Over the last few weeks, I have seen Scottie Mayfield significantly gain the trust of those who live in the Third District. Early on in the race, some were questioning him because it seemed he didn't have strong positions on the issues. That might or might not have been true, but I just read his latest position paper about reforming Washington, and his positions are very strong.
So far, he is the only candidate in the Republican primary to advocate for term limits for himself and for members of Congress - a question the other candidates have dodged. He has also discussed ways in which we can replace Obamacare with a free-market system. The other candidates just talk about repealing it. It would seem to me that just getting rid of what doesn't work isn't a real solution.
If you visit Scottie Mayfield's website, you will see that he actually has more positions on the issues than any of the other candidates. For someone who didn't have to run for Congress and got in the race just a few months ago, Scottie has really come a long way. He has my vote on Aug. 2.
Matthew Dennison
Ooltewah
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Mr. Dennison, perhaps Scottie Mayfield does have some strong opinions. He certainly entered the race as a strong contender and there were many who applauded his decision to run.
Since then, he's been as elusive as Big Foot. He avoided a major Chattanooga debate and declined other opportunities to appear before the public, where he could personally meet and greet the people who might decide to vote for him.
Any candidate who thinks they are going to win an election by simply posting their platform on a website needs to re-evaluate their campaign strategy. Since 69 percent of the entire U.S. have internet access, and even fewer yet in Tennessee, Scottie's staffers should be reminded that voters elect a person to represent them, flesh and blood, not a carefully scripted and constructed personality sequestered behind a flashy website that few voters will see.
Unfortunately, that is something many candidates running for office today have yet to learn.
Mya Lane