Posted on 04/21/2002 7:03:03 AM PDT by GailA
Rochelle faces spirited fight for re-election By John Gerome, Associated Press April 21, 2002
LEBANON, Tenn. - At the Ideal Barber Shop on Lebanon's town square, owner Ann Tisdale believes she is a pretty good barometer of political opinion.
Between the snip of scissors and the buzz of electric razors, she hears a lot of scuttlebutt. Lately she's hearing that state Sen. Bob Rochelle, a 20-year incumbent from Lebanon, is vulnerable.
"If he wins this time around, it will surprise the heck out of me," says Tisdale, as she trims a customer's locks. "I haven't heard one person say they're going to vote for him again, and I see a lot of people."
Rochelle, 56, Senate speaker pro tem and one of the most influential members of the Legislature, has long led the fight for a state income tax to fix what he says is an antiquated tax structure that doesn't keep pace with economic growth. His stance is unpopular with many voters, and he knows it.
"Sure, there will be some folks who vote against me because of the position I've taken," said Rochelle. "But I also think there will be people who have a different position than me who will vote for me because I've taken a position. ... I don't think they see me as a do-nothing legislator hiding from problems."
Rochelle's Republican opponent - Rep. Mae Beavers, a four-term legislator from neighboring Mt. Juliet, says Rochelle is out of step with his 17th District, where most people, Beavers included, adamantly oppose an income tax.
She says the state's financial problems stem from waste and overspending. She wants to trim the TennCare program, merge overlapping departments and, if still necessary, slash spending by 5 percent across the board. And she believes an income tax also violates the state constitution.
"This is about liberal versus conservative," Beavers said. "He wants more money so he can get everything he wants. I think we need to be more accountable and to have less government."
"When anybody talks about that race, (the income tax is) all that comes up," said Bobby Satterfield, Trousdale County property assessor for 22 years. "Rochelle's been very supportive of this county, but you make a lot of enemies when you try to get into people's pocketbooks."
Across the street from Satterfield's office in the county courthouse, the smack of billiard balls echoes through the tiny VFW Hall in Hartsville as a half-dozen older men sip coffee, shoot pool and play cards. One of them, 84-year-old T. A. Jones, is disgusted by the Legislature's inability to balance the state budget.
"I don't think they're doing their jobs," Jones said. "The Legislature needs to wake up and do something."
Jones is the kind of marginal voter Rochelle counts on. Even though Jones opposes an income tax, he applauds Rochelle for offering a solution.
"He'll carry Trousdale County," Jones predicted. "Democrats always carry this county."
The Legislature redrew the 17th District to conform with the 2000 census, cutting out a suburban area of Davidson County and adding rural Macon, Clay, DeKalb and Cannon counties. Other counties in the district are Trousdale, Wilson and Smith.
"Many of those areas he picked up are conservative Democrat and have a long history of voting Democratic," said Diane Wilde, a political science professor at Cumberland University in Lebanon.
Clay, Cannon, DeKalb, Smith and Trousdale counties all went to Al Gore in the 2000 presidential race and to Bill Clinton in 1996.
Wilson County, home base for Rochelle and Beavers, is the most populous of the district's seven counties with about 88,800 people. It also is the most dynamic. Mt. Juliet is a fast-growing bedroom community and older, more established Lebanon also draws new residents. Dell Computer opened a plant in the county in 1999, and Genesco and Bridgestone both have broke ground for new plants.
"It has changed some of the politics," Wilde said, noting the county's shift from traditionally Democratic to more Republican.
Fifty-three percent of Wilson County voters chose George W. Bush in 2000. The county was about evenly split between the two parties in the 1996 presidential race and went to the Democrats in 1992 by 1,800 votes.
Rochelle is comfortable with the new district. He said it consists mostly of small towns where people interact, rather than subdivisions where residents tend to keep to themselves and candidates must rely on expensive TV ads to convey their message.
A costly state Senate race is unlikely, Wilde says, because there are several high-profile elections for governor and Congress.
"My gut feeling is that a lot of people will show up for these elections who are not focused on the state legislative races," she said. "If the people at the top of the ticket pull a lot of Democrats in, I think it will be to his advantage."
Diagnosed with Parkinson's disease last year, Rochelle initially decided to retire. But doctors changed the diagnosis to "essential tremor," which is characterized by involuntary, rhythmic shaking of the hands, head and voice similar to the early symptoms of Parkinson's but not as debilitating.
He still hesitated, wondering how many productive years he has left and whether he should devote more time to his law practice. He says a tour of the district persuaded him to run again.
"It reaffirmed my goals and why I got into politics," Rochelle said. "I didn't get into politics to make money. I got into politics to effect change for the good."
GO MAE GO!
Anyone interested in helping out Mae can go to http://www.maebeavers.org and volunteer. She is not only against more taxes (in ANY form) but is a STRONG 2nd Amendment supporter who is a member of the NRA, the GOA and the TN Firearms Association. This lady (and I DO mean Lady) is a staunch conservative who believes in America as it was founded (and, yes, I know her personally).
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