By Erik Schelzig
Associated Press
NASHVILLE - Republican Gov.-elect Bill Haslam on Wednesday tapped Republican stalwart and former gubernatorial candidate Jim Henry, of Kingston, to be commissioner of the new state Department of Intellectual Disabilities.
The agency previously had been part of the state's finance department, but lawmakers decided to spin it off into a standalone department beginning Jan. 5.
Haslam said in a news release that Henry has "dedicated much of his legislative and professional career to helping families and children affected by intellectual disabilities and its unique challenges."
Henry, 65, is a former Kingston mayor, state House minority leader and Tennessee Republican Party chairman. He is the president and CEO of Omni Visions Inc., which serves adults with developmental disabilities and families in crisis.
"As a father of a child with developmental difficulties, I'm committed to serving Tennesseans facing the same challenges my family and I do," Henry said in the news release.
Henry lost the 2002 Republican gubernatorial primary to former U.S. Rep. Van Hilleary, who went on to lose the general election to Democrat Phil Bredesen. Henry's bid was supported by then-Gov. Don Sundquist, who was deeply unpopular among fellow Republicans for supporting failed efforts to impose a state income tax, though Henry was out of state government by the time Sundquist made his tax proposals.
During his gubernatorial bid, Henry proposed holding a constitutional convention and letting voters decide on a new tax system, though he said he personally opposed a state income tax.
Henry's college years were interrupted by the Vietnam War. He was a junior at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, majoring in political science and economics, when he decided to take a break and got drafted. He enlisted in the Navy and shipped off to Vietnam. He spent a year in the war zone, another three years in Europe and came home.
In 1973, at age 28, Henry became mayor of Kingston, and he was elected to the state House in 1978. Two years later, he became House Republican leader, helping guide then-Gov. Lamar Alexander's education reforms through a Democrat-controlled Legislature.
Henry lost his House seat in 1990 to Democrat Dennis Ferguson, who was defeated by Republican Julia Hurley this year.
Henry considered challenging Bredesen in 2006, but ultimately decided against a bid. Bredesen ended up winning a second term in a landslide.
Haslam succeeds the term-limited Democrat on Jan. 15.