Conservative Groups back Rick Womick TN Speaker of the House

News provided by

Tennessee Republic Assembly (TRA)

Dec 08, 2014, 07:00 ET


Nashville, TN (PRWEB) December 08, 2014 -- Tennessee Republican Assembly (TRA), one of Tennessee’s oldest grassroots organizations, has joined with a coalition of Tennessee Conservative groups that have come together to support the efforts of State Rep. Rick Womick (R-Rutherford County) to replace Rep. Beth Harwell (R-Davidson County) as Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives.

The Coalition is represented by the following:

Citing their reasons, group leaders explained that Speaker Harwell has engaged in activities in support of the "Common Core" national educational standards, despite strong opposition to Common Core from the majority of students’ parents in this State who are engaged in the educational process on behalf of their children. Many professional educators have also expressed their disagreement both with the Common Core standards and particularly the process under which they are being implemented.

The Coalition also feels that Speaker Harwell has acted through parliamentary and other maneuvers to thwart the passage of bills furthering Second Amendment rights, and also are troubled by the Speaker's having become involved in contested Republican primary elections for General Assembly seats, which is something not seen in the past and which appears to be in violation of the state party's bylaws. The Coalition Leaders also have learned that the Speaker has amassed a large balance of campaign funds in a political action committee under her control, despite having never faced any true close races within her largely-Republican district. It is the Coalition’s opinion this is groundwork to further a bid for statewide office in the future. These are activities not aligned with the responsibilities of the Speaker’s position.

Additionally, the Coalition praised Womick as a "true patriot" and a "true conservative," and stated that his election as Speaker would further the true intention of Tennessee voters as expressed in the recent elections, which saw the size of the Republican majority in both houses of the General Assembly increased to unprecedented levels. The Coalition believes that this level of support should be reflected by a Speaker as conservative as the voters who have made this possible.

Sharon Ford, Tennessee Republic Assembly (TRA), +1 (615) 200-7602, [email protected]