Republican governor candidate Bill Lee stops in Cordova
Businessman Bill Lee touted his support of education and volunteerism during a Thursday morning stop in Cordova, part of the Republican gubernatorial candidate’s campaigning across the state in advance of the August 2 party primary.
Lee, the only candidate with no political background, spoke to a small audience at Houston Levee Community Center. Like many Republican hopefuls for the state’s top elected office, he highlighted his conservative values in seeking their votes.
“As a conservative, one who believes that government is not the answer, but that the community is the answer, that we the people are the answer, the nonprofit, the private sector, the faith community can come together ... to provide services for us and to meet the deepest needs of our community in ways the government cannot and never will be able to,” said the owner of Lee Company, a Franklin-based mechanical contractor dealing in a variety of services, such as plumbing, electricity and heating and air conditioning.
He addressed the future generations at the event and how younger generations will depend on who governs the state in the next term.
“It sets the trajectory for the future of this state,” said Lee.
Lee also emphasized education as a key factor in his campaign since Tennessee ranks in the bottom half of the country
“Education has the opportunity to transform a child’s life,” he said. “Education is not about just a test score or academic achievement. It’s about preparing a child for life and giving them hope for success.”
Lee noted that Tennessee should better support teachers, and that the state’s education system needs reform. He also said not enough is done to help the 40 percent of students who do not pursue college.
“We do very little to provide them a career path, hope and access to skills that will prepare them for success in life,” Lee said, adding he would like more emphasis on technical, vocational and agricultural skills.
After his remarks, Lee said focusing on those trades will help combat poverty in communities.
“One of the big underlying contributors to poverty is the lack of hope for work, and for the dignity that comes with work for meaningful work,” Lee said. “When we can provide kids in poverty with hope for success in life through our education system, that’s really how we can make change.”
Lee wants nonprofits, private sectors and community organizations to play a role in education. Those partnerships with school systems “would be a key component in my philosophy for governor.”
He also addressed criminal justice reform, saying half of the released inmates will return to prison for the same crime, and the state needs to look at alternative sentencing for those that do not have to be incarcerated.
“I have a deep belief and passion in my heart that we should do things differently with who goes into prison and what we do with them when they come out,” Lee said. “The fact is 95 percent of the people that are sitting in prison today are coming out, and they’re going to come out into our communities.
“We need to be tough on crime, but we need to be smart on crime at the same time,” he said.