GOP Gubernatorial candidate Bill Lee stopped in Smithville today (Thursday) as part of his 95 county tour during the first 95 days of the campaign.
Lee, 57, of Williamson County, enters a wide-open GOP primary with no government experience and a campaign platform of jobs, education and public safety.”Everywhere we go we find there are three things that Tennesseans want regardless of whether they live in an urban center or rural communities. They want a good job. They want a good school for their kids and they want a safe neighborhood. That is really what is most important to the people we have met and its part of my vision for this state,” Lee told WJLE.
Though he figures to attract pro-business Republicans, Lee, a self-described social conservative and former chairman of the Tennessee Prayer Breakfast, said faith would influence his decisions as governor, but insisted he is not running for office to focus on social issues.
Lee is chairman and former CEO of his family business, the Franklin-based Lee Co., a full-service home services, facilities and construction company founded by his grandfather in 1944, which Lee later purchased from his father and became president in 1992.
Today, the company — which has offices in Huntsville, Ala.; Cookeville, Tenn.; and Bowling Green, Ky., in addition to its main office in Franklin — employs 1,150 people, mostly plumbers, pipe-fitters and welders, and generates about $225 million in annual revenue.
Lee earned his Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering at Auburn University. He and his wife Maria have four children and two grandchildren. He and his family attend Grace Chapel Church in Leiper’s Fork .
Lee’s entrance into the race comes as other Republicans, including U.S. Rep. Diane Black, House Speaker Beth Harwell, Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris, Sen. Mae Beavers and former state lawmaker Joe Carr, are considering entering. Sen. Mark Green, R-Clarksville, who announced his candidacy earlier this year, halted his campaign after President Donald Trump nominated him to be the secretary of the Army. But Green has since withdrawn his name from consideration for Army secretary
On the Democratic side, former Nashville Mayor Karl Dean also has entered the race, and House Minority Leader Craig Fitzhugh has said he’s leaning on entering as well.
Archived News & Obituaries