Few Hamilton County state House candidates in recent memory have been as prepared to take a seat in the General Assembly as Republican Robin Smith in District 26.
Not only is she a previous chairwoman of the Tennessee Republican Party, but she has advocated for various health care causes with legislators in Nashville for most of the past decade and has run a public relations firm that has worked with candidates who are or have been in the legislature.
Smith, 55, faces University of Tennessee at Chattanooga employee and disability activist Jean-Marie Lawrence, 31, the surprise Democratic nominee. We heartily endorse Smith's election.
Residents of the district, which includes a swath of downtown Chattanooga, part of the North Shore, much of Hixson and part of Harrison, are fortunate they have the opportunity to transition from seven-term legislator and former House Majority Leader Gerald McCormick to Smith.
McCormick, after getting a job offer he couldn't pass up in Nashville, decided not to run for re-election in June, and Republicans coalesced around Smith. While Democrats have filed suit - unsuccessfully so far - to prevent Republicans from fielding a candidate because of the late timing of McCormick's announcement, no closure on their effort will occur until after Election Day.
In the meantime, Smith wants to continue the work Republican Gov. Bill Haslam and the Republican legislative majority have started.
"We have an economy that is the envy of the nation," she says. "We have the perfect mix of service and manufacturing [industries]. Washington should mimic what we've done here."
Smith says in addition to helping drive the state's economic engine by fighting for economic development money, her primary concerns would be health care and education.
A former nurse, she says access to health care must improve, but she warns Insure Tennessee (a pilot program Haslam wanted to try to access federal Medicaid dollars) "is gone, and it's not coming back." Instead, she says, a plan that incentivizes behavior, has price transparency, and is more patient centered and consumer driven is better. "I believe we can do some cool stuff if we get a [federal] block grant," she says.
On education, Smith advocates an "all-of-the-above approach," meaning she would "not beat down what works" involving colleges and universities but would seek more dual-enrollment opportunities in community colleges for high school students and additional partnerships allowing high school students to have technical or vocational skills when they graduate.
Lawrence, who did little campaigning in the primary, calls herself a Democratic socialist but says that only means she wants the country to be a "democracy that serves all the people."
She sees a surge in Chattanooga "toward more progressive thinking," and with that would like to see Medicaid expanded to access more federal dollars (and would prefer a universal health plan), gun background checks for sales at gun shows and among friends, at least a $10 minimum wage, paid maternity leave, the legalization of medical marijuana, and stricter bullying legislation and bans on corporal punishment in schools.
With all due respect for Lawrence's energy, we believe Smith will best serve her district's interests. We endorse her election.