Final Article

My final article for my reporting class, covering the 2010 Tennessee Gubernatorial Forum that took place at MTSU's Murphy Center on April 29, 2010.

The four prominent candidates for the next governor of Tennessee scoffed at one another in an attempt to distinguish themselves from the others in the 2010 gubernatorial forum that took place Thursday night at MTSU’s Murphy Center.



Mike McWherter, the leading Democratic nominee, and the GOP frontrunners--Knoxville mayor Bill Haslam, U.S. Rep Zach Wamp, and Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey--were all present at the scarcely-attended forum.


Candidate were given a minute for opening remarks, among which they stated their vision for Tennessee, along with the theme of their campaign.


Wamp discussed the points in his infamous 20/20 vision. McWherter stressed the importance of creating jobs. Haslam mentioned his years as mayor of Knoxville and manager of his family’s chain of truck stops, Pilot Travel Centers LLC, have prepared him to be governor.


Ramsey discussed how his time as lieutenant governor has prepared him for governor, as well as his experience in building up two businesses from scratch.


After opening remarks, the candidates were asked questions that were prepared by students from MTSU about the budget, education, public safety, and economic development.


When it came to prioritizing the budget between health, education, public safety and transportation, the candidate unanimously agreed that the next governor must be job-focused, a theme that carried out throughout the entire forum.


Both Ramsey and McWherter stated that jobs are the most important aspect to the budget.


“There is no question that jobs are the number one priority,” said McWherter. “We have got to go out and create jobs.”


Haslam and Wamp agreed that all aspects of the budget are important. Wamp stated that everything is important, and prioritizing them in any order doesn’t make one more important.


“We always begin with the end in mind,” said Haslam. “Our goal is to be the number one place in the southeast for job creation. We also have to realize that our focus in higher education is to prepare our students for the world. Higher education is moving toward specific programs tailored for careers.”


Although the event was not considered a debate, the candidates bickered as so.


McWherter took every opportunity available to take stabs at the three GOP candidates, once stating that he was the only one who was not a career politician. Wamp, Haslam, and Ramsey all refuted this statement stating their own experience in the business world aside from politics.


However, it was the end of the forum when candidates were given the opportunity to describe their vision for Tennessee. It is their visions that they share in common, focused on one particular thing: jobs.


“I want Tennessee to be the isle of sanity in a nation that’s gone crazy,” said Ramsey. “My vision would be where every businessman in the nation looks at Tennessee and says, ‘That’s where I want to move my business,’ and a place for every family to live.”


“If you can get people back to work in this state, then we will have the revenue to move this state forward,” said McWherter.


While Wamp stated the need for conservative, “Tennessean” values, Haslam continued with the theme of jobs.


“We want to be the Southeast’s most desirable location for job creation,” said Haslam. :We have an incredible quality of life here. If we balance the budget, bring jobs here, but don’t keep the quality of life, we will have failed.”


Campaign teams were present in support of the candidates, holding up signs and banners in the parking lot before the forum, and wearing their stickers and apparel amongst the crowd. Most supporters were vocal in their appreciation for the candidates they followed.


“He’s your home-town boy. He’s for the small business and he is a small-businessman himself. He understands you can’t spend your way out, but you have to grow your way out,” said Glenda Caldwell, the Putnam Co. campaign chairwoman for Ramsey.


Devon Morgan, a sophomore at MTSU, is an avid supporter of Zach Wamp.


“I believe that he is the only one who has a vision for the future of Tennessee,” said Morgan. “I really support where he wants to take education for Tennessee students.”


The primary election for the next Tennessee governor will be August 5, 2010. General elections will take place November 2.