Three Announce Plans to Run for State Representative

Three people Saturday morning announced their intentions to seek the Democratic nomination for State Representative during the DeKalb County Democratic Party Mass Meeting held at the high school.
Dean Sircy of Lafayette, Cleveland Derrick Bain of Smithville, and Gayla Hendrix of Smithville say they will be candidates in the August 7th State Democratic Primary.
The 40th Legislative District is made up of DeKalb, Smith, and Macon Counties.
The seat is currently held by long time Democratic State Representative Frank Buck of Dowelltown. Buck was not present during Saturday’s mass meeting and is expected to make a formal announcement soon as to whether he will seek re-election.
The qualifying deadline for State Representative (State Primary) is noon on April 3rd.
The State General Election is November 4th.
Sircy, a Baptist minister, says he is also a farmer and has sought public office before. “I am from Lafayette. I farm and was raised on a farm. I lived on a farm all my life except for three years when me and my wife went to Georgia. I am also a Missionary Baptist preacher. I pastor Antioch Missionary Baptist Church right up on the Kentucky line. We have about 300 members and about 150 in attendance every Sunday morning.”
“I’ve run for political office one time before this about ten years ago. I ran against the County Executive of Macon County and got beat by eleven votes.”
“I was fortunate to meet my wife while attending Tennessee Tech University. We went to Georgia and stayed three years because she had an engineering degree and no work experience. So she worked with the government there for three years and came back and went to work with the Dollar General Corporation in Scottsville, Kentucky and served over their computer system as assistant manager for fifteen years. She is retired and stays home and keeps our two grandbabies right now.”
“We have two children, a son and a daughter. Our daughter is at Western Kentucky University majoring in pre-pharmacy. Our son is at Tennessee Tech University. He has one more year after this year and he’ll have his degree in education with a chemistry emphasis.”
“The biggest thing I see wrong from the state back down to the local government is that the state is collecting all the money and keeping it at the state. They need to put that right back down to the local level. We need more financial resources put back in the counties and let the government lead. I thought that’s what a democracy was all about is to let the people of the county administer their own government by themselves. I stand before you to serve as your State Representative.”
Bain, during his announcement, talked about his family and work background. “Both of my grandparents are from here. My grandparents on my father’s side were Clay and Ruth Bain. Clay was a carpenter and a builder. My grandmother Ruth worked hard as a homemaker. My grandparents on my mother’s side were Homer and Jackie Gay. He was a nurseryman. My grandmother Jackie worked hard as a homemaker. She worked at Georgia Girl and Smithville shirt factories for over 40 years. My dad Cleveland is a framing contractor. He’s been in business for over 30 years.”
” As for myself, I went to the University of Tennessee where I graduated in political science and history. After graduating from college I went to work with my father and his company. I worked there for some time and then I branched off. I now own my own company. It’s the Bain Company. We’re a design build residential, commercial, and large commercial contracting firm.”
” I’ve always felt that it is my life’s goal to help people in any way possible and I cannot think of any better way than to go to Nashville and represent your interest in the state legislature. And that’s going to be the theme of my entire campaign, is to help people, especially the ones who have felt left out their entire lives. How am I going to do this? I have a three step approach. First, is to keep taxes low. I think it is government’s top priority to be good stewards of the people’s money. I believe lawmakers should be more responsible with the taxpayer’s money than they are with their own. Second, is to bring good paying jobs and middle class jobs to this district. Third, is to prepare future generations to tackle the hard issues of job training and getting jobs. Education is the key to unlocking a society’s potential and it is our job to make sure that our children are educated so they can make themselves competitive in today’s and tomorrow’s job market. I’m asking you to send me to be your representative.”
During her remarks, Hendrix summarized her experience as an educator and businesswoman. “I was born and raised in DeKalb County. I graduated from this high school and went on to college at MTSU where I earned a Bachelor’s and a Master’s Degree in education. From there I went to Tennessee Tech University where I earned an Education Specialist degree. Currently, I’m a third year law student. I’ve been a school teacher here in DeKalb County for almost 20 years. I also owned my own small business right off of the courthouse square for a couple of years. I married my high school sweetheart, Farron Hendrix. We have three children. Two are students at MTSU right now and one is an eighth grader at DeKalb Middle School. I’m a member of the First Baptist Church here in Smithville and have been my whole life although I occasionally visit the Methodist Church next door.”
” I’m running for your State Representative because I care about our schools and our children and our education. I care about health issues. I care that there are still way too many Tennesseans who don’t have health insurance, including children. I care about the infestation we have in our district of drug abuse and over prescribed prescription drugs and the devastating affect it has on our communities and our families. I care about the issues of poverty and those statistics are entirely too high in this area. I really care about our environment. I care about the fact that we need clean water, clean air, and to maintain our state parks for our children’s future as well as our own. I’m also concerned with the state’s budget. I believe our budget is a moral document and that document prioritizes who we are as Tennesseans. It represents what is important to us as a state. I would like to be your voice at the General Assembly and represent District 40.”