A new state senator                                                                                                                                            Nov 08, 2008

It looks as if Sevier County will have an attentive state senator who will surely look after our needs as much as any nonresident possibly can. Rep. Doug Overbey defeated incumbent Raymond Finney in the August Republican primary, then easily won election on Tuesday as expected with an easy win over independent candidate Ira Lapides of Gatlinburg.

The Senate district includes all of Sevier and Blount counties. Because our population is so much smaller than Blount’s, it’s virtually impossible for us to have an elected senator who lives here. Until the district lines are redrawn one day, we’ll have to work hard to elect legislators who may not live here but will represent us well. Overbey appears destined to do that.

For one thing, he is indebted to this county for his election. Finney carried Blount County when the two met, and Overbey won the primary thanks to a strong showing in Sevier. One thing that really helped Overbey’s showing in Sevier was his 2007 vote against the new school funding formula that has hurt this county’s school system. Finney voted for it, though he later said he made a mistake. Overbey got the support of local school officials, and that was a key to his victory.

Overbey is a fiscal conservative with a voting record as a House member that should make conservative Sevier County happy. With Republicans now in charge of both the State House and State Senate, Sevier County looks to profit from such a power shift, since nobody can question our Republican bent.

Overbey has pledged to be responsive and accessible over the next four years. He campaigned extensively in Sevier County, which bodes well.

Congratulations to Overbey and our two House members, Richard Montgomery of Sevierville and Joe McCord of Maryville, who faced no opposition either in the GOP primary or the general election. The voting is over. Now let’s get to work solving our state’s financial problems.

© 2008 by mountainpress.southernheadlines.com. All rights reserved.

This entry was posted on Monday, November 10th, 2008 at 2:47 pm and is filed under In The News.