Haynes to lead Tennessee GOP
State Republicans on Saturday named state Rep. Ryan Haynes chairman of the Tennessee Republican Party.
Haynes was elected by the GOP’s executive committee to replace Chris Devaney, who stepped down just months into his fourth term to become executive director of the Chattanooga-based Children’s Nutrition Program of Haiti.
Haynes, of Knoxville, won a majority of votes on the first ballot, defeating fellow Rep. Mary Littleton, the of Dickson and Vanderbilt professor Carol Swain, The Associated Press reported.
Under Devaney’s chairmanship, Republicans gained supermajorities in both chambers of the Tennessee General Assembly and took seven of nine of the state’s U.S. House seats. Still, he has faced criticism from tea party-styled members of the executive committee over contentious issues such as the effort to require party registration to vote in GOP primaries. Devaney opposed closed primaries.
Mary Mancini speaks following her election as chairwoman of the Tennessee Democratic Party in Nashville, Tenn., on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2015. (AP Photo/Erik Schelzig) Democratic chief slams vote to kill Insure Tennessee
Tennessee Democratic Chairwoman Mary Mancini in a news release slammed majority Republicans who voted to kill Gov. Bill Haslam’s plan to provide health insurance to some 280,000 state residents.
The vote in the Senate Commerce Committee “shows that Tennessee Republicans don’t care if they deny health care to hardworking Tennesseans. They don’t care that working families will go broke if they get sick. They don’t care that hospitals are going to close and people will lose their jobs. They don’t care that without health care, Tennesseans will die,” Mancini said.
The Republicans who killed the bill expressed concern over costs and whether the state could get out of the pilot program if it wasn’t working as intended.
Starrett starts campaign with full wallet
Republican Grant Starrett’s 4th Congressional District effort is sitting on “over $504,000,” including $250,000 the Murfreesboro attorney kicked in, according to Starrett’s finance consultant.
Consultant Taylor Ferrell wrote in a memo to finance chairman Lee Beaman, a Nashville auto dealership owner and prominent conservative, that Starrett is in a “strong financial position and is well on its way to having the necessary resources needed to spread [his] pro-constitution, pro-taxpayer message throughout the Fourth Congressional District.”
Starrett last week announced he will try to unseat U.S. Rep. Scott DesJarlais, R-Tenn., in the 2016 GOP primary. DesJarlais survived a 2014 primary challenge from state Sen. Jim Tracy, R-Shelbyville, by just 38 votes.
Ferrell also noted endorsements from Erick Erickson of RedState and other conservative bloggers.
Sen. Mike Bell
R-RicevilleBell touts passage of telehealth bill
State Sen. Mike Bell, R-Ricevillw, said colleagues last week passed his bill regulating what’s known as telehealth, or the remote delivery of medical care through electronic information and communications technology.
“This legislation was requested by large groups representing patients, the provider community and the insurance industry,” Bell said in a news release. “But those who will really benefit from this proposal are the citizens in our rural communities who need accessible health care services. It will extend hard-to-find specialties, such as neurology and psychiatry, into underserved, rural areas.”
Senate Bill 1223 provides a definition of telehealth or telehealth medicine in Tennessee law to ensure uniformity and professional standards. Further, it defines a provider-patient relationship and the consent required to initiate that relationship. It clarifies that a physician-patient relationship exists only when a telehealth provider undertakes to diagnose or treat a patient and not just when someone leaves a message, Bell’s release said.
Gardenhire to lead K-12 subcommittee
State Sen. Todd Gardenhire, R-Chattanooga, last week was named chairman of the education committee’s K-12 subcommittee. Education committee Chairwoman Dolores Gresham made the appointment.
Gresham said she asked the subcommittee to find ways to improve Tennessee’s graduation rates and to study the value of a high school diploma today.
Calendar
Monday
* U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann will be the guest speaker at the Pachyderm Club at noon at Republican headquarters, 1428 Chestnut St., Suite E. Parking is in the Finley Stadium parking lot.
* Tennessee Democratic Party Chairwoman Mary Mancini will be guest speaker at the JFK Club monthly meeting at noon at the Chattanoogan Hotel, 1201 Broad St. For more information, contact Harvey Weiss at nipc@prismnet.com.
Tuesday
* The Greater Chattanooga Democratic Women’s Club will meet at 6 p.m. at the IBEW Local 175, 3922 Volunteer Drive.
For more information contact club president Jackie Dowell at dowellj1@comcast.net.
Thursday
* Israel Ortega, political analyst and former writer for the Heritage Foundation, will be the guest speaker at the Latinos for Tennessee meeting, 5:30 to 8 p.m. at Mexiville Mexican Restaurant, 809 Market St., Chattanooga. For information, call 423-304-5405.