Region’s Lawmakers: Holding Both Top Posts Wouldn’t Short Districts On Service

Now that Republicans are in the majority on both sides of the Tennessee Assembly, the two Bristol, Tenn., legislators poised to head those chambers are confident they’ll be able to influence state policy – particularly to turnaround a failing economy – and still help their constituents.

House Minority Leader Jason Mumpower, R-3rd, said Friday he is confident he will be chosen to serve as House Majority Leader and Speaker of the House when the chamber meets Jan. 13 to elect its leadership.

Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, R-2nd, who has been lieutenant governor and Speaker of the Senate since 2007, said he expects to serve another term in both roles.

The speakers of both chambers are responsible for nominating the lawmakers who chair and serve on legislative committees. And Ramsey said that duty will be of the utmost importance when it comes to dealing with the Tennessee’s budget deficit and the failing economy.

Being speaker would give him the chance to ensure all of the assembly’s financial committees are business-friendly and committed to helping businesses grow, Ramsey said.

“The only way we can get out of the downturn in the economy is to grow business,” he said.

Another advantage, Ramsey said, is that he can “remind people that the state of Tennessee does not stop at Knoxville.” 

Ramsey has represented Johnson and Sullivan counties in the 33-member state Senate since 1996. Senators elected him to be their lieutenant governor and Speaker of the Senate by an 18-15 vote Jan. 7, 2007. He expects a similar outcome when the Senate convenes Jan. 13.

“Really, what [all of this] comes down to is that those who work the hardest should be get to be speaker,” Ramsey said Friday. “It didn’t just happen. It came with a lot of hard work.”

Mumpower’s district covers all of Johnson County, and the east part of Sullivan County. He was first elected to the Tennessee House in 1996 and over the past 10 years has held several leadership positions in the House Republican Caucus.

In 2005, Mumpower was chosen to serve as the caucus leader and assumed the role of House Minority Leader. Under his leadership, House Republicans gained four seats in the Nov. 4 election.

Now, with 50 of the chamber’s 99 seats under their control, Republicans will have their first majority in the Tennessee House since 1865. But even then, Mumpower said, the party in control was the Whig-Republicans, and “this is the first time Republicans as we know them have had a majority.”

The House Republican Caucus will pick its leaders for the upcoming legislative session Dec. 5. Mumpower said he expects to run unopposed to serve a second term as caucus leader. And the caucus leader is automatically nominated to be the party’s candidate for Speaker of the House.

That is where Mumpower will see some opposition. House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh, D-21, has said he will seek re-election to that office despite the switch to Republican majority.

Naifeh has been speaker since 1991. His 18-year run is the longest active tenure in the country. He could get 49 votes for speaker if every member of his party supports his candidacy.

“I’m not a quitter,” Naifeh told the Associated Press last week. “A lot of things can happen ... and I’m just staying positive about it.”

But all 50 House Republicans already have signed a pledge to elect a complete slate of GOP leaders when they convene Jan. 13.

“The people of Tennessee decided that Republicans should have the majority in the House,” Mumpower said. And he and other Republicans are interpreting that vote to mean the people also want a Republican speaker.

If everything works out according to Mumpower’s plan and Ramsey is chosen to serve as lieutenant governor for a second term, the speakers of both chambers will be from Sullivan County. But having two speakers from the same county is nothing new, Mumpower said.

Former state Sen. Jim Wilder, D-26, served as the state’s lieutenant governor for 36 years until Ramsey defeated him in January 2007. Both Wilder and Naifeh represent a portion of Tipton County, in southwest Tennessee.

Mumpower and Ramsey both said the best part of their political power is the ability to get things done for their constituents.

Ramsey said he’s been able to help local governments acquire grant money and the Bristol Motor Speedway get what it needs to be successful. 

Mumpower also handled constituent requests, ranging from passing a piece of legislation that would allow an elderly constituent use a golf cart in a state park to answering calls about people with road kill in front of their homes.

“I’ve never personally gone out into the street with a shovel and removed a dead animal, but I can get it done,” Mumpower said, adding that serving his constituents will continue to be his top priority if elected speaker in January.

“The speaker of the House serves the entire state, but [Northeast Tennessee] is my community,” he said. “If I could not first be the representative of this region, then I could never become Speaker of the House.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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