Ronnie Glynn presents his state Senate platform to Clarksville Civitans

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – Ronnie Glynn, the Democratic candidate for District 22 in Tennessee Senate, spoke Wednesday afternoon at the Clarksville Civitan Club about effective communication and his campaign for public office.

The club gathered in downtown Clarksville’s First Baptist Church, and club members were attentive as Glynn stood at the lectern at the front of the room, and in front of virtual attendees on a simultaneous Zoom call.

Before taking up politics and questions from club members, Glynn gave a speech about effective communication. He listed qualities that make a communicator successful, including active listening, clearly articulating all aspects of the conversation, and engaging in empathy.

He then spoke of the barriers to successful conversations and debate, particularly addressing the distractions that arise from technology use and the harm of implicit judgments based on appearance and assumptions. Glynn said it’s important to consider the bigger picture and the circumstances surrounding a disagreement in conversation.

“It’s OK to say that we agree to disagree,” Glynn added.

As he wrapped up his prepared remarks, Glynn opened the room to discussion. Spurred by a question from a club member, he laid out the four tenets of his campaign platform: higher paying jobs, healthcare expansion, education revitalization and improving the care of veterans.

On jobs, Glynn cited the importance of fair wages for workers and took issue with corporate tax breaks for companies coming to build or produce in Tennessee, when some of those companies then lower wages a few years after arriving, he said. Glynn also supports the expansion of our healthcare system to include Medicaid expansion. He said the current education funding model, Basic Education Program, or BEP, was “outdated, and I am running for recalibrating the system.”

Veterans come as a personal concern to Glynn, as he served in the Army from 1990 to 2014. At the club meeting, he petitioned for better resources to equip recently retired veterans with the skills to smoothly transition into civilian life.

Glynn is running against incumbent Republican Sen. Bill Powers, who won the Republican nomination last month in a neck-and-neck race against challenger Doug Englen. Glynn will face Powers in the Nov. 3 election. Early voting begins Oct. 14.