Former Chairman of the Cocke County Legislative Body, Michael A. McCarter, has officially announced his bid for Republican Nomination for State House of Representative District No 11

Michael McCarter

Michael A. McCarter of Morrell Springs Road has officially announced this week he would be seeking the office of State House of Representative District No 11 which includes all of Cocke County and parts of Jefferson and Greene County counties.

McCarter is no stranger to public service. McCarter, elected to the Cocke County Commission in 1998, represented District No 6 in Newport. He was re-elected for a four year term in 2010. He received the highest honor when his colleague’s elected him to serve as Chairman.

“I feel that the decade of legislative experience gives me an advantage, it is something that I believe can make me effective in Nashville to stand up for the 11^th District,” McCarter said.

For close to two decades he has worked in several different capacities throughout the legal system. McCarter, appointed by the Cocke County Commission, served as Judicial Commissioner, a post he held until he was hired as a Deputy to Sheriff Tunney Moore. Later McCarter served as Juvenile Court Clerk, an appointment by General Sessions and Juvenile Judge Marcus Mooneyham.

Having a lifelong interest in public safety, McCarter returned to the Cocke County Sheriff’s Department where he served as the Public Information Officer under Sheriff D.C. Ramsey. “I have always cared about my community, it’s a wonderful place to live” said McCarter. After departing from the Sheriff’s Department worked as a Probation Officer with the 4^th Judicial District Circuit Court serving several judges.

In 2012 McCarter would embark on a new endeavor that would forever change his life. “I was offered a marketing job with a distilled spirit in Gatlinburg. The company quickly grew from 25 employees to over 300 in matter of years, offering good paying manufacturing and retail jobs. Over half of our employees come from Cocke County,” McCarter said.

“I am truly blessed to work with a company that is in all 50 states and in 60 Countries. Any time a product says Made in Tennessee, it means jobs and tourism dollars. I had the opportunity to travel around the world and meet develop many wonderful relationship with both small and large business owners. One of the true joys is being able to share where I’m from with so many people and promote my home and its culture. I am truly humbled to tell people I was born and raised in Cocke County.”

McCarter was born and raised in Cocke County. He is a fifth generation Cocke Countian. He attended Cosby Elementary and graduated Cosby High School. After graduation he attended Walters State Community College and University of Tennessee where he studied pre law. Working with local government, McCarter has continued to attend higher institutions to obtain a better prospective of government.

McCarter is married to Sharon Hiers of Parrottsville. They recently celebrated their 15^th year anniversary. They have two sons who are both Honor Students at Newport Grammar School, a public school in Newport.

Michael McCarter is the son of the late David “Dug” McCarter and Rosette McCarter of Newport. He was raised on a small family farm in Newport, where he still resides today.

“We witnessed firsthand on Super Tuesday that our citizens are upset with ‘do nothing officials’ currently serving in government. The people here at home are very smart. If you work hard for your district or county, the people here will reward you. I’m here to listen to your concerns, earn your trust and work hard for our home,” McCarter said.

Here are some of the topics that people have already expressed concern with:

“It might come to a surprise to some but State Legislators are limited to only 15 bills each year they may introduce. Nashville currently has 4 lobbyists to every state official. I am more worried about the people at home,” McCarter said.

Jobs:

For over 140 years the Democrats controlled both the State House and Senate in Nashville. Now that the Republicans are in control of all three chambers, we need to be wise and start helping our rural distressed areas. We need someone that will aggressively fight to fund these areas to provide must-needed infrastructure. Currently the State has cut funding that has historically been returned back to the counties. We need to be able to work with existing manufacturing businesses and expand job growth throughout the 11^th district.

Education:

For many years teachers have become the whipping post for many elected officials. School vouchers will be on the agenda come first of January. Unlike our current State Representative, I am at the polar opposite of the issue. I do not favor school vouchers. We need to work with local educators and give them more control. The state has wasted $107.7 million dollars on TN-Ready program and it has failed. We need to start looking at education regionally and their specific needs and not as a state as whole.

Higher Education:

The Tennessee Promise Program is a wonderful thing. We need to work with state officials to increase funding to our children that want an opportunity to attend college. While junior college saw an increase, those who attend schools like University of Tennessee or Vanderbilt University saw a decrease in funding. Our children should be our biggest investment and I think it would work well as a part of the Governor Haslam’s 2020 Plan.

Prescription Pill Problem:

Currently more Tennesseans lives are claimed by prescription abuse than anything else. We need a new approach to help those addicted to drugs. We need to explore treatment, housing and employment to help those get a fresh start on life. However we need to punish those that write prescriptions illegally and provide them to those who show obvious signs of addiction.

Though on Crime

Many State officials have introduced legislation that would allow violent juveniles that were tried as an adult be released after they serve a small fraction of the sentence, some going as far as reducing a life sentence in prison to allow an offender to be released after serving only 15 years. Some state leaders even want to remove the death sentence as an option. The one thing I will do is keep us safe at home.

“We need someone that will stand up and be heard in Nashville. I have a track record of standing up for what is right. I have always kept the taxpayers in mind when voting on an issue. We need someone that can restore a common sense approach in government. I am humbly asking you for your vote and support in the upcoming election. I am ready to serve from day one. Results not slogans,” McCarter said.