Tag: Mae Beavers

Former State Senator Mae Beavers (R-Mt. Juliet) announced via Facebook at 4 p.m. today that she is suspending her campaign for the Republican nomination for governor. You can read her Facebook post here: Beavers’ rival for the Republican nomination, Rep. Diane Black (R-TN-06) issued a statement praising her minutes later. “While Mae and I don’t always agree on tactics, we have always agreed on philosophy, and I’ve always known her to be a dedicated conservative who fights for what she believes in,” Black said in a statement. “From our time in the state legislature fighting to protect the unborn and to stop a state income tax, we know the conservative movement is stronger when we are fighting for the same cause together. I wish Mae the best and hope that she will continue to be active in the fight in Tennessee,” Black concluded. Another GOP rival in the governor’s race, Williamson County businessman Bill Lee, praised Beavers in a tweet. “I’ve enjoyed getting to know @MaeBeavers and Jerry on the campaign trail over the past year. I look forward to seeing her steadfast conservative leadership be put to work in other ways in Tennessee in the months and years ahead,”…

Former State Senator Mae Beavers (R-Mt. Juliet), who resigned from the State Senate in August to focus on her campaign for the Republican nomination for governor, says a tragic case involving a transgender man convicted yesterday of sexually assaulting a ten year old girl in a bathroom in her apartment underscores the need for legislation that would require Tennessee students to use restrooms and locker room facilities that are consistent with their physical gender. Earlier this year, Beavers and State Rep. Mark Pody (R-Lebanon) introduced that legislation in the 2017 session of the Tennessee General Assembly, but the bill did not make it out of committee. A jury Wednesday afternoon found Casper, Wyoming resident Miguel Alberto Martinez, who identifies as female and is also known as Michelle, guilty of one count of first-degree sexual abuse of a child and one count of second-degree sexual abuse of a child. After a three-day trial the six-woman, six-man jury deliberated for about two hours before reaching its decision to convict him. He now faces between 25 to 70 years in prison. “What happened to that little girl in Wyoming was horrific,” pointed out Beavers, “and we need to take steps to reduce the…

“It is time to end the annual TVAAS testing debacle for Tennessee teachers and students,” conservative Republican candidate for governor Mae Beavers tells The Tennessee Star in an exclusive interview. The former State Senator from Mt. Juliet says that despite the best efforts of the Tennessee Department of Education to hide the latest state testing debacle, word is leaking out that Tennessee has once again experienced serious problems with data and test scores related to TVAAS (Tennessee Value Added Assessment System) testing used to determine whether teachers retain their jobs, advance in their careers and get more pay. School districts and individual schools are also punished or rewarded based on TVAAS scores. “Teachers can lose their jobs as a result of these test scores, yet the Department of Education employees who oversee the testing, select and retain the vendors who conduct the testing process, and use the scores to determine whether teachers retain their jobs or not continue to keep their jobs despite failure after failure after failure in the testing process,” pointed out Beavers. “It is time to clean house in the Department of Education and eliminate TVAAS as a basis for teacher evaluation completely.” “We have great teachers in…

  HENDERSONVILLE, Tennessee — Gubernatorial candidate State Sen. Mae Beavers (R-Mt. Juliet) told a group of about 40 at the Republican Party of Sumner County monthly breakfast her on Saturday, “We’re not going to have the millions of dollars that a lot of the other candidates will have.” “So, we’ll be depending on the conservatives — the people who want fiscal responsibility, who want a pro-life state, who want a 2nd amendment state, who want to do what’s right — to get out there and work and vote for us. We are confident that we can be the nominee for the Republican side,” the long-time conservative state legislator added. The wealth of three of the Republican gubernatorial candidates, Rep. Diane Black (TN-06) as well as businessmen Randy Boyd and Bill Lee, has been well publicized. Beavers, distinguishing herself on her credentials, said about others candidates for the Republican primary, “Everybody’s saying I’m a conservative,” continuing persuasively, “I will put my record up against anybody in this race. I think I have the most conservative record. I can back up what I’m saying to you today. And I’m not sure that anybody else can.” Reaffirming her long-standing principles, Beavers said, “You…

Conservative Republican gubernatorial candidate State Senator Mae Beavers (R-Mt. Juliet) says the Chancellor of the University of Tennessee – Knoxville, Beverly Davenport, and her team are being “disingenuous” concerning the announced plans to use taxpayer funds that previously supported the University’s Diversity Office to reinstate the campus LGBT Pride Center and hire a full time Director. “The Chancellor has made it clear that, at the very least, she will use state funds to hire a full time Director of the LGBT Pride Center and a few other staffers. Quibbling over whether they have announced details concerning spending the balance of the funds doesn’t change the fact that the agenda of the Diversity Office is being restored regardless of how UT spins it. Perhaps they should call it the Duplicity Office instead of the Diversity Office,” Beavers said on Wednesday of Chancellor Davenport’s announcement. “This is how I feel and how I will continue to invest (in UT Knoxville): My responsibility is to ensure all our students are welcomed, that they are safe and that we continue to invest in ensuring that our students succeed,” Davenport told the Knoxville News Sentinel on June 22. “I’ve looked at those monies and we…

“I am proud of Representatives Judd Matheny, Bryan Terry, Sheila Butt, and the other 60 Republican State House members who expressed their opposition to the proposed Sanctuary City plan for Nashville that is headed towards a final vote on July 6,” State Senator Mae Beavers (R-Mt. Juliet), an announced candidate for the Republican nomination for governor, told The Tennessee Star Monday evening. “I hope the remaining House Republican caucus members will immediately add their names to the letter and that House Democrats will also speak up against Mayor Barry’s embrace and endorsement of illegal activity that threatens the safety and security of our state,” Beavers added. The Republican gubernatorial candidate then made her own significant announcement. “I plan to circulate the same letter among ALL my Senate colleagues and hope we can show the same sort of leadership the House Republicans have demonstrated in denouncing the illegal scheme that Nashville’s Metro Council is pursuing,” Beavers said. “It is time for the Democrats to join us in opposing a plan that puts Tennesseans at continued risk of both losing their jobs AND the security we all want for our families. It is impossible to condone illegal activity and also expect our community…

COOKEVILLE, Tennessee–State Senator Mae Beavers (R-Mt. Juliet), who announced she is a candidate for the Republican gubernatorial nomination on Saturday, told the Tennessee District 6 Patriots meeting at the Southern Hills Golf and Country Club in Cookeville on Thursday that, unlike other candidates who label themselves as conservatives but don’t walk the walk, she is the real deal. Though she did not specifically name either of her two other announced opponents–Knoxville businessman Randy Boyd and Williamson County Bill Lee–Beavers noted that just saying you are a conservative does not make you a conservative if you do not have a track record to support that claim. Beavers said that the gas tax increase, which she has vowed to repeal if elected governor, is one key issue upon which a candidate’s true conservative credentials should be measured. “As for that gas tax increase, 6 cents gas tax and then ten cents on diesel, there was no way I was going to vote for that,” Beaver said. “There was a lot of opposition to it until Governor Haslam tried to make it palatable to the legislature by saying, ‘OK, we’re going to reduce the food tax by one cent, we’re going to reduce…

State Senator Mae Beavers (R-Mt. Juliet) will announce her campaign for the Republican nomination for Governor of Tennessee at Charlie Daniels Park in Mount Juliet today at 1 pm. In a statement released to the press last Saturday, Beavers said she will make repeal of the 6 cents per gallon gas tax increase and 10 cents per gallon diesel tax increase the top issue in her campaign. Beavers was first elected to the State House of Representatives in 1994, and has served in the State Senate since 2002. She is widely recognized as one of the key state legislators who led the efforts to defeat the state income tax in the three years between 1999 and 2002 when then Gov. Don Sundquist, a Republican, attempted to push the tax through the Tennessee General Assembly. One of the first elected officials in Tennessee to publicly endorse Donald Trump, Beavers was elected as an at-large statewide delegate to the Republican National Convention committed to Donald Trump during the 2016 election. Beavers will become the third candidate to formally announce a run for the Republican Gubernatorial nomination. Knoxville businessman Randy Boyd and Williamson County businessman Bill Lee announced in March and April, respectively.…

  State Senator Mae Beavers (R-Mt. Juliet) says she has made no decision yet about whether she will run for the Tennessee Republican nomination for Governor in 2018. “Lots of people are asking if I am running for Governor. Despite what the Tennessean says, I have NOT decided whether or not I will enter the race,” Beavers told The Tennessee Star late Friday evening. “Voters across our state are looking for a Governor who doesn’t just talk conservative at election time but who will be a bold, clear leader on conservative issues once they are in office,” she added. “I have consistently provided conservative leadership from the County Commission to the State House to the State Senate, and I am truly humbled and blessed that so many want to see me bring those same values to the Governor’s office. My family and I are listening, praying, and soon enough we will be deciding,” Beavers concluded. Earlier on Friday afternoon, Beavers posted this on Facebook: Due to a scheduling conflict, Beavers did not attend Thursday’s Rutherford County GOP Reagan Day Dinner where two announced candidates for Governor–businessmen Randy Boyd and Bill Lee– and two potential candidates–Congresswoman Diane Black and State Senator…