Mountain Press Article
State senate candidates respond on the issues
Nov 03, 2008
1. What skills and experiences would you bring to the office of state senator?
LAPIDES: I have been a teacher at the university level and have worked in government and private business and I have been a participant in the local economy for the past 30 years I have been in the area. I am not owned by any political interest group and can be involved in changing things.
OVERBEY: First, I bring a lifetime of commitment to my community. Over the past 30 years, I have worked to make a positive difference in my community through many charitable, community, church and civic organizations such as the Johnson Girls Group Home, the Blount County Library Board, the Blount County Children’s Advocacy Center, Success By Six, A Secret Safe Place for Newborns of Tennessee, the Knoxville Museum of Art, and the Chamber of Commerce. Second, I bring the experience of nearly 30 years in the practice of business law. As a practicing lawyer, I have the experience of standing up for and representing my clients. This sort of advocacy is exactly the experience needed in the State Senate. Third, I bring nearly two decades of experience as a Republican elected official. I served eight years on the Blount County Commission in the “80s and now eight years in the House of Representatives in the General Assembly. During my service as a State Representative, I have demonstrated an ability to work effectively with members of both Houses of the General Assembly and members of both parties to accomplish important conservative objectives, which contributed to my being rated as the most effective Republican representative in the legislature.
2. The 8th District is drawn so that a candidate from the more populous Blount County has an advantage over candidates from Sevier County. Is this fair and would you support a redrawing of the district lines during the next reapportionment?
LAPIDES: Without knowing more I can’t favor redrawing the lines since that would require changing the number of representatives in the Senate. Given the fact that I am today leading in Blount County by 52 to 48 percent, I am not sure the mountain between us is that big an obstacle although the needs of each county are different. What needs to happen more would be an effort to host more debates and give more coverage to both sides of the mountain.
OVERBEY: A State Senate district must be drawn in accordance with the principle of one person one vote and must have a certain amount of population by law. Blount and Sevier combined have the exact population for a Senate district and that likely will not change when the new census is taken in 2010. In addition, even in Sevier were combined with another county, it would still lack the population to be the majority of any Senate district. Since Sevier has to be combined with another county in order to reach the population threshold set by law, it is probably best paired with Blount since the people of Sevier and Blount Counties share many beliefs, like having the best schools possible, being able to drive our cars affordably and heat our homes as inexpensively as possible, and maintaining our quality of life. I have worked hard for each of these objectives during my eight years as a State Representative and before that as a county commissioner. I have worked to show the people of Sevier that I have demonstrated a commitment to their values during my three decades of public service, because I believe it is ultimately more important to share a county’s values than to simply share its address.
3. Sevier County Schools did not fare well when the state’s funding formula changed in 2007. Since it favored larger systems that are represented by more House and Senate members, it seems difficult to change. What can be done to make the funding formula fairer to Sevier County?
LAPIDES: I will do my very best to change the formula that is being used by including income distributions within the district as well as making it clear that it is through our tourism business that much of the state benefits and we have a right to reap more of the benefits since we are the ones sowing the seeds. In the current Blount County ballot initiative to raise sales taxes to make up the deficit I think there needs to be quality between the city and the county in terms of student radio.
OVERBEY: Laws change all the time, but they will not change if Sevier County’s state senator does not consistently speak up about the need for change. Since voting against this measure, I have continued to speak out for the need for fair treatment of the Sevier and Blount County school systems. I have continued to hold meetings with my legislative colleagues whose districts were adversely affected as we work together for a fairer system. We’ve held meetings with department officials and the Comptroller of the Treasury for a revised funding formula. I will take my ability to work with members of the General Assembly from both sides of the aisle and the Administration to bring about a fairer funding formula because if we can pass lawsuit reform in a Democrat House as we did this year, we can change this terrible school funding formula.
4. Sometimes legislators introduce or support bills that would help businesses or governments without naming them, using only population guidelines or vague descriptions. This happened in 2007 with a liquor bill for Sevierville. Would you ever support or introduce such a bill affecting Sevier County, and if you learned of one would you block it and tell the public about it?
LAPIDES: If I ever learn of any unnamed bills and private acts I will definitely come before the public and tell them about it. I am personally aware of the fairness doctrine which is used to keep me from speaking in many places when in fact there is no real law and what I’m facing is the fear-ness doctrine wherein folks are afraid to support the underdog in cases where the bigger dog wins. Keeping in mind that the legislation designed to increase taxes on cigars was called the small business assistance act of 2007 to raise taxes 20,000 percent, I don’t like the practice.
OVERBEY: First of all, I believe in openness of government and have always wanted the people to know about pending legislation that would affect them. It has been my consistent policy as a State Representative to sponsor private acts only when requested by a two-thirds vote of the local governing body affected by the legislation.
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