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McWherter shares vision

January 28, 2010

By STANLEY DUNLAP
sdunlap@jacksonsun.com

Gubernatorial candidate Mike McWherter said if elected he'll focus on preparing students for global competition, finding affordable health care and maintaining jobs in the state during a forum Wednesday night.

McWherter spoke Wednesday at the Pythian Building in downtown Jackson at a forum hosted by the Lambuth University College Democrats.

McWherter said his experience as a businessman has prepared him to handle the tough economic challenges the state faces. Among those include balancing a budget without a state income tax while maintaining enough revenue to grow infrastructure, he said.

"As you look across the landscape of Tennessee, we're all seeing literally thousands of jobs disappear," he said about the current 10.9 percent unemployment rate.

"The next governor has got to be an individual who has the skills and background on how to build the economy, how to create jobs and I think most importantly maintain jobs in Tennessee," McWherter said.

Quality education allows students to compete in a global economy, which is key in recruiting industry to the state, he said.

More than 50 percent of school districts in the state do not have a certified physics teacher.

The expansion of broadband capabilities is vital to bringing in industries and for educational opportunities in rural areas, McWherter said.

McWherter cited the Bristol school district, which uses broadband to deliver math and science courses to surrounding counties.

"I'd rather have a teacher in each classroom, but with the teacher shortage, especially in math and science classes, we're going to have to look for alternative ways," he said.

During the forum, Lambuth College Democrats vice-chair Victoria Jowers asked McWherter how he would push for more area students to stay in Tennessee after they graduate college.

"Jackson, Tenn., is very blessed to have five colleges around this area ... however, half of the graduates take jobs out of the state of Tennessee," Jowers said.

Having better-paying jobs, especially in the education profession, is important to remedying that, McWherter said.

"I really do think we're going to have to have a focus of developing teachers out of our students," he said.

McWherter also said that TennCare veered from its original mission during the Governor Don Sundquist administration. Bredesen's Cover Tennessee program is a step in the right direction, he said.

"What (Bredesen) has accomplished with that is he has restored some health care coverage for those who can't afford it; now he's growing it at a more manageable rate," he said.

McWherter said he hopes to see the economy starting to bounce back in 2010, which will allow the state to provide more affordable health care.

When College Democrats president Brad Palmertree formed the organization last semester, he said he had the 2010 elections in mind. In February, the group will host Democrat Kim McMillan, who's also in the governor's race.

"I wanted to bring the candidates not just to Jackson but to the Lambuth students to educate and empower them in the process," Palmertree said during Wednesday's forum.