Tennessee: Wamp touts experience as he seeks eighth term

Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Tenn., says he deserves an eighth term in office because of his experience and ability to deliver on priority projects in his district.

“I can tell people I’m an effective legislator,” said Rep. Wamp, citing his pushing through of funding for Enterprise South industrial park, Chickamauga Lock, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail and other projects. “You have to know how the process works.”

Rep. Wamp, 51, faces three opponents in his re-election bid: Democrat Doug Vandagriff and independents Ed Choate and Jean Howard-Hill.

A member of the House Appropriations Committee, Rep. Wamp has served in Congress since 1995. The 3rd District meanders from Chattanooga through Oak Ridge to the Tennessee-Kentucky border.

Rep. Wamp said he maintains a focus on constituent relations and communicating with people in his district. Though he has taken some heat for his support of the $700 billion financial rescue package, he said his earnest efforts to explain his vote have won him the respect even of people who disagree with him.

“People are not going to agree with you all the time,” he said. “What I’ve found out on this bailout experience is that, even if they’re mad at you, if you are honest and don’t run from them and defend yourself by saying this is why you did what you did, they’ll understand.”

Mr. Vandagriff, 59, said he supports a philosophy of smaller government and would slash federal spending.

“Everything I do would be along those lines,” said Mr. Vandagriff, a Wal-Mart employee and part-time delivery man at Belvoir Pharmacy. “If I was elected, I would agree to vote ‘no’ on any legislation that would increase the size, cost, power or expand the reach of government.”

Mr. Vandagriff ran against Rep. Wamp in 2004 as an independent and in 2006 in the Republican primary. He has adapted the title of the film and graphic-novel series “V for Vendetta,” with campaign signs touting “V for Vandagriff,” and has made campaign appearances dressed as the mask- and cape-wearing protagonist.

“I’m just an everyday guy,” he said. “I just feel like I had to do something. I hate to just let things go on the way they are.”

Mr. Choate, 58, a photographer who lives in Cleveland, Tenn., said he formerly voted for Rep. Wamp but now is disappointed in his performance.

“I believe he became a professional politician,” Mr. Choate said. “He forgot who sent him to Washington.”

Mr. Choate, a born-again Christian who also ran for U.S. Senate in Tennessee in 2006, said he would work to restore conservative Christian values to Congress. He said he is pro-life, opposes gay marriage and favors prayer in schools.

He also said he would have opposed the financial rescue package.

“Wamp is a congressman, and he’s been there for 14 years,” Mr. Choate said. “Didn’t he see (the financial crisis) coming? You’re telling me that we have all those congressmen there, and they are not seeing it? Something is wrong.”

Ms. Howard-Hill, 52, an adjunct political science professor at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, said Rep. Wamp is unqualified to serve in Congress because he did not graduate from college.

“I don’t think we need to set a precedent when (Tennessee is) 42nd and 44th (in the country) in terms of associate and bachelor’s degrees,” she said. “I don’t think we need to send someone (to Congress) who didn’t think his education was important enough to finish his degree.”

Rep. Wamp attended the University of Tennessee and the University of North Carolina but did not complete his bachelor’s degree. He could not be reached for a response to Ms. Howard-Hill’s criticism.

A former Republican, Ms. Howard-Hill said she would promote energy conservation and vote to bring troops home from Iraq. She also dismissed Rep. Wamp’s significant fundraising advantage over his opponents.

Ms. Howard-Hill did not raise enough money to reach the $5,000 threshold that requires a campaign finance disclosure.

“Money should not be a factor in who’s best qualified for Congress,” she said. “I only have an uphill battle because I refuse to go out there and beg for money at a time when people are hurting.”