Live from Music Row Wednesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – host Leahy welcomed Tennessee State Representative Jerry Sexton (R- District 35) in studio to comment on Monday’s State of the State address, his district changes, and the $52 billion budget.
Leahy: We welcome in studio, Representative Jerry Sexton. Good morning, Jerry.
Sexton: Good morning, Michael.
Leahy: Tell everybody about Bean Station and what a wonderful place it is.
Sexton: It is a wonderful place. It’s in the East Tennessee mountains. We have lakes, rivers, and mountains. There’s just so much there.
We’re getting a lot of people, a lot of tourism in that area because of camping and different things. But it’s only an hour from Dollywood and an hour from our Vol Stadium if you like the Tennessee Volunteers.
Leahy: Everybody loves the Tennessee Volunteers.
Sexton: Of course, and we love it there. It’s just a beautiful place. It’s rural. It’s growing. Of course, a lot of people coming to Tennessee, aren’t they?
Leahy: Yes, a lot of people from oh, I don’t know, California are coming to Tennessee. Washington, D.C.
Sexton: Yes.
Leahy: Some of them even have decided that having lived here for all of two months or two years and not having voted in any primary, decided they want to tell us that they are the best-qualified people to run for office. Historically, we call those folks carpetbaggers.
Sexton: Yes. We need people like you, Michael, that inform the public because we don’t know who we’re voting for a lot of times, and if we don’t get the information, then we’re making bad choices, and we certainly don’t need that. It’s a critical time in our country, in our state, and we have to stand guard. We have to be the watchman on the wall.
Leahy: Actually, you’re not just the state legislature you own and operate a furniture manufacturing business.
Sexton: That’s correct. I’ve got three manufacturing plants up in East Tennessee. One in Bean Station near Claiborne County, New Tazewell. And then I have one in Hamblen County, which will be the new district that I’ll be running in this year.
Leahy: Ah ha! How has your district changed?
Sexton: Well, it changed considerably. I lost Clayburn County, all of it, and part of Union. Kept Grainger County where I live, and I got 70 percent of Hamblen County. Of course, I said I got. I’ll have to win the election.
Leahy: You have to win the election. And is this a more difficult or easier district for your general election?
Sexton: Geographically, it’s better. I love the area. I’m very familiar with Hamblen County. I’ve lived there. My parents lived there and I know a lot of people, so it’s going to be interesting. The representative there, Rick Eldridge, he’s a good guy.
Leahy: So it’s going to be so the two of you?
Sexton: Yes. We’ll have to run against each other.
Leahy: Was this an intentional effort to get you out?
Sexton: Well, I’ll let you be the judge of that.
Leahy: I mean, usually when they do this, they don’t like putting two incumbent Republicans together.
Sexton: I wonder why?
Leahy: Okay. Occam’s Razor. Right? Which is the most obvious explanation is usually the right explanation.
Sexton: Well, you know, when we run these races, it just makes you better. I’m up for the task.
Leahy: Alright. You were there Monday evening when Governor Lee delivered a State of the State address. Tell us what the theater and the pageantry of that is like.
Sexton: It’s a grand thing, honestly. It’s a great privilege for me as a representative of people to get to be there and represent all of my constituents. It’s an honor to be in that House.
You have to be sent there by the people and it’s one of the greatest honors that I’ve ever had. And it is pageantry. I mean, a lot of it looks ceremonial and formal, but there’s a purpose behind each and everything that we do. We’re glad that we have that opportunity and got a lot to say about that.
Leahy: The budget is like $52 billion. That’s b with a billion. B.
Sexton: Yes. And I was trying to remember, I think when I came in eight years ago, I think it was $32 billion. I could be wrong.
Leahy: Almost doubled.
Sexton: It’s just incredible.
Leahy: Now here’s a question for you. We do have a surplus here in the state, right?
Sexton: Oh, absolutely.
Leahy: Okay. A significant surplus.
Sexton: Billions.
Leahy: You and I first got to know each other in 2017 when you vigorously opposed the gas tax increase.
Sexton: Yes.
Leahy: It was kind of jammed through the House of Representatives using questionable techniques.
Sexton: Very questionable.
Leahy: But let me ask this question before we get to the break. I didn’t hear or maybe I was not listening properly with this great deficit and in an inflationary time, did the governor propose any tax cuts, did you?
Sexton: No. And yesterday in our finance committee that question was brought up with all the surplus that we have. No tax cuts. Zero.
Leahy: In an inflationary era?
Sexton: Absolutely.
Leahy: I would think that would be for a conservative governor, one of the key elements that they would engage in. I’d cut the gas tax myself.
Sexton: Absolutely.
Leahy: Or the sales tax.
Sexton: And we actually have a bill, I don’t know if it’s actually gotten filed yet, but we’ve got a bill.
Leahy: Let’s talk about that when we get back.
Listen to the interview:
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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.Â
Leahy: “I would think that would be for a conservative governor, one of the key elements that they would engage in. I’d cut the gas tax myself.”
Guess what, Lee is anything but a conservative governor. He needs to be shown the back door of the governor’s mansion come election time. He is a disaster.