TTPC

Carla Lewis

Last week, Carla Lewis of Maryville, Secretary of the Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition and blogger at manicsquirrel, qualified as a candidate for the Tennessee House of Representatives in the Democratic Primary in District 8, covering parts of Blount and Sevier Counties.

This week, however, Carla decided to withdraw and endorse Marvin Pratt in the Primary instead:

While I would be a constant advocate and voice for gay and transgender Tennesseans if elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives, the people of the 8th District in Blount and Sevier counties have needs of their own that require attention.
Ranked the most visited national park in the country with 8-10 million visitors per year, the residents of the 8th district rely heavily on tourism as their greatest source of revenue.  Tourism in general is a poverty industry (often part time and seasonal) for its workers while artificially inflating the cost of living for local residents.

According to the USDA, 20% of children in Sevier County though the age of 17 live in poverty.  With an increase in poverty, so increases the occurrence of domestic violence, drug manufacture and use, and unwanted teen pregnancy.

In addition to addressing economic conditions, I have a few creative ideas on improving the education system in Tennessee such as requiring all public high schools to offer classes in brainstorming, problem solving and critical thinking.

We applaud our friend and collegue for coming forward to discuss so many critical issues of importance, even though she has decided not to run this year.  We look forward to her continued efforts in the political arena on behalf of the residents of District 8, and urge other transgender residents of Tennessee to follow Carla’s lead and consider running for office as well.