I attended a candidates forum to learn more about the people running for Ron Ramsey's state senate seat. At the event, I took notes on their positions on each of the issues and then interviewed them about their view on the Bristol shooting. For the TV version, I included their comments on the shooting. I wrote a full piece on their positions for a web article.
Candidates hoping to succeed Ron Ramsey as a state senator in Tennessee differ on funding health care for those in need.
Candidates including John Paul Blevins, Neal Kearney, Jon Lundberg and Tony Shipley held a forum in Kingsport Friday.
During the forum, Kearney was the only candidate who said he was in favor of Governor Bill Haslam’s “Insure Tennessee” plan. Lundberg said the problem with the plan was it relied on federal funds that would eventually end. Kearney said 63 percent of Tennesseans are in favor of the plan, and 280,000 people would have been helped by it.
The candidates agreed they are in favor of less government. Shipley said he wants a government close to the people. Blevins said he wants to reduce government by a third.
All of the candidates were opposed to removing the sales tax on food, but several were in favor of potentially reducing it. Kearney said it has to be kept since Tennessee has no state income tax and few options to make up the revenue. Blevins said the grocery tax was not a hardship on consumers.
The candidates were also in favor of eliminating taxes on earnings from bonds and stocks.
There are no Democrats running in the race. Thus, the Republican primary August 4 will decide the fourth district seat.
We also asked the candidates for their reaction to Thursday’s deadly shooting on Volunteer Parkway.
"To me it gives me pause of what threats we are being exposed to here not only in east Tennessee with the shooting in Chattanooga last summer but actually all over the country,” Neal Kearney said.
"You can't stop crazy people,” Jon Lundberg said. “You can't. It's unfortunate. People look to government and say, 'Fix it.' There's some things that, unfortunately, it's not one of those 'We'll pass this and it'll go away.' That won't happen.”
Tony Shipley said, "My recommendation is we continue to enforce the laws that we have, and people like that, put them in prison or execute them, whichever is most appropriate."
John Paul Blevins said, "If there were a couple of people on the parkway while that shooting was going on who could have responded before Bristol, maybe so many people wouldn't have gotten injured, and I believe one fatality."
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