CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – A legislative town hall was held Thursday at the Clarksville-Montgomery County Public Library, featuring Democratic state Rep. Ronnie Glynn and Tennessee House Democratic Caucus Chairman John Ray Clemmons. The public event gave the community an opportunity to hear from both speakers and ask questions on a range of issues.
Glynn opened the session by explaining his frustration with what is happening in the Legislature. He told the crowd, “I think you all watch the news enough to know what’s going on … and it’s not pretty. Let’s just be for real, it’s not pretty.”
Glynn discussed concerns about the state budget, saying it dropped from $63 billion last year to $57 billion this year. He attributed much of the decline to a $7 billion reduction in federal funding. According to Glynn, the shortfall is already having an impact, including tuition increases at state universities. He also said efforts to reduce the grocery tax have been affected by the tighter budget.
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In response to questions about higher education, Glynn said earlier efforts to fully eliminate tenure were pulled back. However, he said new legislation now focuses on faculty “codes of conduct.” He said the bills stem from recent events at Austin Peay State University and could allow tenured professors to be fired over speech the state considers inappropriate. Glynn said he believes the changes could limit classroom discussion and weaken First Amendment protections, making campuses more political.
During the Q&A, an attendee asked how the state is handling immigration. Clemmons criticized state-level immigration bills, arguing that the Republican supermajority is “attacking people instead of fixing the problem in a broken system.” He expressed concern that state resources, like the Tennessee Highway Patrol, are being used to help with federal immigration raids. Clemmons said these operations often target families based on their appearance.
In response to questions about the state’s economy, Clemmons questioned whether current leadership should be described as “fiscally conservative.” He said that since Republicans took control, the state budget has grown from $30 billion to $60 billion over the past 15 years. Clemmons said, “Just know this whole ‘fiscal conservative’ notion is nonsense … they doubled the state budget, they cut all revenues, costs are going up, and you are gonna pay the price.”
Glynn closed the town hall by encouraging people, especially younger voters, to stay involved and show up to vote.
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