Gerald McCormick
First, I would like to thank the voters of the 26th legislative district for giving me the opportunity to serve in the Tennessee State House of Representatives. It is truly an honor and I appreciate it very much. Bobby Wood served in this seat for 28 years before he retired and was preceeded by Claude Ramsey and Ray Albright. I understand that I have big shoes to fill and I will work very hard to do a good job.
The 104th General Assembly convened on Tuesday January 11th with the Senate meeting in their chamber in the Capitol and the House in ours.
There are 99 members of the House of Representatives and we were all sworn in together at noon. The first vote was by roll call and it was to elect the Speaker of the House. Democrat Jimmy Nafeih of Covington was elected again and became the longest serving Speaker in the history of the State. I voted for Republican Leader Tre' Hargett of Bartlett for Speaker. Since I was elected as a Republican I felt that I should show party loyalty in the vote for Speaker. Nine of my Republican colleagues felt they could serve their districts better by voting for Speaker Nafeih and did so.
On Wednesday we met again in a joint session with the Senate to elect the three Consitutional Officers of the State, the Secretary of State, Comptroller, amd Treasurer. All three votes were by acclaimation with only one person running for each office. The ceremonial aspects were impressive and it was an enjoyable way to see how a ritual of state government works. The next day I saw an article in the newspaper that quoted the newly elected Secretary of State stating that recently released convicts should be given the right to vote more easily and that was going to be his priority for the next four years. Had I know that BEFORE the vote I would have objected to his unopposed re-election since I believe the right to vote is a very serious issue and not one to be tossed casually to ex-convicts. We might need to consider making those offices ones that are elected by all the voters instead of just the General Assembly members.
On Thursday we went into another session to find out what our committee assignments were going to be for the next two years. I was assigned to Education and to Commerce, my top two choices. I hope to help reform the B.E.P. funding formula that makes Hamilton County last in the state in per-pupil funding. We also hope to get more money to our local schools by increasing funding for our special needs students. I have already talked to the Governor's education aide about the funding issue and have reason to be hopeful.
Luckily, I was able to have my extended family, as well as some key campaign workers, in Nashville for the swearing-in ceremony and my wife, Kim, was able to stay Wednesday also. While my high school aged daughter seemed to enjoy the process in a reserved way my eight-year-old daughter was beside herself with excitement about every detail and every person she met. We may have another politician in the family.
After adjournment we all headed home as quickly as possible to get to work at our regular jobs! I enjoy Nashville, but Chattanooga is definitely home.
Gerald McCormick
State Representative-District 26
Chattanooga, TN