Ron Ramsey

For the Georgia politician, see Ronald Ramsey, Sr.

Ron Ramsey
File:Ramseyportrait.JPG
49th Lieutenant Governor of Tennessee
Incumbent
Assumed office January 20, 2007
Governor	Phil Bredesen Bill Haslam
Preceded by	John Wilder
Member of the Tennessee Senate from the 2nd district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 1997
Preceded by	Jim Holcomb
Member of the Tennessee House of Representatives from the 1st district
In office January 1993 – January 1997
Preceded by	Jim Holcomb
Succeeded by	???
Personal details
Born	Ronald Lynn Ramsey (1955-11-20) November 20, 1955 Johnson City, Tennessee, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Sindy Parker (1980–present)
Children	Madison Sheena Tiffany
Alma mater	East Tennessee State University
Religion	United Methodism

Ronald Lynn "Ron" Ramsey (born November 20, 1955) is the 49th and current Lieutenant Governor of Tennessee and Speaker of the State Senate. A Republican from Blountville in East Tennessee, Ramsey succeeded long-term Democratic Lieutenant Governor John S. Wilder in 2007, who had held the office of Lieutenant Governor since 1971.

Tennesseans do not elect their lieutenant governor; rather, the Speaker of the Senate, who is first in the line of succession to the governor, is granted the title by statute.

Early years

Ramsey graduated from Sullivan Central High School in 1973, and later obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in 1978, majoring in Building Construction Technology at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City. He is a member of the advisory board of the Farm Credit Association, a former president of the Blountville Business Association, and a former president and current member of the Bristol TN-VA Association of Realtors. He currently works as a real estate broker and an auctioneer.

State legislature

Ramsey represents Senate District 2, which encompasses Johnson and Sullivan counties in East Tennessee.

He was elected to the General Assembly as a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives in 1992, and served two terms. During his time as a state representative, Ramsey represented the 1st district, composed of Sullivan County. He was elected to the state Senate in 1996 and was reelected in 2000, 2004 and 2008.

In 2007, Ramsey garnered the support all of the GOP senators and one Democratic senator, Rosalind Kurita of Clarksville, in the vote for speakership of the Senate. He won with 18 votes to 15 for Wilder. He is the first Republican to serve as speaker of the Senate in 140 years. Ramsey appointed Kurita as speaker pro tempore in return for her support. Ramsey was reelected as speaker of the Senate of the 106th General Assembly in 2009 by a vote of 19–14 making him the longest serving Republican Lt. Governor in Tennessee state history.

Ramsey sparked statewide controversy in 2005 for two actions. He was allegedly videotaped speeding in his Cadillac, traveling on I-40 East near Cookeville, TN at 92 mph (148 km/h). The videotape which showed Ramsey's speed superimposed on the screen was made by Keith Jones, a Republican who sells speed-detecting, radar equipment to law enforcement agencies and was made with police equipment. Second, in February 2005 he introduced a bill (2005 SB0698) to change county wheel tax legislation to give Tennessee county commissioners the sole authority to enact wheel taxes by majority vote, thus taking away the ability of voters to decide on local wheel tax in referendums.

During the 2004 election cycle, Ramsey was one of a few prominent Tennessee General Assembly leadership members who accepted campaign contributions from both the Jack Daniel's PAC and the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of Tennessee PAC.

In 2008, Ramsey endorsed Fred Thompson for President of the United States.

2010 candidacy for governor

See also: Tennessee gubernatorial election, 2010

On February 28, 2009, Ramsey announced that he would run for the Republican nomination for governor of Tennessee.

In July 2010, 20 Tea Party organizations, about half of the roughly 40 Tea Party groups in Tennessee, endorsed Ramsey for governor because of his stances on state sovereignty, health care, immigration and fiscal issues.

On July 14, 2010, Ramsey said that states would have to deal with attempts to bring Sharia law to the U.S.: "But you cross the line when they start trying to bring Sharia law into the United States. Now, you could even argue whether being a Muslim is actually a religion, or is it a nationality, way of life, cult, whatever you want to call it. Now certainly we do protect our religions, but at the same time this is something we are going to have to face."

On August 5, 2010, Ramsey finished third, receiving 22% votes of the total for the GOP Nomination in the state of Tennessee.

Sources

• "Lieutenant governor's contest may be a mystery worth decoding". Larry Daughtrey. The Tennessean. May 28, 2006.
• "3) Pharmacists For Life Joins International Boycott" Life Communications. November, 1994.
• "Campaign Finance Reform Bill Fails". Andy Spears. May 3, 2005.
• "John Gregory uses checkbook to promote conservative causes". Hank Haynes. September 3, 2006.
• "Faith Healers: The born-again Gregory brothers worked a financial miracle from cast-off drug brands". Forbes. Zina Moukheiber. October 28, 2002.
• "Campaign gift spat touches the governor". Tennessean. Bonna de la Cruz. October 2, 2004.

External links

• Gubernatorial Campaign Site
• Ron Ramsey's profile at the Tennessee General Assembly
• Ron Ramsey's archived profile as a state representative
• Search the Tennessee Online Campaign Finance Database for records filed by Ramsey
• Tennessee Legislative Bills Sponsored and Co-sponsored by Senator Ron Ramsey

Political offices
Preceded by John Wilder	Lieutenant Governor of Tennessee 2007–present	Incumbent