After being born and raised in Northern Kentucky and then traveling the world while serving in the Navy and Air Force, I have put down some form of roots in East Tennessee. In Knoxville, to be more precise. My wife has a thriving practice as an Obstetrician/Gynecologist here in Knoxville and, even if we were inclined to move back to Kentucky (we’re both from there) or anywhere else, my stepdaughter’s dad is not about to let her leave East Tennessee. Furthermore, both of our mothers live with us and we’re not looking to move them either.
So, I think this is going to be the place I call home for a while. Maybe a long while and maybe for the rest of my life. But that’s ok. We’re close enough to be able to drive back home if we need to visit or want a taste of some Cincinnati chili. Side note, while I prefer Gold Star, I almost always have Skyline. Why, you ask? Because the MadDoc is allergic to Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) and Gold Star puts it in their chili, but Skyline does not.
And Knoxville is a nice town. Yeah, it’s full of Vol fans, but I find that they’re not as obnoxious as some Kentucky fans claim. Plus, my son – let’s call him MadZee for our purposes – is going to be attending the University of Tennessee starting this fall. We’ve got a nice house here, good neighbors and the weather is relatively mild. I could do a lot worse.
So, with all that said, since I’m doing this blog thing and I consider politics a hobby of sorts, I figure I ought to write some about the politics of this place I call home.
For today, let’s just stay at the federal level. We’ve got 9 congressional districts in Tennessee. 2 Dems and the rest are red. The Democratic representatives are in Memphis and Nashville. Here in Knoxville, the Tennessee 2nd District, we’re represented by Tim Burchett. He’s serving in his first term. The second district is drawn in an odd shape and extends up to the Kentucky border. It includes some of the towns nearby that I hear about all the time, Maryville, Alcoa, Lenoir City. Representative Burchett is 54 years old (a year and a month older than me) and previously served as the Mayor of Knox County (not the same as Mayor of Knoxville). He served in the Tennessee State House and the Tennessee State Senate, starting in state politics, evidently, when he was first elected to the state house in 1994. I guess that means he has been in politics for 25 years, if that matter to you.
Looks to me like Representative Burchett is pretty safe for reelection in 2020, absent something extraordinary happening, since he won his seat in 2018 with 66% of the vote. I guess I won’t keep my hopes up. At least now I know a little about my representative and you do too. And, dear reader (because there’s only about one of you, after all), don’t be surprised if you hear about Mr. Burchett again on this blog. He votes with Trump about 95% of the time, so it seems like he’s an ardent supporter. That’s sure to put him in a precarious position at some point, right?