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After
running for the Mayor’s seat in November, I got really sick. I thought I might just be feeling run down
from the hard race, but after a trip to my doctor, I found out I had double
pneumonia.
While
I was recuperating, I received calls from several in the State Legislature,
including word from the Governor’s office, all wanting to know if I would
consider running for the State Senate seat for here in Maury County. I told them I was sick and really didn’t know
what I was planning on doing except hopefully feeling better. But I did say I would think about it.
Dragging
my sick self to city hall for my next City Council meeting here in Columbia, it
felt as if someone were trying to tell me something. The very first issue that we spoke about was
the lack of representation at the state for our highways…..specifically Bear
Creek Pike and James Campbell Blvd. Both
of these have been on the list for widening and updating turn lanes for 20
years.
The
next meeting came around and so did another issue that needed a change at the
state. The next meeting the same.
After
these few pokes in the head, I began doing my research my comparisons on where
we stand as a county….and where the other counties in District 13 stand.
Out
of 3 ½ Counties in District 13, two (Maury and Marshall) currently have the
highest unemployment in the state, the third has good employment numbers
because the citizens there can cross into Alabama to work in Huntsville but few
opportunities at home.
The
last ½ County in this District is the West Side of I-24 in Rutherford County
(Murfreesboro). Per their website called
Murfreesboro Trends, Rutherford County has had a 78 % increase in jobs since
August of 2008 (basically during the recession). This just happens to be where our current State
Senator is from.
Good
for Murfreesboro….but not so good for the rest of the district. So I began to really think. It is Ketron’s home county but that’s not the
end of it. Because Rutherford County is divided in half, they have two senate
votes that have them in mind during each vote. They have two votes that send highway money
their way. They have two votes when it
comes to where to send new industry opportunities. That makes a difference to an area.
Then
I thought, Maury County has not had a Senator from this county in over 20
years, and it is beginning to show.
So
I decided, I am running for the State Senate Seat for District 13.
I
am running against the 8 year incumbent Bill Ketron. Neither of us have a primary. So look for us on the ballot November 2.
