The 2010 midterm election resulted in a massive shift in political party power, from Democratic to Republican. Many of those public officials elected were “new faces” in the legislature.With these new faces in the state and national offices, what can UTM students expect to see in 2011?
To begin with, Republican candidate Bill Haslam won the gubernatorial race. In his inaugural address on Jan. 15, Gov. Haslam laid out his plan of action for the state of Tennessee.
“Our goal is simple: Top-tier education for our children. Re-training for those out of work and underemployed. A healthy lifestyle.
All three will make Tennessee number one in the Southeast for high- quality jobs,” Haslam said.
He continued on by describing how the state government would undergo a top-to-bottom review, and work on closing the budget gap and balancing the budget.
These promises are similar with many other newly elected Republican officials. Many of the new officials have promised that Tennesseans will see massive cuts in order to balance the state budget.
Republican Stephen Fincher was elected to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives for Tennessee’s 8th District. Shortly after being sworn into office, he explained his plans to the public.
Fincher said that he planned to focus on transparency and repealing the health care reform legislation.
Fincher, along with other Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives, successfully voted to repeal the health care reform legislation. Although this repeal is not expected to pass through the Senate, many expect this effort to lead to revisions in the law.
On a more local level, Republican Andy Holt now serves as the representative for the 76th District in the Tennessee House of Representatives.
He, along with the other Tennessee House of Representatives members, will face many issues relating to budget cuts as the 107th General Assembly convenes.
