Tennesseans soon will enter voting booths statewide to elect our governor for the next four years. Some have already expressed their preference in early voting.
The winner will have big shoes to fill. Democrat Gov. Phil Bredesen has done a fine job in office.
So it is most fortunate for residents of Tennessee that the two major party candidates – Republican Bill Haslam and Democrat Mike McWherter – are men of character, integrity and ability, and that both desire what they believe to be best for the state.
It is also fortunate that they agree on at least one fundamental issue: Both vigorously oppose any possible imposition of a general state income tax. That is important because there are periodic attempts to pass an income tax, even though it would violate Tennessee’s Constitution and would make the state far less attractive to companies that might consider locating here.
Both candidates also have a successful background in business. Mr. Haslam has been involved with his family’s Pilot Corp., a chain of truck stops. Mr. McWherter owns a beer distributorship in Jackson, Tenn.
Added to his business background, Mr. Haslam has extensive experience as a chief government executive. He has served two successful terms as mayor of Knoxville.
Mayor Haslam has been instrumental in keeping Knoxville on sound financial footing. And during his days with Pilot, he helped create jobs in dozens of states.
As a gubernatorial candidate, he is focused on job creation as Tennessee and the rest of our country struggle through the economic crisis and high unemployment. His business background gives him a practical understanding of how jobs are created.
He also holds sound views on education. He believes, for instance, in school choice – particularly through expanded charter schools. Those are public schools that are freed from much of the bureaucracy that hinders progress in traditional public schools.
Mr. Haslam has vowed to launch a top-to-bottom review of state government to find and eliminate wasteful spending and to boost efficiency. He is a defender of Second Amendment rights as well.
In addition, he pledges to fight ObamaCare’s unfunded federal mandates, which would saddle Tennessee with massive new costs. Tennessee has worked hard to keep its budgets balanced. That hard work should not be ruined by costly federal mandates.
A husband and the father of three children, Mayor Haslam is an elder at Cedar Springs Presbyterian Church.
Mr. McWherter has not served in public office, though he is the son of well-regarded two-term former Gov. Ned McWherter, a Democrat who served from 1987 until 1995. He is married and the father of two children.
Mr. McWherter hopes to use tax incentives to encourage small businesses to create jobs. He also wants to expand the availability of high-speed Internet to boost job growth around the state. He would like to expand an existing pre-kindergarten program into all 95 counties in Tennessee. He vows to continue Tennessee government’s tradition of living within its means, and he shares the concern that ObamaCare “reforms” will saddle Tennessee with unfunded federal mandates.
We like both candidates. But with all due respect to Mr. McWherter, we believe that Mayor Haslam has the right combination of business principles and government experience to lead Tennessee constructively as our next governor.
We enthusiastically urge the election Nov. 2 of Mr. Haslam to be Tennessee’s next governor.