MURFREESBORO, Tennessee – State Rep. Judd Matheny (R-Tullahoma), speaking to a group of about 50 grassroots activists, the majority of whom were Heritage Action Sentinels, made a statement that may best summarize his popularity with Tennessee conservatives. “I have not and will not compromise on conservative principles,” he told the group.
The Rutherford County Heritage Action Sentinel group was founded by Katherine Hudgins, who is a Heritage Action Sentinel Wall of Honor awardee and is now a Sentinel Builder for the organization, and Jackie Archer, President of Tennessee Textbook Advocates. The group holds meetings or activities on a monthly basis, the previous one being an appreciation luncheon for U.S. Rep. Scott DesJarlais (R-TN) for his Heritage Action score, which at 93 percent ranks him the most conservative of the Tennessee delegation.
Rep. Bryan Terry (R-Murfreesboro), who represents the district where the meeting was held, attended and extended an invitation to his 4th Annual Empowering Women Event on July 10, co-hosted by Rep. Dawn White (R-Murfreesboro).
Rep. Matheny was invited to speak to the group about his plan to run for Tennessee’s 6th Congressional District, should Rep. Diane Black decide to leave the seat to run for governor, as well as the most recent legislative session during which the gas-tax-increasing IMPROVE Act was passed.
“I am your Second Amendment guy, along with state’s rights and right to life,” said Matheny about his legislative stance over the past 14 years in the Tennessee House. To his legislative experience, which includes being the first Republican other than Speaker Beth Harwell (R-Nashville) to be elected in middle Tennessee in 147 years, Matheny adds an extensive law enforcement background as well as eight years in the military.
One of Matheny’s most unique and notable legislative initiatives took place five years ago when he proposed a bilateral session of Congress, where the State House and Senate would meet with the Federal House and Senate members in a public forum. Such a session is not held anywhere else in the country and has not happened in Tennessee since 1984 during a visit by President Ronald Reagan, according to Matheny.
The purpose of the once-a-year session would be to discuss pertinent political issues such as an aging population, safety and security.
With the initial effort and another one two years later, just the State House agreed to the session, while the State and U.S. Senators refused, with Sen. Lamar Alexander lobbying against the concept, and only two of nine U.S. Representatives, Scott DesJarlais and Steve Cohen, agreeing.
Last week, Matheny told The Tennessee Star he was “100 percent in the race for Tennessee’s 6th Congressional District,” with the caveat that he would not run if Rep. Diane Black chooses to run for re-election rather than governor.
Matheny, if elected to U.S. Congress representing the 6th Congressional District, would have a very different approach, including having staff assigned specifically to interact with the state legislature. He intends to be “reinforcements” for the Freedom Caucus and a leader there, which is his role today in the state legislature.
As the state House “freedom caucus” leader, Matheny engineered the shutdown of this year’s budget discussion through an amendment that made the budget unconstitutional by putting it out of balance. The goal was to slow the growth trajectory of state government, which grew by over 8 percent from $16.5 to $17.9 billion between last year and this, which Matheny called out as “antithetical to the Republican party.”
Matheny cautioned that in the past, economic downturns that caused $200 to $400 million deficits could be dealt with through the rainy day fund and minor adjustments to the budget, but with the recent growth of state government, major cuts would be needed.
The claim that the IMPROVE Act is the largest tax cut in history “is a total lie” according to Matheny, and the IMPROVE Act, with its many topics, is a “violation of the spirit of the constitution.” Matheny called it “acting like Washington, while the conservatives acted like Tennessee.”
“Everyone wanted to fund transportation. The problem was a tax increase with a $2 billion surplus,” said Matheny, which represents $368 for every man, woman and child in the state.
In the end, the budget showdown resulted in a victory for conservatives with an additional $55 million going to local governments for road funding, and a reduction in the growth of state government.
You should run for Governor.