GOP candidates, including two from Shelby, will fill top state slots (TN-1st Since Reconstruction)

Memphis Commercial Appeal ^ | 1-15-2009 | Richard Locker

[fieldmarshaldj]

GOP candidates, including two from Shelby, will fill top state slots

By Richard Locker (Contact), Memphis Commercial Appeal

Originally published 11:30 a.m., January 15, 2009 Updated 12:26 p.m., January 15, 2009

NASHVILLE — Republicans in the Tennessee legislature today swept from office all three of the state’s top constitutional officers and elected longtime Republican officials — two of them from Shelby County — to replace them.

Flexing its political muscle for the first time since the stunning defeat Tuesday of the Republican Caucus’s nominee for House speaker, the legislature’s new GOP majority elected:

* Shelby County Commissioner David H. Lillard Jr. of Germantown as state treasurer. He succeeds Dale Sims, the Democrat who has served as the state’s chief banker since 2003. Lillard is a lawyer and partner in the Memphis law firm of Burch, Porter & Johnson where he focuses his work on bond finance and tax law.

* Former Bartlett state representative Tré Hargett as secretary of state, replacing Democrat Riley Darnell, a former state legislator who has been the state’s chief records-keeper since 1993.

* Nashville lawyer and GOP fundraiser Justin P. Wilson as state comptroller. He succeeds John Morgan, who has been comptroller since 1999. Morgan was top assistant to the previous comptroller for 10 years.

The election of the constitutional officers occurred in a joint House-Senate meeting today after being delayed by partisan wrangling from Wednesday, when it was originally scheduled.

The three offices, which each carry an annual salary of $180,000, are the top positions in state government not elected by the public at large. Along with officials in the governor’s administration, they serve together on several top state boards and agencies, including the boards that govern higher education; the State Funding Board, which estimates the state revenue for budget purposes and oversees finances; and the State Building Commission, which reviews and approves all state government building projects and leases.

The comptroller’s office audits all of state government and its agencies, and oversees local government audits. It evaluates the performance of all state agencies and reports its findings to the legislature for review.

The treasurer manages more than $30 billion in state funds, including the state pension fund.

The secretary of state’s office is the primary repository of official documents, including business and charitable organization registrations and other commercial filings.

All three elections were along party lines except that Hargett defeated Darnell 70-61, with the votes of all 69 Republicans plus Democrat Dennis Ferguson of Harriman. Lillard and Wilson were both elected on 69-62 votes. One Democrat, Rep. Les Winningham of Huntsville, is at home attending to his seriously ill wife.

Hargett, 39, represented the Bartlett area in the state House of Representatives from 1997 through 2006 and led House Republicans. He did not seek re-election in 2006, accepted a transfer by his employer, a private ambulance and emergency services company, to Knoxville. Last year, he moved to Nashville when the General Assembly appointed him one of the four full-time directors of the Tennessee Regulatory Authority, which he chairs.

Lillard, 55, has been a member the Shelby County Commission since 2002 and served a term as its chairman last year. He served on the Shelby County Election Commission from 1994 to 2002, and is an assistant city attorney for both Germantown and Collierville.

Wilson, 64, served as commissioner of environment and deputy to the governor under former Republican governor Don Sundquist.

[yongin]

Good news. THe TN GOP finally has some statewide office holders. Ironically, TN was the one of the first Dixie states to be voting for GOP candidates. It took so long to make progress on the legislative level.

[fieldmarshaldj]

Actually, TN was the only Southern (Confederacy) state that always had at least 1 (usually 2) Republican members in Congress from the 1860s to date (and a consistent presence in the legislature, though mostly solidly in East TN with only a handful elected outside of it from Reconstruction to the 1960s). Most other former Confederate states only occasionally had one, and others only had Republicans (such as Louisiana) since the 1970s. In 1969, TN became the first Southern state since NC in the 1890s to elect a GOP House Speaker (with a 49R-49D-1I membership). They probably would’ve reclaimed the chamber again by 1976, but Watergate was devastating in our state, reducing our Congressional majority (or near majorities in the TN House) to just about a third. So this has been delayed by 40 years.

[Impy]

“I’m voting for John Morgan for comptroller,” said Rep. Kent Williams.

He said he’d back the rat that that but Mumpower for Speaker. LIAR!!

Obviously doing it to appear like he’s still (ever was) a Republican.

“We had just 1 Democrat (one actually elected as one) who voted for Hargett for Sec of State (I don’t know why).”

I wonder why. They should work on him.

[Impy]

Anyway YES!!! That’s change I can believe in. LOOOOOOOOONG time coming.

Now you just need to elected anther state rep or 2 or 5 in 2010 along with a Non-Wamp, Non-Halsam, GOP Governor, redistrict the rats to under 40% of seats (or less I think you said they could really stick it too them) and you’re set.

[Impy]

Yes I know no veto for the guv, still it would funny in you had Lincoln Davis as guv and in effect a GOP Prime Minister.

[fieldmarshaldj]

Well, getting them elected is the proverbial “easy part.” Now we shall see if they are able to actually do a good job. There’s no training or recent precedent for a Republican for these offices since nobody in 140 years of our party has held them.

[Coldwater Creek]

Crime!

[Ev Reeman]

It’s good and heartening to see that parts of the country are not giving up on conservatives and republicans. I truly believe conservativism - true conservatism - is the salvation of our country whne it is practiced in the way that is true to its beliefs, principles and values.

[WOSG]

“Well, we don’t have an income tax (unconstitutional, although there is a dubious Halls Tax, which is a de facto one), our sales tax is rather high (nearly 10% - and on everything). This state is becoming more Conservative/GOP, went against the mass-insanity of the national election (where the False Messiah was reviled nearly as much as McGovern was in ‘72 by the voters).”

Good for you. It sounds like Texas up until recent years, in which we trended the other way.

[WOSG]

“Well, we don’t have an income tax (unconstitutional, although there is a dubious Halls Tax, which is a de facto one), our sales tax is rather high (nearly 10% - and on everything). This state is becoming more Conservative/GOP, went against the mass-insanity of the national election (where the False Messiah was reviled nearly as much as McGovern was in ‘72 by the voters).”

Good for you. It sounds like Texas up until recent years, in which we trended the other way.

[St. Louis Conservative]

What exactly are these positions? Who elected these positions, and when? I’m sorry if I sound ignorant (I am).

[fieldmarshaldj]

OK, I’ll give you the rundown. Tennessee is very unusual for its byzantine way with which its statewide offices are elected. We the voters only elect one office statewide and the rest are chosen by different manners as follows:

Governor: Popular Election Every 4 Years

Lieutenant Governor (also known as Speaker of the Senate): Elected by the Senate at Organizational Session Every 2 Years

Secretary of State: Elected by Joint Session of the Legislature at the Organizational Session in January every 2 years

Comptroller: Elected same as Sec of State & Treasurer

Treasurer: Elected same as Sec of State & Comptroller

Attorney General: Elected by the State Supreme Court

Adjutant General: Statewide Office Appointed by Governor

The manner with which these offices were chosen usually assured near-total Democrat dominance. In Jan 2003, when our current Dem Governor assumed office, only the Adjutant General appointed by his GOP successor was retained and the only Republican in statewide office. In 2007, the GOP elected a GOP Senate Speaker/Lt Governor for the first time since the late 1860s (not a typo), and he was reelected on Tuesday (while a RINO puppet Speaker was elected by the Democrat minority in the House that same day). Yesterday, the joint session of the legislature met (where the GOP has a majority of 69-63) and elected those 3 other offices, flipping all 3 to Republicans (again, none of which had Republicans in them since either the 1860s or 1870s).

As of now, 5 of 7 statewide officeholders are Republican, which again, is the first time since about 1868 (not a typo) that we have a majority of them. Because the manner with which the Attorney General is chosen, by the Supreme Court (which is also not chosen by the people, but by an elite liberal trial lawyers group that forwards their preferred choices to the Governor, usually always liberal Democrats, and if the Governor doesn’t choose them, the trial lawyers can install them), so until we can move to having the Justices directly elected on partisan ballots (as they once used to be), it will be nearly impossible to get a Republican Attorney General.

[cyberslave]

Too bad you don't have a lot more electoral votes.

Perhaps that will change after 2010 census for the 2012 election. We need to get a whole lot more electoral votes in Red and Purple states, and hopefully loose a lot more in Blue states.

We could swing California if they had proportional electoral voting like Maine does. Then the winner in the Congressional District gets the electoral vote instead of winner take all. I thought there was an attempt to bring this about, but I guess something happened. Anybody know what the status is on that front?

Let's hope there is an election in 2012, and a country to hold an election in.

Tennessee State Flag

Hopefully, the conservatives will rise again...just as the South has.