"Vacation" Andy Holt
Over the last few weeks, Rep. Andy Holt has been doing a fine job misrepresenting his shameful record in the General Assembly, which includes co-sponsoring a bill to turn Medicare into a TennCare-style program for 800,000 seniors, and draining millions of dollars out of our kid’s public schools and diverting those dollars to an unaccountable corporation that streams classes over the Internet.
Though there are a lot of missteps and attacks on middle class families — perhaps his most significant blunder happened outside the legislature. When the General Assembly reconvened in Nashville last January, Andy Holt was nowhere to be found. He was on vacation.
Instead of showing up to work for the four months out of the year that we ask of our elected leaders, Holt was on vacation in Hawaii — all expenses paid by lobbyists.
Yes, voters elected Andy Holt to look out for their interests in the legislature, but when the session started this year Holt was busy looking out for waves off the beaches of Hawaii thanks to lobbyists. No wonder they call him “Vacation” Andy Holt!
What, of any importance, happened at the start of the legislature this year? Not much…except the first legislative redistricting in 10 years and a backward plan to increase class sizes.
It’s clear voters in Northwest Tennessee would’ve liked to have a say on these important issues.
When asked why he thought it was OK to miss session, Holt replied to a constituent and said his ‘vote didn’t matter’. Well, if that’s the case, voters can erase their mistake from 2010 and re-elect Mark Maddox — a leader who always puts the needs of constituents first and will take his responsibilities seriously.
