Citizens play a vital role in our local government. After all, it’s For The People, By The People. It’s not enough to just vote at election time, but to cast an informed vote. It’s understandable that most people are busy and working hard to make a great life for their families, leaving very little time or energy to keep up with everything that’s going on politically. Fortunately, there are citizens who have the time to regularly attend our local government meetings and then assess how our elected officials are spending our tax dollars, as well as voting on things critical to our freedoms and overall quality of life. What a great resource to have!
One such group is the The Sumner County Constitutional Republicans, which is a grassroots group of conservative Republican citizens who started coming together about six years ago. On their website (sccrtn.org) they state that “God is the center of everything we do. We believe our constitution is one of the greatest documents ever written. Free speech and the right to bear arms are essential for liberty to thrive.” They’ve been integral in giving regular citizens a voice when The Political Establishment ignores, or worse, intentionally drowns them out. During elections, the SCCR takes the time to get to know the candidates, what their values are and to understand their purpose for running. They then publish their list of endorsed candidates, based on who they believe will best uphold Conservative Republican values and who will work for The People, rather than for The Establishment, aka, special interests. This citizen group does not collect money or spend money on campaigns. They are truly grassroots and their endorsed candidates depend on good ole fashioned hard work and truth to win elections.
Here are the candidates that the Sumner County Constitutional Republicans have endorsed for the Republican Party Primary: (Early voting is now complete & Election Day is March 5th)
*Judge Russ EDWARDS - General Sessions Judge
*Rosemarie SCHULZE - School Board District 2
*Todd KERR - School Board District 4
*Marie MOBLEY - School Board District 6
*Tracy FINEGAN - School Board District 8
Another group, called Sumner For Good, which proclaims to be a group by and for “Sumner County Progressives”, have also endorsed a slate of candidates. On their IG page, they declared that their 2024 New Year’s resolution was to “Turn TN Purple!” That's concerning. Their group appears to have begun in 2021 when their first stance was taken in favor of mask mandates. They also celebrated when the Covid vaccine was approved for children ages 5-11. They explain the importance of voting in order to "Stand up for Tennesseans - Not just the white ones. Not just the men. Not just the Christians” - and that “if you don’t vote then women will die because they can’t get proper healthcare.”
Wow.
While I don’t understand why a Progressive group is endorsing anyone for a Republican Primary, since T.C.A 2-7-115 prohibits anyone from voting in a primary for a party with which they do not affiliate or to which they are not declaring allegiance to, they have in fact endorsed for the Republican Primary. Not surprising, they endorsed the opponents of the Conservative candidates I named above. The Sumner Progressives’ prefer Kee McCormick for Judge, as well as Shellie Tucker, Wade Evans, Greg Hollis and Meghan Breinig for school board. They also endorse Joe Biden for president, or Nikki Haley if you're a republican. Very telling.
Even more interesting and troubling is the fact that there are two newly formed PACs (claiming to be Republican) whose donors we’ve yet to see, and one who doesn’t appear to even be registered. They quickly sprung up to also support the candidates that The Sumner Progressives support. Based on the sheer amount of money they’ve quickly thrown into this race with incessant attack mailers full of lies, multiple billboards, social media disinformation campaigns, and the backing of every Establishment member you can think of, it’s crystal clear that they do NOT want The People taking any more of what they consider to be *their* seats. Sumner County is run by Developers, Political Lobbyists and Special Interest groups, and they are very angry The People interrupted their agenda in 2022. So it's no wonder they are teaming up with Progessives to stop Conservatives. They don't care about party or policy, they only care about power.
THESE SEATS ARE YOURS. The People's. You must fight for them.
As a conservative myself, I think it’s pretty clear who I trust to represent me. I certainly do not need Progessives or the self-serving Establishment telling me how to vote.
Happy voting!
*Judge Russ EDWARDS - General Sessions Judge
*Rosemarie SCHULZE - School Board District 2
*Todd KERR - School Board District 4
*Marie MOBLEY - School Board District 6
*Tracy FINEGAN - School Board District 8
