahead.

“I understand how critical the situation is, but I urge the General Assembly to not be short-sighted. Now is the time to prioritize, just as the Governor appears to have done with education. I hope in the days and months ahead the state legislature and the Governor will work together to set priorities, protect the most vital functions of government, and promote the long-term interests of the state through conservative use of our limited Rainy Day Fund.

“As Knoxville’s chief executive I’ve dealt with tough budgets and made difficult decisions over the last six years. I believe that Tennessee is at a critical junction in its history, and come next year it’s going to be important to have someone in charge who has been in charge before.”