Tennessee Lieutenant Governor Ron Ramsey has announced that State Senator Mike Bell (R-Riceville) will replace Senator Bo Watson (R-Hixson) as Chairman of the Senate Government Operations Committee. Watson has been elevated to the position of Speaker Pro Tempore of the Senate, replacing former Senator Jamie Woodson (R-Knoxville) who resigned her Senate seat this last summer. Bell is a committed fiscal and social conservative with the voting record to prove it.
This writer first met the now-Senator Mike Bell when he was still just a freshman Republican in the House of Representatives. A father of five children and a homeschooler, Bell once said that he is extremely proud to represent the interests of homeschoolers at the Capitol, but he bracketed that statement with a cautious follow-up-"I don't want to be known as merely 'the homeschool representative' in the General Assembly." Indeed, Mike Bell has advocated for the interests of volunteer firefighters (he is one), law enforcement personnel, parents, churches, and so many others. He is a passionate believer in reducing the size and scope of government, and a fierce opponent of the idea of a State income tax.
What is most impressive about Mike Bell, however, is his work ethic. This writer will never forget the morning that he joined Representative Bill Dunn (R-Knoxville) in the office that he then shared with Mike Bell, as the two began work on procedural and legislative matters at 6:00AM-their secretaries arrived nearly two hours later, and they were already hard at work on the day's business. To say that the Lieutenant Governor has made a wise choice to chair the Senate Government Operations Committee would be a major understatement.
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