Mo' money
Another even-numbered year, another election. It's only the second business day of 2010 and the fund raising race is already well underway. State Sen. Roy Herron, a lawyer from West Tennessee who had been a contender for governor, announced he's raised $675,000 to run for retiring Democratic Rep. John Tanner's congressional seat.
It's important to note that $250,000 of that comes from Herron himself, but that means $425,000 has been donated since Tanner's retirement announcement in early December. That's not a bad sum, and reminds people that a retiring incumbent doesn't necessarily spell a loss for his or her party.
Republican candidate Stephen Fincher raised $300,000 in his first quarter.
It's gonna be a long year.
Write your representative...No, really, I'm super cereal
Gov. Phil Bredesen is touring the state and asking businessmen and women to get all civic n' shit by contacting their state reps in support of his education reform bill, which will come up before the legislature in a special session from Jan. 12 to the 19. At stake is potentially $500 million in federal grants through a reform contest from the Dept. of Education.
Bredesen wants to tie teacher tenure to student performance. The state's largest teachers' union, the Tennessee Education Association, isn't on board, but that's not unusual considering the bill's goals.
This is part of a national reform effort quietly underway (relatively speaking) in the Obama administration under Education Secretary Arne Duncan. For more on those larger issues, check out PBS correspondent John Merrow's most excellent work for his series "Learning Matters."
The best quote from Bredesen was this one to the Rotary club of Nashville: "I ask the people in this room to talk to your representatives and talk to your senators and talk to people, and explain to them that the time is here."
It's a real ask. I really would like people out here to do that."
Guys, stop laughing. No joke this time.
Another even-numbered year, another election. It's only the second business day of 2010 and the fund raising race is already well underway. State Sen. Roy Herron, a lawyer from West Tennessee who had been a contender for governor, announced he's raised $675,000 to run for retiring Democratic Rep. John Tanner's congressional seat.
It's important to note that $250,000 of that comes from Herron himself, but that means $425,000 has been donated since Tanner's retirement announcement in early December. That's not a bad sum, and reminds people that a retiring incumbent doesn't necessarily spell a loss for his or her party.
Republican candidate Stephen Fincher raised $300,000 in his first quarter.
It's gonna be a long year.
Write your representative...No, really, I'm super cereal
Gov. Phil Bredesen is touring the state and asking businessmen and women to get all civic n' shit by contacting their state reps in support of his education reform bill, which will come up before the legislature in a special session from Jan. 12 to the 19. At stake is potentially $500 million in federal grants through a reform contest from the Dept. of Education.
Bredesen wants to tie teacher tenure to student performance. The state's largest teachers' union, the Tennessee Education Association, isn't on board, but that's not unusual considering the bill's goals.
This is part of a national reform effort quietly underway (relatively speaking) in the Obama administration under Education Secretary Arne Duncan. For more on those larger issues, check out PBS correspondent John Merrow's most excellent work for his series "Learning Matters."
The best quote from Bredesen was this one to the Rotary club of Nashville: "I ask the people in this room to talk to your representatives and talk to your senators and talk to people, and explain to them that the time is here."
It's a real ask. I really would like people out here to do that."
Guys, stop laughing. No joke this time.
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