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Posted on 01/15/2003 5:56:02 AM PST by GailA
Democrats Naifeh, Wilder re-elected to posts 11 Republicans vote for Naifeh for House post
By TOM HUMPHREY, tomhumphrey3@aol.com January 15, 2003
NASHVILLE - Eleven Republicans joined all 54 Democratic representatives on Tuesday to elect Jimmy Naifeh to his seventh term as speaker of the state House while Lt. Gov. John Wilder won his 17th term as Senate speaker by unanimous, bipartisan vote.
"This year, we need to do our business, balance the budget with no new taxes and go home," said Naifeh, 61, in an opening speech to the 103rd General Assembly after he was re-elected speaker 65-33 over Rep. Diane Black, R-Hendersonville.
Wilder, 81, declared in a rambling speech that his top priority of the coming session as seeking ways to better use in state funds without raising taxes.
"We tried to get equity in taxation," said Wilder, referring to tax wars of the past three years. "What we are going to be looking at now is efficiency in government. I think that's what our focus is going to be this year."
House Republicans had decided a day earlier, by majority vote, to formally challenge Naifeh for the first time since his initial election as speaker in 1991. Black said Republicans, if they hope to become a majority party in the Legislature, "it's important we act like a majority party" by nominating leadership candidates.
Conservative critics of Naifeh, who supported a state income tax last session, had bombarded legislators with calls for opposition to the incumbent speaker prior to the vote.
"I had about a hundred e-mails on there telling me to vote against myself," Naifeh told House Democratic Caucus earlier in the day, referring to a check of his office computer at the start of the week.
Thirty-three of the 45 House Republicans voted for Black and one, Rep. Curry Todd, R-Collierville, was absent because of a family illness. The remaining 11 voted for Naifeh, despite contentions from some GOP quarters that such a vote would indicate disloyalty to the party.
The 11 Republicans voting for Naifeh were Reps. Michael Harrison of Treadway, Russell Johnson of Loudon, Joe Kent of Memphis, *Steve McDaniel of Parkers Crossroad, Bob McKee of Athens, *Chris Newton of Cleveland, Doug Overby of Maryville, *Bob Patton of Johnson City, W.C. "Bubba'' Pleasant of Arlington, Dennis Roach of Rutledge and Raymond Walker of Crossville.
Harrison, the only freshman Republican to back Naifeh, said he did so because of a promise made to the speaker before his GOP colleagues decided to field a Republican candidate.
Harrison and Pleasant subsequently voted for the GOP nominee as speaker pro tempore, Rep. Bobby Wood of Chattanooga, over Democrat Lois DeBerry of Memphis, who has held the office since 1987. DeBerry thus won re-election by two fewer Republican votes than Naifeh, 63-35. The Republicans who broke ranks to support Naifeh generally said they did so because Naifeh has done a good job overall and because of a need to set a tone of bipartisan cooperation - especially when Black was assured of losing because Democrats hold a majority.
"I think the issues facing the state are not necessarily Republican or Democratic issues and I thought to discuss those issues, we needed to act in a bipartisan manner," said Overby.
Roach said Naifeh had cast a key, tie-breaking vote in committee on a bill highly important to his constituency and "I feel a loyalty for the big helping hand" he provided.
"You can be a good Republican without kicking yourself in the foot," he added.
Black backers generally said that opposing Naifeh was not necessarily indicative of a more belligerent partisan stance. For example, freshman Rep. Harry R. Brooks, R-Knoxville, said he considered partisan candidate opposition "part of the process" and his vote for Black "a positive for my party, not a negative for Naifeh."
Legislators today are expected to elect state Comptroller John Morgan and Treasurer Steve Adams to new terms. They were nominated by the House Democratic Caucus and Republicans late Tuesday had not nominated opponents to their reelection.
Naifeh scheduled briefings for representatives on three major issues facing the 2003 session. Manny Martins, director of the TennCare program, will report on developments in the program today while Attorney General Paul G. Summers will discuss a state Supreme Court ruling on pay equity for teachers on Friday. On Thursday, members of legislative committees working toward implementation of a state lottery will make a presentation.
Tom Humphrey, chief of the News-Sentinel's Nashville bureau, may be reached at 615-242-7782.
TN GENERAL ASSEMBLY The *names are the PRO-INCOME TAXERS.
I've spoken with my congresscritter Bubba and he is definetly a good ole boy RINO.
Our letter to him this morning.
We are HIGHLY DISAPPOINTED in your vote for Speaker Naifeh.
Your vote for MORE TAXES was a VERY BIG DISAPPOINTMENT also.
We expected the likes of the RINOS Netwon, McDaniels and Patton who voted for the Income Tax to vote for their buddy, but we did not expect someone who sold himself as a Conservative to vote for him.
There is NO EXCUSE for this vote.
We will be watching how you vote on bills very closely.
You have betrayed the principals of Conservativisim and of Reaganism.
DK & GK
I felt before the election that BUBBA was a RINO and refrained from voting for him. After his vote for the BILLION $$ tax hike I knew he was a RINO. He was unopposed so got back in.
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