Republicans Sweep Constitutional Officer Elections

After losing the fight for Speaker of the state House of Representatives, Republicans bounced back, sweeping their candidates into three constitutional offices in a strict party line vote.

Kent Williams, the Republican who foiled his party’s plans to become House Speaker voted with the GOP to replace all three Democratic office holders.

The new secretary of state is Tre Hargett, who served ten years in the House, where he got along well with Democrats even while leading the Republicans.

“I do believe there’s a time for partisanship and a time to govern. When we’re here in the legislative session, I think people expect us to work well together, they expect us to be a government of ideas and not personalities, and I intend to run the secretary of state’s office that way. I do think that there are good Republicans who are probably looking for the opportunity to make their mark and show they can lead this state well, and work in the secretary of state’s office, and I look forward to giving some of those individuals the opportunity.”

Political observers expect that the office of election coordinator will be one of the first to turn over to Republican hands.

The full legislature elected Justin Wilson, former deputy governor to Don Sundquist, comptroller. That’s the state’s chief auditor and the legislature’s go-to policy office. It named Memphis tax attorney David Lillard treasurer. He will oversee how the state invests its money and be in overall charge of the state retirement system.

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New comptroller Justin Wilson says his office will work with everyone.

“Our job … is primarily nonpartisan, and it should, that’s the way it should be.”

Though Wilson didn’t rule out changes.

“Well there’s always going to be changes. If there are not changes there’s no progress. But I don’t have any, any major changes in mind, and I , as we get into it, there’ll be changes, but I have nothing now.”

Lillard has served on the Shelby County Commission and for a while was chair of the Shelby County Republican Party.

Hargett will head a vast bureaucracy that keeps track of loan documents, company trademarks, charitable contributions auditing, adoption paperwork and even the state library and archives.

Hargett says he would investigate where improvements could be made.

“At this time I think it’s premature for me to talk about a lot of changes without actually visited with the staff, and the office, and gained their input. I’d like their analysis of where we’re strong, where we’re weak, and let’s figure out how we can be more efficient and effective, especially given the budget situation of the state.”

Democrats who served in the posts were:

· Riley Darnell as secretary of state. Darnell was a former state Senator.

· Dale Sims as treasurer. Sims was a career state employee who trained under former comptrollers and treasurers. He is an expert on workers compensation – that office runs Workers Comp for the state.

· John Morgan as comptroller. As comptroller he followed in the tradition of Comptroller William Snodgrass, who turned the office from a auditing function to a full-scale policy think tank. The Office of Education Accountability is in the comptroller’s office. The comptroller’s staff also conducts “performance audits” which measure how departments do their job, as opposed to how they spend their money.