Gerald McCormickState Rep. Gerald McCormick, R-Chattanooga, said Monday he’s going to work to keep his District 26 seat. And he may not face competition.
McCormick told the Hamilton County Pachyderm Club that, if elected, he would work with other Tennessee Republicans to increase teacher pay, weaken or dismantle the Hall income tax and seek to have wine sold in grocery stores in the state.
The teacher pay effort is part of a push by Gov. Bill Haslam, who has said he wants teacher pay in the state to be the fastest growing in the nation — but not necessarily the highest.
Republicans also have been working to get rid of the Hall tax. The General Assembly last year was able to raise the income cap, so that fewer residents paid the tax. McCormick said he and others will try to do it again — but some issues will have to be worked out.
“We’re going to go after that again and try to eliminate the Hall income tax. We don’t think we need it. But we do need to pay the bills,” he told the Pachyderms.