Anderson County Democrats, including former party chair Richard Dawson, standing at center, celebrate the grand opening of their headquarters on South Illinois Avenue on Thursday. (Photos courtesy of John and Mary Norris)
Anderson County Democrats have a “better-than-average†chance of taking back the county mayor and state House seats in the August and November elections, a party official said Monday.
In particular, Democrats believe they can beat first-term legislator John Ragan, an Oak Ridge Republican, said Richard Dawson, Tennessee Democratic Party executive committee member in Senate District 5.
Ragan’s race against former state representative Jim Hackworth, a Clinton Democrat, will likely be competitive, but the Republican-led General Assembly in Nashville has not focused on important issues such as jobs or education, Dawson said.
The grand opening features grilled hot dogs, cold sodas, and short speeches from candidates.
“They’ve kind of been a do-nothing legislature,†Dawson said. “Let’s see the jobs they were talking about.â€
He said Republicans have focused instead on gun rights, evolution, and gays–“things that don’t bring jobs to the county or the state.”
A former Anderson County Democratic Party chair, Dawson said teachers are also upset with Ragan and the Republican Party, which won control of both houses of the legislature and the governor’s office in 2010.
The Anderson County Democratic Party Headquarters is at 136 S. Illinois Ave., Suite 102.
“They’ve waged kind of a war, I think, on teachers,†he said. “They (teachers) think they were being punished by the Republican Party on collective bargaining and all this other stuff simply because they’ve been longtime Democratic supporters.â€
Many think Republicans want to privatize education, he said.
Ragan beat Hackworth, a four-term legislator in the Tennessee House of Representatives, in the November 2010 election.
Preparing for this year’s county, state, and federal elections, the Anderson County Democratic Party opened a headquarters on South Illinois Avenue on Thursday with a ceremony that featured grilled hot dogs and short speeches.
Anderson County Democratic Party Executive Committee member Ray Garrett, right, talks to John Gunning.
More than 100 people attended and heard speeches from Hackworth; Warren Gooch, candidate for Anderson County mayor; Rick Marlowe, candidate for Anderson County property assessor; Mary Headrick, a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in Tennessee’s Third District; and a representative for William Taylor, who is running against Headrick in the Aug. 2 Democratic primary.
Although all the races are important to Democrats, Dawson said, the party especially wants to see Gooch, an Oak Ridge Democrat, defeat Terry Frank, a Clinton Republican, in the election for Anderson County mayor.
“We don’t want our county to be like the state,†Dawson said. “Let’s get some business here instead of all the right-wing rhetoric.â€
Dawson, who is now Tennessee Democratic Party executive committee member for Senate District 5, grills hot dogs with Mary Matheny.
Gooch and Frank are battling to fill the rest of the unexpired term of Anderson County Mayor Rex Lynch, a four-term Republican who resigned in January 2011 after being indicted for sales tax fraud.
The Anderson County Democratic Party headquarters is located at 136 S. Illinois Ave., Suite 102. It’s open from 4 to 7 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays, Dawson said.
It will be used to make phone calls on behalf of the party and its candidates, for strategic planning, and distribution of campaign literature, as well as group meetings.
Early voting for the Aug. 2 county general and state primary election begins July 13, and July 3 is the last day to register to vote. Dawson said voters can register at libraries, driver’s license offices, the Anderson County Election Commission at the County Courthouse in Clinton, and the Democratic Party headquarters in Oak Ridge.
T J says
Dawson is a crybaby. The Obama kneepad Democrats are turning this country into a third world banana republic. The Republicans are almost as bad. Tell me koolaid drinkers, ANYTHING the Obama regime has done to make this a better country.
Sarah Johnson says
It looks like a GREAT turnout for the opening of Democratic Headquarters. I went to John Ragan’s town hall meeting today at Lake City and there were maybe 10-14 people there.
carol heck says
HaHaHa, that’s what they think!
rh says
Some of these claims are just false- unemployment rate is almost 1% lower than when Hackworth left office. Thats over 700 people in the county working that weren’t when Ragan came into office. Anderson County needs work, I agree. But we are below both the national and state average for unemployment and have been heading in the right direction since Ragan took office and the republicans gained control of the House and Senate.
You can see the statistics if you click the link below.
http://www.google.com/publicdata/explore?ds=z1ebjpgk2654c1_&met_y=unemployment_rate&idim=county:PA470250&fdim_y=seasonality:U&dl=en&hl=en&q=unemployment+rate+in+anderson+county,+tn#!ctype=l&strail=false&bcs=d&nselm=h&met_y=unemployment_rate&fdim_y=seasonality:U&scale_y=lin&ind_y=false&rdim=country&idim=county:PA470250&ifdim=country&tstart=1288065600000&tend=1335412800000&hl=en_US&dl=en&ind=false
JH says
Anderson County had 1100 new jobs during Hackworth’s tenure in 2010 and during Ragan’s tenure in 2011 Anderson County had only 249 new jobs. Ragan is failing Anderson County. In addition, 2011 was the worst new job growth for Anderson County in over a decade. The 1100 jobs were the third highest in the state and the 249 was a three way tie for 19th in the state. The unemployment is only down because people have given up and others are underemployed. Have you forgoten the layoffs at ORNL, Y1,2 and the closing of Food Lion this past year. Even the National Republican Party is running ads pointing out the unemployment rate is really in double digits due to people giving up and are underemployed. The above data is straight out of the Tennessee ECD reports.
T J says
Hackworth needs the job to qualify for state retirement. He’s been on the teat all his life.
Educated, decorated, retired AF officer, War College alumni vs. Career ward politician, Obama supporter– you choose.
JH says
Hmmm, Hackworth has a retirement from ORNL and Ragan a retirement from the military. I do not see any difference except that Hackworth had more years of service at ORNL than Ragan had in the military.