Tag: 2018 election

Maury County mayoral candidate Andy Ogles spoke to the Maury County Republican Party at their monthly meeting last Monday, where he said that, as County Mayor, he will focus bringing transparency in the County’s financial matters. “There are several key issues facing the county,” Ogles told The Columbia Daily Herald after the meeting Monday. “One is finance transparency; with this a recent audit by the state that found several deficiencies. That has got to be fixed.” The annual audit of the 2017 fiscal year made by the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury, published at the end of March, cited “significant deficiencies” in Maury County’s financial system, its county offices, and its public school system. In all, the Comptroller identified 13 findings, all coming from three area of operation. One finding each from the county’s director of office of accounts and budgets, and the county trustee’s office, and then 11 from the school district. Ogles told the Daily Herald his background in economics and tax policies makes the county’s finances a “huge focus” for him: We need to make sure we are streaming our financials and becoming more compliant with the state. With becoming more efficient, there is built-in savings for the taxpayer because you are…

Vulnerable Republicans cannot save their political fortunes by distancing themselves from President Donald Trump, a conservative activist said Thursday. Matt Schlapp, chairman of the American Conservative Union (ACU), told guest host Raymond Arroyo on “The Laura Ingraham Show” that he learned this while working for former President George W. Bush. The president’s approval ratings sank lower and lower in his second term amid growing discontent with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Speaker of the State Senate and Lt. Governor Randy McNally announced his endorsement of State Senator Mark Green’s campaign for Congress Wednesday. “I congratulate Senator Mark Green on becoming the Republican nominee for Congress in District 7,” McNally said in a statement, adding: Senator Green has worked hard for his constituents, passed excellent legislation and served the Senate Republican Caucus extremely well. I appreciate all his contributions to the success of our state and I look forward his service in Washington. The campaign notes Lt. Governor McNally joins conservatives across Tennessee in endorsing Dr. Green’s campaign for Congress, and that he has been endorsed by 100 grassroots conservative leaders in the state, 20 mayors in the district, and over 60 members of the General Assembly serve on Green’s finance committee. “It’s an honor to receive Lt. Governor McNally’s endorsement. His steady leadership has been critical to Tennessee’s many successes over the last few decades. I look forward to going to Washington to return power back to our state,” Green said. While in the State Senate, Green is working to pass several pieces of legislation including an anti-sanctuary cities measure to close certain loopholes in the current law, as well as legislation that would prohibit…

Conservative grassroots group FreedomWorks for America announced Thursday their decision to endorse State Senator Mark Green (R-Clarksville) in his congressional bid to represent the people of Tennessee’s 7th congressional district, replacing outgoing lawmaker Marsha Blackburn. “Dr. Mark Green is going to be a force for conservatives in the House of Representatives. He will be another reliable vote and a leading advocate for less government, lower taxes, and more freedom,” FreedomWorks president Adam Brandon said in a statement. “He has worked to defend the Constitution from enemies abroad, and now he is seeking to fight to defend it against those in Congress who would trample the Constitution like Nancy Pelosi. The Green campaign notes that FreedomWorks is in good company, as other prominent national conservative organizations including the Club for Growth, FRC Action, GOPAC, and the House Freedom Fund have all backed the conservative firebrand. In Tennessee, Dr. Green has the endorsement of 100 grassroots conservative leaders and 20 mayors in the district. “History has shown us time and again: Freedom works, and government must get out of the way of individual Americans whose ingenuity, persistence, and drive can fuel the next leap forward in freedom and prosperity,” Green said; adding, “I’m honored…

Republican Shane Reeves and Democrat Gayle Jordan are set to face off at the polls today as voters in the 14th State Senate District decide who will represent them in the Tennessee General Assembly, replacing former State Senator Jim Tracy (R-Shelbyville), who resigned when he was was tapped by the Trump administration to serve in the USDA. Reeves, a first-time candidate, won the Republican primary in January against former State Rep. Joe Carr (R-Lascassas).  Democrat Jordan, a very far left candidate in a traditionally conservative district, ran unopposed in her party’s primary. Earlier this year, political watchers were stunned at the outcome of the special election in December to replace longtime popular State Senator Mae Beavers (R-Mt. Juliet). Her long-time friend and ally State Senator Mark Pody (R-Lebanon) ran unopposed in the primary, but low voter turnout resulted in a very narrow victory by Pody over liberal Democrat Mary Alice Carfi by a margin of scarcely 300 votes. Democrats are hoping that Pody’s close call, combined with the 39 local elections they’ve taken from Republicans in the past year, may be an indicator that the hoped for “Blue Wave” many pundits are predicting for the 2018 Congressional midterms in November will be followed by another surprisingly…

In the wake of the horrific school shootings in Parkland, Florida, Rutherford County Mayor candidate Tina Jones called on the Rutherford County School Board along with Sheriff Mike Fitzhugh to conduct a county-wide safety assessment of all schools – public and private. “Nothing is more important than the safety and security of our children,” Jones said in a statement. “While we may have good security protocols in place for our schools, we need to make sure that they are actually being followed and determine if other ways of securing our schools should be implemented. We need to ACT rather than REACT.” Jones said that the assessment and review should focus on two critical areas: whether access to the schools is properly limited; and whether the security systems that are in place are operational. “We are all encouraged to regularly check the batteries in our home smoke detectors,” Jones noted, adding:  This safety assessment will enable us to do the same thing for our schools and should be an annual process moving forward. We also need to determine whether we have a sufficient number of School Resource Officers (SROs) in place, particularly as our student populations are growing so rapidly, and how we…