Republican David Hooven on His Special Election Candidacy for the 51st State House District

Republican David Hooven appeared on Monday’s edition of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy in-studio to discuss his candidacy in the upcoming special election for the 51st State House District seat, the primary for which is August 3rd.

TRANSCRIPT

Michael Patrick Leahy: 6:06 AM  – broadcasting live from our studios on Music Row in Nashville, Tennessee.

The original star panelist, Crom Carmichael, joins us at 6:30 AM.

But right now, we are delighted to have in-studio our friend David Hooven. Tell everybody your website, David.

David Hooven: It’s MoovenHooven.com. I used to milk cows, so “mooven” is MoovenHooven.com.

Michael Patrick Leahy: MoovenHooven.com. And you are a candidate for the Republican nomination in the 51st House District here. This is the special election. Bill Beck had represented that area for, since 2014. He passed away early in June of a heart attack at the age of 61.

The interim selection there is – what’s the name of the fellow there – Anthony Davis. Anthony Davis is there on an interim basis. And he’s a Democrat. And so we’ve got a primary election on August 3rd coming up soon. You’re the only candidate for the Republican nomination.

Your odds of winning, therefore, are pretty good.

David Hooven: If I vote for myself, I think we’ll make it.

Michael Patrick Leahy: And you do intend to vote for yourself?

David Hooven: I think so. It’s a tough race

Michael Patrick Leahy: Okay – but the tough race then comes September 13th.

David Hooven: Yes, sir.

Michael Patrick Leahy: What, what does that district look like? How does it vote, for instance, in the presidential campaign and is it heavily Democratic, marginally Democratic? What’s, what’s the voting behavior in that district?

David Hooven: Well, the district itself is mainly Democratic. I’ve got the inner city loop. But I think there’s a lot of Democrats, they’re not real happy with the way things are going.

And I don’t want to just leave out the other people and parties and nonpartisans – they all count.

Every person counts in this election. And you go up toward Madison, the hardworking people from downtown up to Madison – those folks know what it means to put gas in the car or ride the bus and try to get to work and back.

It’s tough.

Michael Patrick Leahy: So, let’s talk about the campaign and a little bit also about your background.

David Hooven: Yes.

Michael Patrick Leahy: You graduated from high school here in Nashville, right? You went to MTSU?

David Hooven: I did.

Michael Patrick Leahy: And were you in ROTC or did you go right to the Army?

David Hooven: Yes, sir. ROTC guy. Yes, sir.

Michael Patrick Leahy: A ROTC guy – what was that like, in college doing ROTC?

David Hooven: I enjoyed it. I was in the Pershing Rifles, and so one of the things that I knew that everyone at that time had to take ROTC for a year or so.

Michael Patrick Leahy: Everyone had to take it for a year or so.

David Hooven:  Yes, sir – the males.

And I called the guys together the first my senior year and I said, ‘Look, guys, I know you don’t wanna be here in these stinky wool outfits on a bright fall hot day. But let’s do this: if you will, I’ll teach you how to march, if you will, we’ll have some fun out here instead of dragging out here every day.’

And they agreed. And we had a great time.

Michael Patrick Leahy: And so five years from the military? Army Airborne?

David Hooven:  Yes, sir.

Michael Patrick Leahy: Three years of that in Germany. Then what’d you do after you got out?

When did you get out of the army? ’74 – ’75?

David Hooven:  ’75.

Michael Patrick Leahy: ’75.

David Hooven: Yes.

I came back home. I worked for a pictorial directory firm out of Hollywood, California.

Michael Patrick Leahy: What does that mean?

David Hooven: Well we’d go into a church or a fraternity, we’d take people’s pictures.

Okay. So you And create a, create a pictorial director, a book so people would know each other by face.

Michael Patrick Leahy: So there would be a period of time when, at most every church, once a year, picture time.

And you worked for the company that did that?

David Hooven: Yes, sir. And we were the first full color company in Nashville and beat out Oland Mills at that time.

Michael Patrick Leahy: So Oland Mills. So it, yes sir.

It’s that, that’s a name that people here — I think they’re based in Chattanooga, weren’t they?

David Hooven: Yes sir. They are.

Michael Patrick Leahy: They’re still in business?

David Hooven: I haven sort of haven’t kept up with that.

Michael Patrick Leahy: I think they’re sort of still in business.

So you did that for a while?

David Hooven: Yes, sir.

Michael Patrick Leahy: And then and you did that right here in Middle Tennessee?

David Hooven:  Yes, sir, out of Antioch. I was living in Antioch at the time. So, hello – shout out to those guys.

Michael Patrick Leahy: And then you’ve also done some real estate?

David Hooven:  Yes, sir. From the pictorial directory. I went into sales with Dictaphone Corporation, which is now defunct, also.

I don’t think it was my fault, but then I went to got into the real estate market. My wife’s commercial real estate. I was residential. We had a real good run. I had a couple of companies in between there and some rehab companies.

Michael Patrick Leahy: Are you retired now?

David Hooven: Yes sir.

Michael Patrick Leahy: Well, you’re trying to come out of retirement, aren’t you?

David Hooven: Well, you’re never retired. You just change jobs.

Michael Patrick Leahy: Change jobs.

And so when did you decide to run for state rep?

David Hooven: That was really a tough decision. It was about two months ago.

Michael Patrick Leahy: About two months ago. We’ll come back with more with David Hooven, a Republican candidate for the State House of Representatives in the 51st district, after this.

– – –

Tune in weekdays from 5:00 – 8:00 a.m. to The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy on Talk Radio 98.3 FM WLAC 1510. Listen online at iHeart Radio.
Photo “David Hooven” by David Hooven and “Tennessee Capitol” is by the Tennessee General Assembly.