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October 1, 2009
Bill Haslam at SETPAC Part II
Below is my distillation of remarks given by Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam at the September 18, 2009 SETPAC luncheon, first in his general address (aka "stump speech") and afterward when he took questions from the audience.
The three largest challenges facing the next governor of Tennessee, according to Bill Haslam, who is running for the GOP nomination in 2010, are:
1. "A massive state budget issue." The state receives about $16 billion from the federal government, and another $13 billion comes from state revenue: sales taxes, fees, etc. The current budget faced a $1.3 billion shortfall, and got balanced by using stimulus funds and raiding the rainy day fund. These are one-time sources of money, and do not address recurring expense problems. Since we can't increase revenue by imposing a state income tax ("take it off the table") or by increasing sales taxes (ours are already higher than most of our many border states') we must figure out ways to lower expenses. Haslam says that the City of Knoxville's debt has been reduced 25% during his tenure, and its rainy day fund has tripled.
2. Unemployment is pushing 11%, and is especially high in rural counties. Haslam is "all about jobs." Bringing business to the state that creates good jobs helps alleviate the aforementioned budget problem. There are four key advantages on which the state should rely to attract industry: our right-to-work law, the absence of a state income tax, our work ethic, and our geography. Knoxville was ranked in the top ten cities for job recruitment. Haslam believes he has an advantage in attracting business because, as CEO of his family retail fuel chain, he "knows from personal experience why Tennessee is a great place to build a business."
3. We need to "drastically improve our performance in K-12 education." Tennessee is near the bottom of national rankings. Also, when the standardized student testing method changes from TCAP to the national standard, some are predicting that only 25% of our students will then be considered proficient. Haslam applauds the Tennessee Diploma Project, but would focus on what needs to be done differently, as this performance challenge is "one of those 'once-in-a-lifetime' chances."
SETPAC members and guests then asked these questions (again, paraphrased by me):
SETPAC: Where would healthcare rank on your to-do list? What would you do to change the situation facing citizens who are disabled and uninsured?
Haslam: TennCare is a very important concern. Of course we have to wait to see what the federal government does or doesn't do. If the current version of healthcare reform were to pass, Tennessee would face $600-700 million in additional responsibilities to provide. As Gov. Bredesen put it, that's the "mother of all unfunded mandates."
SETPAC: (Sets background that local public education expenses are ~$7500 per student, but private schools arguably do a better job with about half that.) If you could only do one thing for education as governor, what would that be?
Haslam: Introduce a new strategy for getting the best teachers into the classroom. Expensive technology and other nice-to-have components don't matter if the teacher is mediocre.
SETPAC: What would you do as governor regarding the Georgia water issue? Would you work with them to allow access to the Tennessee River?
Haslam: I am "fully in favor of being good neighbors," but no. They can fix the problem themselves.
SETPAC: What would you do to keep gas prices down?
Haslam: Oil is traded as a commodity, and prices fluctuate based on real and perceived issues. No governor can take control of this, even if we changed our economic system, because it's a truly global market.
SETPAC: Would you have vetoed the bills allowing guns in restaurants and parks?
Haslam: I would not have vetoed allowing licensed gun owners to carry into restaurants. "Guns in parks" is a little more complicated. In the Knoxville City Council, we had to vote on "guns in Little League fields." I firmly support everyone's Second Amendment rights. I believe the state should make it legal to carry overall, but allow local governments greater leeway in determining laws that speak to what those local citizens care about.
SETPAC: What sets Bill Haslam apart from the other Republican candidates?
Haslam: There is not a bad guy in the race. "They are good men." But being governor is an executive job, not a legislative one. It's important to have executive experience.
SETPAC: How much money will have to be raised in this campaign?
Haslam: "Somewhere north of 5 million dollars." A week's worth of statewide television advertising is $400-500 thousand. Bob Corker raised about nine million each on his primary and general election campaigns.
In closing, Haslam stated that in order to win, name recognition is important, and a candidate has to raise enough money to accomplish that; but beyond that, it's important to build strong county organizations, to "know what you're talking about," and to work hard.
TN Gubernatorial Elections | By joe lance | 11:10 PM
