| Winners of state election control Tennessee's future |
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By: MICHELLE WILLARD, Post Staff Writer
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Posted: Wednesday, November 5, 2008 1:36 pm
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The Presidential race has grabbed the headlines for Tuesday’s election, but who wins here locally could have a bigger effect on the daily lives of Tennesseans, Gov. Phil Bredesen said today in Murfreesboro.
“This can affect you on a daily level more than who’s sitting in the Oval Office,” he said as he spoke at “Creating a Balance: Leadership Strategies for Women.”
And Bredesen is right. The party that comes out on top In the Tennessee General Assembly in November can shape state government for years to come.
The General Assembly not only elects the officers of each house and appoints committee chairs; it also appoints the secretary of state, comptroller of the treasury and the state treasurer.
The State Election Commission is also appointed depending on which party has the majority in the General Assembly – three members are selected from the majority party and two from the minority. The state commission then picks members for individual county election commissions.
The Democrats have had control of both houses for decades, but their margin has been slipping in recent elections.
The Democrats have a tenuous hold on the State Senate, which is divided equally between the two parties with one independent, and a solid led in the state House with 53 seats to the Republicans’ 46.
For now at least. All 99 seats in the House and half the 33 seats in the Senate are up for reelection this year and the outcome could be very important for who is running the state next year.
Three seats in the Senate are seen as toss ups, two in East Tennessee and one in West Tennessee.
But in the House nine seats are up for grabs and one of the most vulnerable seats is the one held by Murfreesboro’s Rep. John Hood (D-48th Dist.), who is retiring.
That explains why Bredesen was on the stump today for State House District 48’s Democratic candidate Tim Tipps. The governor has also stumped for State Senate District 16’s Democratic candidate Jean Ann Rogers.
He said he’d like to see the General Assembly stay the way it is, but to put partisan politics behind them and work together for the good of the state.
But Bredesen is doing his best to see more Democrats are elected to state office.
Michelle Willard can be contacted at 615-869-0816 or mwillard@murfreesboropost.com.
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