Claude RamseyNASHVILLE - Gov. Bill Haslam's top deputy, Claude Ramsey of Hamilton County, will be stepping down at the end of August, the administration announced today.
Haslam said in a statement that Ramsey, a former Hamilton County mayor, intends to spend more time with his family.
The administration says Ramsey, 70, has been "integral," on several of Haslam's key initiatives, including a civil service overhaul, economic development efforts, workforce development training and other issues.
"Claude's experience at the state and local levels of government and his common sense approach have been invaluable assets to our administration, and I am incredibly grateful to him and his wife, Jan, for their time in Nashville and commitment to the state of Tennessee."
Ramsey said "it's been a true pleasure to work with the governor on the important issues of job growth, education reform and making Tennessee the best-run state in the country."
Calling Haslam a "man of integrity with a clear vision for the state," Ramsey said, "I will do anything I can to help him in the future as he continues to serve."
In joining the administration when Haslam took office in January 2011, the administration says Ramsey agreed to serve as deputy for two years but decided to stay on for a while longer.