Tag: Bill Lee

Republicans Eyeing Job As Tennessee Governor Respond To Timely Questions At Event Thursday

Wendy Wilson

  While announced and expected Republican candidates for Tennessee governor differed little in their comments at a Rutherford County GOP event on Thursday, they handled questions about tough and timely issues. Businessmen Randy Boyd and Bill Lee spoke at at the annual Reagan Day Dinner, as did state Sen. Mark Green (R-Clarksville) and Congresswoman Diane Black. Boyd, who formerly served as Gov. Bill Haslam’s economic commissioner, and Lee are the only two who have officially announced their candidacies for the 2018 race. On sanctuary cities, all four in attendance said they were strongly against Tennessee cities refusing to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. There are no cities in the state that have technically refused to cooperate with ICE, though Nashville Mayor Megan Barry is seen as sympathetic toward illegal immigrants. Moreover, lax immigration enforcement nationwide under previous presidents has meant ongoing problems with criminal illegal immigrants who continue to commit crimes. “No city in Tennessee will be a sanctuary city under my watch,” said Boyd, who is regarded as an establishment Republican and who last year gave a large donation to Conexión Américas for its culinary entrepreneurship program. Renata Soto, the founder and director of the Nashville group, is…

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Nick Clooney Helps Tennesseans Promote Constitution at 917 Society Benefit

Wendy Wilson

FRANKLIN, Tennessee — Most all Tennessee schoolchildren know at least a little about the U.S. Constitution, but members and supporters of the 917 Society say there’s more to be done to help students understand its background and importance. The Nashville area nonpartisan group held a benefit Tuesday evening at the Franklin Theatre to raise money for a project to put the Constitution in the hands of eighth-graders and to complete an educational documentary on the founding document narrated by Nick Clooney, a Kentucky journalist, author and former anchorman. Clooney, father of actor George Clooney and brother of the late singer Rosemary Clooney, attended the event Tuesday with his wife, Nina, to whom he has been married since 1959. In 2004, Clooney made an unsuccessful run in Kentucky for a congressional seat as a Democrat. He is widely respected for his media work and has received an Emmy for commentary and another for historical narration. Attendees at Tuesday’s event were treated to a video featuring Clooney, a skit and a panel discussion. In the video, Clooney said the Founding Fathers “in a brilliant fashion” were able to produce the Constitution through patience and negotiation. “It’s my dictionary of democracy and I have it…

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Gubernatorial Candidate Bill Lee Meets With Franklin Graham At Clarksville Event

Wendy Wilson

  Bill Lee, a Republican businessman running for governor of Tennessee, met briefly with Franklin Graham in Clarksville on Thursday to thank him for being an inspiration in his life. Lee and his wife, Maria, met with Graham on a tour bus for about 10 minutes to talk and pray. The Christian evangelist was in Clarksville as part of his Decision America Tennessee Tour. Lee told The Tennessee Star that he was moved last year when he heard Graham speak in Nashville. Graham encouraged Christians to become involved in politics and for Lee, already contemplating a run for governor, it was just what he needed to hear. It is Lee’s first run for political office. Lee said he is impressed with the whole Graham family and twice heard Billy Graham, Franklin Graham’s father, speak in Nashville. The family has a powerful message, Lee said. “It’s a legacy that impacts lives,” he said. Lee is chairman of Lee Company, a facilities and home services company. He also has a background in agriculture and continues to be involved in a cattle farm run by his family. He lives in Franklin and attends Grace Chapel, a nondenominational church in Leiper’s Fork. Faith is a…

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Seven Republican Candidates For Governor To Speak At Rutherford County Event

Wendy Wilson

  Republican candidates for Tennessee governor will speak at this year’s Reagan Day Dinner sponsored by the Rutherford County GOP. The lineup for the May 25 event will include seven “announced and expected Republican gubernatorial candidates,” according to promotional material. They include businessmen Randy Boyd and Bill Lee, Congresswoman Diane Black, State Senators Mark Green (R-Clarksville), Mark Norris (R-Collierville) and Mae Beavers (R-Mt. Juliet), and Speaker of the State House of Representatives Beth Harwell (R-Nashville). Only Boyd and Lee have announced to date. Part of the mission of local chapters of the Republican Party is to inform voters about candidates running for office, said Donna Barrett, chair of the Rutherford County GOP. “What better way than to have the candidates present at functions where we can personally hear where they stand on issues?” Barrett told The Tennessee Star. On the most important state issues in 2017, the gas tax increase included in the IMPROVE Act passed by the Tennessee General Assembly and signed by Gov. Haslam, the seven announced and expected Republican gubernatorial candidates hold positions that range from support to opposition to no comment so far. State Senator Mark Norris and Speaker of the House Beth Harwell voted yes…

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Bill Lee Announces Candidacy For Governor, Calls Gas Tax Increase ‘Water Under the Bridge Now’

Wendy Wilson
Tennessee Star

NASHVILLE, Tennessee–Kicking off his campaign for governor Monday, Bill Lee described himself as a Ronald Reagan-admiring fiscal and social conservative whose leadership experiences in business and agriculture compensate for his lack of political experience. Lee, who is chairman of Lee Company, a large family-owned construction, facilities and home services company, is casting himself as a conservative outsider in the race for the Republican nomination. However, Lee’s hesitant position on Gov. Haslam’s gas tax increase, which has passed both the House and Senate, is likely to disappoint conservatives who want candidates with a stronger anti-tax stance. “I’m opposed to raising taxes,” he told the media Monday morning at the Nashville Farmers’ Market, but he did not offer a definitive opinion on the gas tax increase. He said he might have handled it differently, but noted that the IMPROVE Act also included tax cuts and said the bill is “water under the bridge now.” When pressed, he said that because he wasn’t privy to all the legislative discussions surrounding the bill, he didn’t want to comment further.   (You can hear the audio below.) Lee was set Monday to launch his “95 Counties, 95 Days RV Tour” with his wife Maria, a…

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Williamson County Businessman Bill Lee to Run for GOP Gubernatorial Nomination

Tennessee Star Staff

  “Williamson County businessman Bill Lee, who is filing as a candidate for Governor tomorrow, will hold a media availability at the Nashville Farmers’ Market, talking about the kickoff of his ’95 Counties, 95 Days RV Tour’ and his plans as he begins his campaign running for Governor of Tennessee,” Lee’s campaign said in a media advisory released on Sunday: Bill Lee is the Chairman of Lee Company, a family-owned construction, facilities and home services company with offices and operations throughout Middle Tennessee, Northern Alabama and Southern Kentucky. Lee Company employs more than 1,100 people. Lee currently serves on the Tennessee Higher Education Commission, Belmont University Board of Trustees, is president of Tennesseans for Economic Growth and is past chairman of the YMCA of Middle Tennessee. He serves on the board of Men of Valor Prison Ministry and has been involved with in faith-based ministries in Africa, Central America, Haiti and Iraq. The event will be held at the Nashville Farmers’ Market, located at 900 Rosa L. Parks Boulevard in Nashville. Lee joins former Haslam administration TECD commissioner Randy Boyd, a successful Knoxville businessman, as the only announced candidate for the GOP nomination for Governor. Former Nashville Mayor Karl Dean…

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