From left are John Shackleford, club president; Dean Morehouse, District 9 School Board candidate, Vince Dean, candidate for Criminal Court clerk, Miranda Perez and speaker Zach Wamp
Former Congressman Zach Wamp on Thursday night told the Nightside Pachyderm Club, "Millennials are everyone under 32. They are the largest generation in the history of our country. And there's not one of them in the House of Representatives."
His 27-year-old son, Weston Wamp, is currently running against incumbent Chuck Fleischmann for Tennessee's Third Congressional District.
Mr. Wamp said, "We need leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives on the Republican side and we need it now...You have to have an agenda, you have to propose solutions.
You can't just blame everybody else."
He said, "Our party has got to reach out to this next generation to grow." He said many millennials have given up on getting involved in government because they believe no one will let them or listen to them.
However, he said, "They have a much better chance of coming together to solve the problems." He also said that there is a need for people in politics who are not worried about their next election more than getting the country back on track.
He told the club, "We're in a unique position right now because whether you're a Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative, it doesn't seem that the federal government is functioning as it's supposed to right now."
Mr. Wamp said his son's entrepreneurial experience would help him find solutions to those problems. Weston Wamp is director of communications at Lamp Post Group, a venture incubator in downtown Chattanooga.
Mr. Wamp also said of his son, "He knows where I messed up and where I did well."
He urged everyone to send people to Washington "that are aggressive and hungry for change."