Issues
Keeping people safe from crime should be the top priority of any government. I’ve had the pleasure of riding along with law enforcement officers on multiple occasions. These dedicated men and women perform a dangerous job and a critical role in keeping us safe. They deserve our support. As your State Representative, I have the back of our brave men and women in law enforcement.
The state must do more to help us combat the number one challenge in Memphis and Shelby County—violent crime. This means providing our community with the necessary resources for sufficient prosecutors and law enforcement officers. This also means ensuring we teach marketable skills to those inmates who can be rehabilitated so, when they are released from prison, they can obtain a good job and become responsible citizens. Reducing recidivism saves taxpayer dollars and makes our community safer.
Tennessee is ranked as the most fiscally stable state in the country. We have the least debt of any state. When we do borrow money, we are able to borrow at a very low interest rate due to our excellent AAA bond rating.
I’m working to create higher-paying jobs and rebuild our economy by supporting conservative fiscal policies that keep Tennessee on the right track.
In the House of Representatives, I’ve worked to cut burdensome regulations that stifle small business growth and cost us jobs. I’ve voted for pro-market, pro-growth principles that have made our state a shining example of fiscal conservatism across the country. We operate with no state income tax, and the Hall Tax and the death tax have been abolished. I support these sound economic policies and it’s obvious that businesses do too by the continued expansion of existing businesses and relocation of businesses both large and small to Tennessee.
The new Ford Motor Company manufacturing site in nearby Haywood County is an example of our state’s growing economy. I voted to support the economic development package that brought Ford to West Tennessee, including construction of a Tennessee College of Applied Technology campus so employees can be trained for the high-skilled jobs Ford will create right here in our area.
Tennessee schools continue to face challenges brought on by the COVID pandemic. I support keeping our schools open because our students learn more in the classroom with their teachers and friends rather than at home alone on a computer.
Tennessee should be a national leader in vocational and technical education. As the job market changes, so too must our educational system. Our schools should teach students the skills necessary to obtain a good-paying job.
Some of our kids will go to college to become a doctor, engineer, or teacher. Providing a classical college preparatory curriculum is critical to their early success. Others need a vocational education to enter fields such as auto repair or HVAC. Still others are seeking a technical education to learn important IT skills. I support creating public schools that can provide all these options to our young people while first giving them the background in reading and math they will need to succeed in life.
I have some fundamental beliefs about health care. First, I believe patients should be able to choose their own doctor. Second, I value the relationship between a patient and his or her doctor. I believe patients and doctors should make important health care decisions, not the government or an insurance company. Third, competition—between health care providers, between drug manufacturers, and between insurance companies—is good. Competition encourages innovation and it brings down cost. In the legislature, I am guided by these core beliefs as I vote on health care laws.
Every community has different health care needs just as these needs vary from state to state. Health care experts in our state should have the flexibility to design programs that improve the health of Tennesseans. As our state government plans for how best to support and improve health care delivery within Tennessee, I will look for plans that provide flexibility.
The late Representative Jim Coley passed the toughest law in the country against human trafficking. I’m proud to carry on Rep. Coley’s legacy by continuing to defend the most vulnerable in our state. I support state funding of the Domestic Violence Court that prioritizes these cases to protect women from abusers.
I am pro-life because I believe human life begins at conception. I will proudly fight to protect innocent human life from birth to natural death.
What sets some state legislators about from others? It’s the ability to be effective—to get things done for your community and your state. Tennessee’s House of Representatives has 73 Republicans and only 26 Democrats. Republicans chair every committee and have large majorities on each committee. If Democrats walk out and boycott the House session, Republicans maintain a quorum and can pass laws without Democrats present.
Shelby County is a majority Democrat county that has serious needs from state government. As a member of the Republican supermajority in Nashville, I have a track record of working effectively with legislative leadership to get things done for our community and our county. As a freshman member of the House, I was appointed to the Finance, Ways & Means Committee—one of only two freshmen to serve on this powerful committee.