GET TO KNOW THE GORMAN CANDIDATES. THEY’RE POLITICAL WINNERS

We are hearing far too little about the Democratic candidates in our local statehouse and congressional elections — all two of them: Allison Gorman and Meg Gorman.

And, yes. That’s a lot our fault — the media’s fault. We’ve written too little about them.

When this paper recently wrote about them, we approached the story from the angle that they are mother and daughter.

But they are so much more. They are smart, strong, thinking local women, each with decades of knowledge about East Tennessee and Chattanooga.

Allison Gorman, the mom, is running to replace former Rep. Robin Smith in the Tennessee House of Representatives (and her hopefully temporary replacement Greg Martin) after Smith pleaded guilty in March to a federal charge of wire fraud involving Tennessee taxpayer-funded constituent mail accounts.

She’s a writer, and a good one, who sends out newsletters several times a week to introduce herself and her values to voters just in case she can’t knock on every door in Hixson, Middle Valley, Lakesite and Harrison.

On Friday, she wrote about one of those door knocks. Opening the door was a man she took to be the adult son of the woman she expected to greet there. Gorman introduced herself and began talking about the need for Tennessee to invest in people.

“As soon as I mentioned public schools he started down a familiar path: CRT, sexual indoctrination by teachers, etc.,” she wrote. “As he clearly digested a lot of right-wing media, I figured he’d also been getting an earful about violent crime. That’s a big right-wing talking point. But it’s also a legitimate problem often rooted in addiction or mental illness, which our state has failed woefully to address.

“I said that every family I knew had a member with a drug problem or a mental health problem, and that expanding Medicaid would cost us nothing and get 400,000 more Tennesseans access to treatment.

“I’ve been that person trying desperately to get addiction treatment or psychiatric care for a loved one in crisis,” she told him. “That’s a hellish place to be. Why wouldn’t we want to make that just a little easier for 400,000 people and their families if we could?”

Gorman wrote that the man glanced away for several seconds, then looked back at her.

“I’m coming up on six years clean from opioids,” he said. “But I’ve got an older brother … “

She congratulated him on his accomplishment and told him she was sorry about his brother.

He stuck out his hand and told her,“You’ve got my vote, Mrs. Gorman, if you can keep that passion.” “That’s all I’ve got,” she said she replied.

Allison Gorman does have passion. Passion for people. Passion for civic duty. Passion for rights. But it’s not “all” this remarkable and worthy candidate has. Look her up at votegorman.com. Listen to her podcasts, “The Flip 26 Studio Conversations,” and email for her newsletter at campaignteam@votegorman.com.

Now let’s talk about Meg Gorman, her daughter, who for the second time is challenging our 3rd District U.S. Rep. Chuck “I-often-put-on-a-hard-hat-to-make-me-look-serious” Fleischmann.

Meg is focused on winning that seat because, as she puts it, “I want people to know they have an option. I don’t care if they’re Democrats, Republicans, independents, what their party is. They have an option to have someone representing them, who does not care what their political beliefs are, but who will still listen to them with an open mind and be accessible, hear concerns and work to improve the lives of every person in the district regardless of party.”

People deserve, she says, to know why Fleischmann won’t show up at a debate or defend his record.

“They deserve to know why their representative voted against giving them affordable insulin or why he voted against making sure they could keep their right to marry who they love regardless of sexual orientation or race. … For me, it’s not just a willingness [to show up and serve] but an ability and desire to represent the people of this district — not just a party.”

She says she won’t be hiding in her office, accepting corporate PAC money or allowing lobbyists to write bills or sway her vote. In her view, we all deserve quality education, affordable housing, comprehensive health care, fair pay, and meaningful representation. Learn more about her at meg2022.com.

But here’s another glimpse: At 30, this food services manager who has headed large teams of workers is less bothered by tough policy questions lobbed at her than comments like, “you should consider putting on some lipstick” or “you should wear some high heels.” The lame jabs, she says, typically come from men twice her age.

“As if that is a factor,” she says. “And I always tell people the same thing, which is, if someone’s not going to vote for me because I’m not wearing lipstick, they’re not going to vote for me if I am wearing lipstick. That is not a qualifier. But I do think it says a lot about the view on women, especially young women, in politics.”

She’s too focused on the job she’s after to say what the statements indicate about those saying them — like that perhaps they’re merely grasping for something they think might put a smart woman back on the shelf where they think she should be, rather than in front of them talking about real issues, needs, policies and solutions in a mansplained world where hard hats are put up against high heels.