House Speaker Beth Harwell will speak at Republican activist Tim Skow’s First Tuesday event Aug. 1 as she gets her campaign for Tennessee governor under way.
Harwell (R-Nashville) officially announced her candidacy July 15.
At the event, Harwell will outline her vision for Tennessee and take questions. Topics are likely to include sanctuary cities, transportation funding, and prison costs and reforms.
Harwell has already made sanctuary cities one of her areas of focus. She has started a petition to uphold the statewide ban on sanctuary cities. Last month, Metro Council came close to adopting a sanctuary city policy to make Nashville more open to illegal immigrants, but two related bills were withdrawn before a third and final vote on one of them because of public opposition and legal concerns about the proposed legislation violating state and federal laws.
“I led the fight with other conservatives to put an end to it,” Harwell says in the online petition. “We succeeded, but this issue is too important to sit back and relax.”
The 1st Tuesday forum is providing a chance for people to get to know the Republican gubernatorial candidates. Knoxville businessman Randy Boyd was the guest at the June meeting and Williamson County businessman Bill Lee is set to appear in September.
Also in the Republican primary race for the 2018 election is state Sen. Mae Beavers (R-Mt. Juliet). U.S. Rep. Diane Black (R-TN-6) is considering joining the race.
Doors open at 11 a.m. Aug. 1 at Waller Law at 511 Union Street in downtown Nashville. Lunch starts at 11:30 a.m., with the program starting at noon and the Q&A wrapping up at 1 p.m. Cost is $20 for 1st Tuesday members and $25 for guests. Visit 1sttuesdaynashville.com for more information.
