CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – With early voting starting this week, Clarksville Now checked in on the local candidates for Tennessee General Assembly to see where they stand on the issues.
Montgomery County is represented in the state legislature by three House districts: 67, 68 and 75. For District 75, Jeff Burkhart won the Republican nomination in August and is unopposed on the November ballot.
Also on the ballot will be governor, Congress, city mayor and City Council races.
Here are the contested State House races and the candidates’ stands on key issues.
TN House, Dist. 67
- Tommy Vallejos, R
- Ronnie Glynn, D
Question: What is your stand on the expansion of charter schools in Tennessee?
Ronnie Glynn: Public education is the key to our community’s future and our children’s futures. Charter schools only benefit the elite and drain millions of dollars from our community public schools by redirecting tax dollars to private academies and out-of-state private charter school operators. We are fortunate to have public school teachers who dedicate their lives to our students every day, and that’s why I’ll fight to give them a competitive income and safe retirement along with providing classrooms with the resources needed to maintain high standards.
Q: What is your stand on abortion access, particularly in cases of rape or incest?
Glynn: Women should be trusted to make reproductive healthcare decisions for themselves with their doctors. Politicians do not belong in the doctors’ offices and the intimate lives of women. Especially in cases of rape and incest, women should never be forced to suffer the consequences of actions out of their control. Abortion bans are dangerous and will cause more women to die while putting doctors and nurses behind bars. Bans do not stop abortion; they stop safe abortions.
Q: What is your stand on expanding access to health care for low-income families?
Glynn: I benefited from universal healthcare while serving our country. I know firsthand how important it is to have access to quality medical coverage and that preventative care can be a lifeline that everyone should have. That means expanding and funding Medicaid by bringing our tax dollars back to Tennessee for working Tennesseans, instead of allowing those federal dollars to be spent in California or Massachusetts. It also means investing in healthcare and first-responder services across the state to ensure that all Tennesseans can enjoy their right to quality healthcare.
Q: Is there another issue that you’d like to weigh in on?
Glynn: I will fight to uphold the values Tennessee was founded on and make it livable for all. That means upholding integrity, loyalty, duty, respect and honor in the State House. Tennessee is growing and on the rise, but not for all. The middle class is shrinking, and rising costs must be addressed. I’ll push for gas and grocery tax holidays to provide much-needed relief. I will fight back against extremism and fight for racial equality. I will defend democracy and protect voting rights, ensure that public servants are protected and respected.
Tommy Vallejos declined to answer.
TN House, Dist. 68
- Curtis Johnson, R, incumbent
- Monica Meeks, I
Question: What is your stand on the expansion of charter schools in Tennessee?
Curtis Johnson: Currently there are no charter schools in Montgomery County. Charter schools are public schools that sign a contract to provide special services or an alternative for a non-performing school. At present there are no non-performing schools in our district. There is a long and arduous process to start a charter school with several oversights along the way, and any charter school must be approved by the local school board.
Monica Meeks: I stand against the expansion of charter schools in Montgomery County. I am against defunding public schools in Tennessee. There is not enough accountability for charter schools. I trust our local school board. One of the charter schools needed a ton of waivers because it failed to meet educational goals. We should focus on filling staffing shortages within CMCSS. We should support our schoolteachers. They do an amazing job of empowering our youth. The overreach of state government is utterly disgusting. We do not want religious charter schools indoctrinating our students or teaching them that being different is some great sin.
Q: What is your stand on abortion access, particularly in cases of rape or incest?
Johnson: I have always supported legislation to protect the life of an unborn child. The current law does allow for an abortion to be performed when medical emergencies threaten the life of the mother. I have seen no legislation to change this bill. Any proposed legislation would have to be approved by the entire legislature.
Meeks: I trust women and medical professionals. Women’s rights are equal rights. I am pro-choice and I believe women should have agency over their bodies. As a proud Army veteran and survivor of military sexual trauma, I fully support women’s access to abortions. Women should have the same rights to make their own medical decisions privately as men do. As someone who suffered a miscarriage while stationed in Germany, I can attest that had it not been for the exceptional medical care off post, I would have bled to death.
Q: What is your stand on expanding access to health care for low-income families?
Johnson: TennCare has increased its enrollment to where it now has over 1,517,723 Tennesseans enrolled, which is 20 percent of the state’s population. It pays for over half of the births in the state and has over 800,000 children enrolled. Currently it provides care for low-income children, pregnant women, the elderly, and people with disabilities. The General Assembly also appropriated money for The Katie Beckett Program, which helps Tennessee residents under the age of 18, with disabilities and/or complex medical needs who would not usually qualify for TennCare. In 2019, the Legislature funded this program at $27,344,100 (recurring). This program helps to fill gaps between the child’s needs and what private insurance will cover.
Meeks: The Tennessee state budget is $40 billion. We spent $2 million for our underinsured and $8 million on tourism initiatives. We care more about tourists than the residents of Tennessee. Our state likes to punish people for being poor. We need to expand Medicaid. We also need to follow the money regarding our elected officials that are invested in an urgent care center. Is there a link between rural hospitals closing and the wealth being made by those in office? Tennessee rejected Medicaid expansion, which was expected of all states when the Affordable Care Act was enactment. There are coverage gaps. We pay into Medicaid but don’t receive the benefits of expansion.
Q: Is there another issue that you’d like to weigh in on?
Johnson: Due to the massive growth in Montgomery County, transportation is becoming a real problem. County and city officials are working with Montgomery County legislators and the Department of Transportation to solve these problems. Montgomery County is home to one of the largest veteran’s population in the state, and helping our military servicemen, servicewomen and veterans is a priority. And in order to see the business community continue to grow in Montgomery County, we must work to keep our taxes low and be a good steward of taxpayers’ money. We want people to want to live and work in Montgomery County because of the many advantages that can be afforded them.
Meeks: I am the most educated candidate running for the Tennessee House of Representatives in all three districts. I have a graduate degree. I am a Certified Fraud Examiner and graduate of the Tennessee Law Enforcement Training Academy. I am very engaged in this community. I am a political unicorn and proud to be pro-Second Amendment and pro-choice.
For more
Early voting will be Oct. 19-Nov. 3 at the Election Commission Office, 350 Pageant Lane, and Oct. 24-Nov. 3 at the Clarksville Regional Airport, 200A Outlaw Field Road.
Voting on Nov. 8 will take place from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the neighborhood voting precincts.
You will have to show your driver’s license or other state or federal photo ID.
For more information, go to the Montgomery County Election Commission website.
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