story by Sarah Rutledge Fischer | photos provided by the Dean campaign committee
In November of 2018, Tennesseans will go to the polls to choose the next Governor of Tennessee. Karl Foster Dean, former mayor of Nashville and leading Democratic candidate in the gubernatorial race, was recently in town to attend Memphis Pride Fest and sat down with Focus Mid- South Magazine to answer a few questions.
Focus: Mayor Dean, most of our readers probably know that the governor is the state’s highest- ranking elected official, but the boundaries of that authority and responsibility may not be clear to everyone. Could you briefly explain how you see the role of governor?
Dean: The governor, obviously, plays a key role in the state. The governor’s role is particularly important because the governor prepares a budget and sets the priorities for the state, which I think is really the most important thing you can do in an executive-type position.
But the governor also has the bully pulpit. The governor is the leader. When the governor speaks on issues, his voice or her voice is heard. It gives an opportunity for that person to hopefully guide the state in a very positive direction.
As we all know, Tennessee is a large state and different regions can face different struggles and opportunities. What are some of the struggles and opportunities you see for Memphis in the coming years, and how will your administration approach them?
The issue I hear about in Memphis more than any other is economic development—economic opportunity, the desire to see more good jobs come to the city, and that the city’s base, its private sector base, expand. What I would do as governor is prioritize Memphis as an area where we would work to help create jobs. I fully understand that it is the private sector creating the jobs, but the state has a role in aggressively pursuing economic development opportunities and attempting to focus those efforts on areas of need. Memphis would be such an area for me.
You know, one of the things that I certainly understand is that Memphis has unique challenges. When I was mayor of Nashville working on economic development, the states of Alabama and Kentucky really didn’t enter into our thinking, because the distance was so great that we didn’t feel like they were direct competitors with us on any sort of project we were working on. But I think the situation in Memphis is very different with the proximity of Mississippi and Arkansas, and the fact that lots of people may live in one state and work in another. That makes the economic development challenges even greater.
So, I think it is appropriate for the state to put extra effort into trying to bring jobs to the Memphis area. When I talk to people in Memphis, I hear repeatedly that folks in Memphis sometimes feel forgotten by the state, and I want to correct that.
Dean and his wife Anne Davis greet supporters during a stop on the campaign trail.
Finally, there have been some great strides towards equality for LGBTQ people over the past decades, but in this political climate, many people are worried about progress stalling or losing ground. What do you see as the biggest state-level issues facing the LGBTQ community of Tennessee and how will your administration confront them?
I think there’s several things. There has been great progress, but there is obviously more work to be done. I would look at my record as mayor. I supported the ordinance that stated that Nashville, in terms of its city hiring practices, would not discriminate—sort of an anti- discrimination ordinance.
We followed up with Mayor Dean to ask his position on three specific issues that have been or will be before the Tennessee legislature that are of special interest to the LGBTQ population of Tennessee: the Natural Marriage Defense Act, a bill legally recognizing only marriages between one man and one woman; the transgender bathroom bill; and the natural meaning law passed in May of this year which is expected to prevent LGBT parents from being treated the same as heterosexual parents under the law and is currently under challenge in the courts.
Mayor Dean’s comment: “Although we have not seen any specific information on these bills, I do not support the State Legislature pro-actively seeking to pass discriminatory laws. We should be doing everything in our power to practice tolerance. In addition,we should work to be a welcoming state to attract talent and business to Tennessee to create more job opportunities.”
