Scottie Mayfield speaks to a crowd in front of his bus in a parking lot near Ross's Landing in downtown Chattanooga on Monday while his communications director Joe Hendrix, left, and wife Lisa, right, listen. Mayfield began a 14-stop districtwide bus tour Monday to launch his campaign for the Republican congressional nomination.Scottie Mayfield hit the road for most of Monday, and said he will be back on it today to pitch his candidacy to the 3rd Congressional District seat.
The Athens, Tenn., dairy executive kicked off his campaign with a bus tour through several counties, including McMinn, Marion, Polk and Hamilton. The road trip continues today.
His bus was parked just off Riverfront Parkway in downtown Chattanooga about 3:30 p.m. Mayfield addressed a small group of constituents, a crowd he said was small considering the size of Chattanooga.
Mayfield made sure to emphasize that he is no politician, and wants instead to run as a successful businessman. Mayfield has operated Mayfield Dairy Farms for 40 years.
"The things I'm hearing are that people want a businessman in Washington," Mayfield said after his speech. "Everyone is tired of the political games.
During his prepared remarks, Mayfield said that, if elected, he'd like to see the end of Obama health care reform.
"I cannot turn a blind eye when I know I can make a difference," he told the crowd.
Pat Pennington lives in Madisonville, Tenn., but drove to Athens to make sure to catch the bus with Mayfield from the beginning of its run Monday.
Pennington said he would like to see Mayfield help "cut expenses and return the country to a time of prosperity."
"A lot of people are ready to see something different," Pennington said.
A video uploaded to YouTube last week titled "Scottie Mayfield Struggling to Answer Basic Questions" shows Mayfield speaking to the College Republicans at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. When a student asks him "two of three" things he'd want to accomplish, he said he had no specifics and needed to wait until he gets to Congress to make those decisions.
The video is inching towards 800 views on YouTube, and at least one of them was by Hamilton County Young Republicans Chairman George Jackson, who said the video won't affect his campaign.
"There are pros and cons to not be a professional politician," Jackson said. "The con is you don't get an answer the conventional way, but the pro is the answer is outside of Washington. What's important is that he's meeting the constituents."
Contact staff writer Adam Poulisse apoulisse@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6592.