Short version: Impressive lady who is the rarest of all political animals -- a genuine black female Republican.
Long version: Mary Ann McNeil is running in a special election for the Tennessee House for the seat left open by the resignation of Roscoe Dixon. She is in a field of three other candidates, including my previous favorite, Jason Hernandez.
I have to say that Mary Ann McNeil is the Patriot Pick for this race. I not only liked her better than Jason (which is saying a lot), but to be brutally honest she has a much better chance of retaining this seat than Jason. The district is primarily black with very few Hispanics, particularly legal Hispanics that can vote.
I heard Mary Ann when she spoke to the members of the Shelby County chapter of the Tennessee Firearms Association last night. She was "down home" yet eloquent. She appeared to be both sincere and capable. She is not a politician yet is informed and has the connections (more on that later), probably due to her heavy involvement in the Republican Women of Purpose and Collierville Republican Club.
Mary Ann lives in the district and is concerned about people moving out of the county. A professional educator, she believes that in a large part it is the schools that keep people or run them away.
She started off her presentation with two issues.
First, she wants to work with Senator Norris to keep the number of students in schools low and supports special school districts. She also said that she is against consolidation of the city and county school systems — "bigger is not always better". Second, she wants to fight for the Senior Citizen Homestead Exemption Act to help senior citizens who need assistance to be able to hold on to their homes (which Norris is also heavily pushing).
She showed the lines of Senate District 33 which was recently redrawn to go across the entire southern border of the county. While the majority of the district is primarily black (and hence, Democrat), she believes that the new lines lines will allow Republicans to take the seat in a special election. It includes a large section of Collierville and 2 precincts in Germantown for a total of 12,000 mostly-Republican voters. While these voters can be mobilized to some extent, records show that the people in the rest of the district don't go out to vote, particularly in a special election.
Mary Ann stated that she is against the income tax. She said that she lived in areas where they had it and said that it did nothing to stem the tide of taxes.
She is a proponent of 2nd Amendment, which you would expect someone addresses a group of armed citizens to say. But she has gone so far as to put it on the hand bills that her campaign is passing out — literature she created long before she knew she was coming to address a handful of gun owners. She mentioned both hunting and self protection (I don't expect too many candidates to mention fighting tyranny).
Mary Ann talked about her experience as the principle of a school near Shelby Forest and how honored she felt to have been selected to open Crosswind Elementary in Collierville. In 2003 she received Outstanding PTA Principle for the state of TN.
She was proud of the fact that she had her picture taken with VP Dick Cheney and two with Lamar Alexander. In addition, she was on the stage with the president when he spoke in Memphis last Friday. She joked that she has been cleared by the feds twice now.
Speaking of the Bush visit, Memphis mayor Herenton (aka "King Willie") made quite a stink about not having "been invited" to meet Bush. Mary Ann said that Herenton should have welcomed Bush but instead he whined and carried on. I agree.
Mary Ann talked about the lack of parental involvement, telling a story about three kids that broke into a school and vandalized it three times in a period of a few weeks. Each time, the Juvenile Court let them out.
She is a Republican because of her value system is Republican. Furthermore, her mother's value system is Republican. Mary Ann wants to show blacks that a Republican will return their calls, will come to their churches and talk to them, and will actively represent their interests.
Mary Ann has already racked up an impressive list of endorsements:
[Note: Mark Norris has my sincere respect as a man of his word and a concerned legislator. He is one of the "good guys".]
When I asked Mary Ann about her opinion of vouchers and charter schools, I expected the usual public teacher rhetoric. Instead, I received the best answer to that question that I've ever heard. She supports charter schools and vouchers just as she does public, private and Catholic schools. Mary Ann believes that the parent has to decide the proper setting for their children. Paraphrasing, she said, "All children may not do well in a public setting, all may not do well in religious setting, all may not do well in a private school. But it is the parent's decision to determine what is best for their children." She also said that parents have the right to homeschool. She said, "I can't knock that. I really can't." She went on to say that she believes charter school teachers should be certified by the state and homeschoolers should follow the programs laid out for them.
As a child, Mary Ann attended both public and Catholic school.
The following is taken directly from the handbill that the McNeil campaign is distributing:
Defending Our Children
Democrats don't really know what to do about Jason Hernandez, the young, smart, educated, well-spoken Hispanic that is running on the Republican ticket for the state senate seat left open by the resignation of Roscoe Dixon in District 33.
I recently heard Jason speak. He is passionate and encompasses everything conservative that should appeal to minority communities. His credential are impeccable:
Jason Hernandez has a tough task in front of him. He faces stiff competition during the primary from a field of three other Republicans: former state representative Barry Sterling, Mary Ann Chaney McNeil and Mary Lynn Flood. Even if he wins the primary, he will probably be facing career politician Michael Hooks, who has significant name recognition. Moreover, district 33 is 80% Democrat.
On the positive side, this is a special election with only one item on the ballot -- turnout will be very, very poor. If the Republicans can generate a good turnout they have a chance on picking off a seat that is usually a dead-cert for Democrats. It will be new Shelby GOP Chairman Bill Giannini's first challange when he is elected later this month (which is another dead-cert).
Turncoat Republican senator Michael Williams recently won reelection and promptly betrayed his constituency by voting for Democrat John Wilder for Lt. Governor. Wilder returned the favor by naming Williams Speaker Pro Tem and placing him on the Senate Finance and Commerce committees.
Nashville talk radio host Steve Gill is calling for an investigation into Williams' campaign expenditures (for a race in which he ran unoppossed):
“The Tennessee Registry of Election Finance and the Senate itself should
seek answers from Williams about $1300 paid to his ex-wife for
“fundraising”; payments for Senate license plates which are legally
limited to use by Senators and their direct families; payment for tickets!
to NASCAR races and for other collectibles and memorabilia which may or
may not be legitimate campaign expenses; payments for a “jacket”; payments
for gasoline for the Senator’s vehicle which may also have been reimbursed
as part of his Senate per diem; and payments for numerous “framing”
expenses that may or may not have been for the Senator’s personal use.” In
calling for an investigation into the questionable entries on the
Senator’s financial disclosure forms Gill also pointed out that the use of
campaign funds for personal use may also raise issues under the I.R.S. tax
code governing un-reported income.At this point, Gill noted, it is not clear whether the Senator has
violated Tennessee election rules and laws, but there is certainly a basis
for a full and fair investigation into the questionable expenses reported
to the Registry of Election Finance by Senator Williams. “Who are the
beneficiaries of all these “gifts”! from Senator Williams,” Gill asked,
“and how do they relate directly to his re-election – particularly when he
was unopposed?”
At the last TFA meeting we heard from Kemp Conrad, chairman of the Shelby County GOP. What follows is the result of a few hastily scribbled notes combined with content from the web site:
The Republicans Party of Shelby County maintains a headquarters all the time. The Democrat counterpart only opens one during campaign season -- after elections they close up shop.
There are 61 members on the steering committee. Terms expire every two years so there is ample opportunity to get involved at a high level in the county organization. The steering committee meets on the first Thursday of every month at the headquarters on Parkplace and Ridgeway at 7:00 (p.m. one would hope, although I neglected to ask).
There are four standing committees (although I count five on the website):
Another important race is General Sessions Court Clerk, for which Chris Turner is challenging incumbent Roscoe Dixon [an ex-state senator with high name recognition in the community so this one will be tough].
Cross posted at Memphis Red Blogs
I don't know if TeamGOP knows it, but they are implementing the same strategy as the highly successful Club for Growth, only at the state level.
Is this possible? I believe so as there are a number of House Democrats that are vulnerable and that I would like to see TeamGOP go after, including (but certainly not limited to):
The ban is on hold in the Senate because of people like Republican Lamar Alexander who is demonstrating his Democrat tendencies.
The left-wing Tennessean says:
Sen. Lamar Alexander is not voting to raise taxes. He is not trying to increase the cost of Internet access, nor is he advocating a new tax on e-mail.But my question to Alexander is why he is choosing this issue to stand up for State's Rights? What other issue has Alexander even hinted at wanting to stand up for States Rights?Instead, Alexander is trying to protect states from excessive control by the federal government. Yet the conservative, states-rights position the senator has taken on Internet access taxes has been turned on its ear by his critics, many of whom are Republicans.
This is a smokescreen for the tax-hungry Alexander, proving that at least this leopard hasn't changed its spots.
I backed Congressman Ed Bryant, a true conservative. But in a massively disappointing move, Bush selected ex-governor Lamar Alexander, who is Republican only in the Yankee sense of the word. Besides having a few skeletons in his closet, he was a mediocre governor, a poor Secretary of Education, and failed at two presidential bids.
But most telling about Alexander is that Tennessee sales tax increased 83% while he was governor.
And now he's at it again.
In spite of a tax surplus in Tennessee (well reported by the indispensable Hobbs), Tennessee Tax Revolt Alexander is aligned with Democrats to keep a crucial vote from happening - the vote that will extend the moratorium on internet sales taxes, which ends this Saturday.
Given that the Wall Street Journal reports that third quarter economic growth was at "a sizzling 7.2% rate" (the strongest in 20 years), one would think that Lamar (who owes his job to the president) would align himself with the president's tax-cutting policies. But Alexander wants more taxes.
As he is nearing the end of his political career, it is doubtful that Alexander will respond to public pressure from the voter base. IMHO, he is more interested in expanding his those-who-owe-him-favors circle and feathering his own nest.
Still, it certainly won't hurt to try. Contact Senator Alexander and demand that he get in line with his party and his president.
Update: Hobbs has more on this subject (of course).
Because I believe law-abiding citizens have a constitutional right to the weapon of their choice, I support allowing the 1994 federal ban on assault guns and magazines to expire. I am also a co-sponsor of the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act of 2003 to authorize qualified law enforcement officers with valid identification to carry concealed firearms. And because I believe honest gun makers, distributors, dealers, and importers should not be subjected to frivolous lawsuits brought by trial lawyers, I am a co-sponsor of the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act. This bill would prohibit civil suits for damages resulting from the misuse of firearms but would not extend to those who transfer a firearm knowing that it will be used to commit a violent crime.