Tennessee House Democrats met on Monday to elect their officers for the 109th General Assembly. In a meeting marked by cordiality, the 26 Democrats chose a diverse leadership team from across Tennessee.
“The strength of the House Democrats has always been our diversity,” said Representative Craig Fitzhugh who was elected without opposition to his third term as House Democratic leader. “We have members from urban and rural areas.
Some are more liberal, some are more toward the center. We are truly representative of the people of this great state. I’m excited to serve again as leader and I thank our members for their support.”
In an ongoing effort to bring a wider array of voices to the table, house democrats added the position of leader pro-tempore to their leadership team. The position will serve alongside the house democratic leader and will stand in for the caucus chairman at meetings with the administration and house republican leadership.
“In our caucus today I felt a real sense of unity and commitment to some core values,” said Representative Joe Armstrong who was elected leader pro-tempore. “Our members are here for the right reasons. They are focused on helping Tennesseans live a better life. As long as we keep that as our focus—and I think we will—I expect we will continue to have a prominent voice in the House.”
Other Democrats elected to serve in the 109th General Assembly include Rep. Mike Stewart, caucus chairman; Rep. Joe Towns, assistant Democratic leader; Rep. Antonio Parkinson, vice caucus chairman; Rep. Harold Love, secretary; Rep. Karen Camper, treasurer; Rep. Jason Powell, floor leader; Rep. Joanne Favors, whip. Additionally, Rep. Johnny Shaw, Rep. David Shepard and Rep. Brenda Gilmore were elected to serve on the Fiscal Review Committee.