White, Northcutt and Burgess
Between 2017 and 2018, a surprisingly large number of incumbent legislators in the Tennessee state House of Representatives and Senate announced their departure from their offices. In the 99-seat state House, as many as 17 legislators have announced they will not seek reelection and in the 33-seat state Senate, as many as seven senators will not seek reelection.
Reasons for the record turnover in the Tennessee General Assembly vary from person to person, including retirement after many years of service or seeking out different offices. Speaker of the House Beth Harwell will not seek reelection in 2018 in favor of her gubernatorial run. Longtime state Senator Bill Ketron of Murfreesboro has announced his departure from the state’s upper chamber in favor of a campaign for Rutherford County mayor.
Senate District 13
For 16 years, Sen. Ketron has represented Murfreesboro in the state Senate. Over the years he has served as the Republican Caucus Chairman, Vice-Chair of the Joint Fiscal Review Committee and as a member of the Senate Finance, Ways and Means Committee, State and Local Government Committee and the Commerce and Labor Committee. During his time on the hill, Sen. Ketron has sponsored notable legislation including the 2014 bill to permit wine sales in grocery stores and the 2018 seven-day sales legislation. Once Sen. Ketron announced his departure from the Senate in favor of the county mayor’s office, several citizens announced their candidacy for his seat.
Ernest G. Burgess
ernestburgesstn.com
Rutherford County’s mayor of 12 years, Ernest Burgess, announced his candidacy for Sen. Ketron’s seat in February of this year. A lifelong resident of Rutherford County, Mr. Burgess has also served as an elder at North Boulevard Church of Christ and a member of the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Inter-Government Relations as well as serving on several local boards before pursuing a seat on Capitol Hill. Under Burgess’s mayoral leadership, a full-time county fire and rescue department was established and the school system has been recognized as one of the best in the state.
“Public service is important to me, and I am proud of all we’ve been able to accomplish at the county level,” Burgess said. “I want to take my executive experience and conservative principles to the state senate and continue working for the betterment of Rutherford County. We are in this race to win it, and we will not be outworked. We will leave no stone unturned and no Republican voter untouched and will run a positive campaign focused on the future.”
Kelly Northcutt
kellynorthcutt.nationbuilder.com
A resident of Murfreesboro for over 20 years, Kelly Northcutt is the only Democrat campaigning for the state Senate vacancy in the upcoming election. A political outsider, Northcutt cites her family’s legacy of military service as her inspiration to seek public office. Northcutt has spent her professional career in the graphic design industry, as an award-winning television art director and in graphics quality assurance.
“The majority in our state legislature have done more to deny opportunities than to preserve them; to deny rights instead of protecting them; and too little to improve on the day-to-day issues that matter to us all,” Northcutt said. “I strongly believe we need to bring respect and collaboration back to politics. We need to focus on the things that make a difference in our daily lives. I’m used to working hard, and I plan to work hard for the people of this district and for the state of Tennessee.”
Dawn White
votedawn.com
Following Sen. Ketron’s announcement to retire from the Senate, state Representative Dawn White chose to not seek reelection to her House seat of six years in favor of the Senate vacancy. Before joining the state legislature, Rep. White taught kindergarten in Murfreesboro schools and later owned and operated online retailers thevacuumcenter.com and thesewingcenter.com. Rep. White, a member of the House Education Administration and Planning Committee, sponsored legislation in 2018 that allowed for the development of a high school firearms course. The education standards for the course, outlined in Public Chapter 906, were drawn from gun safety courses from law enforcement agencies and the National Rifle Association.
“I believe that it is extremely important to ensure that our next state senator is a proven conservative leader who has a record of standing up for hardworking Tennessee families,” White said. “As State Representative, I’ve fought for lower taxes and for smaller, smarter government, and I’ve proudly stood up against an out-of-control federal government. If I have the honor of serving as Rutherford County’s next state senator, I will continue to fight for our shared conservative values at the state level.”
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An open primary election for the vacant Senate seat will be held Aug. 2, 2018, and the general election will be held Nov. 6, 2018.
Next month, the Pulse will review the candidates running for the state House of Representatives districts in Rutherford County.
