Misam Abidi

I want Tennessee to help build an age of intelligence whose prosperity reaches the people powering it. I would propose an AI Prosperity Fund: companies receiving state incentives would negotiate enforceable contributions, with a portion of net proceeds reserved for a resident dividend. I would also pilot voluntary computing nodes in homes and businesses, allowing participants to earn revenue from useful computing work after electricity and equipment costs. We would test these models openly before expanding them. Over time, shared ownership and revenue could help lay a foundation for broadly shared income as automation changes work. That future must begin with sound infrastructure. I would work with TVA and utilities on contracts requiring data centers to cover their additional grid costs, provide financial guarantees, and shift flexible workloads during peak demand. Turbines would need rigorous emissions controls and neighborhood monitoring; communities would retain meaningful siting authority. Success means residents gaining income while their electricity remains affordable and their air remains healthy. A child growing up beside this industry should inherit a share of its opportunity.

I want every Tennessee parent to feel that protecting a child is a decision they understand and can confidently make. I would bring vaccination closer to daily life through mobile clinics, evening appointments, school partnerships, and trusted local clinicians. Families should be able to ask questions without embarrassment and receive clear explanations of immune memory, disease risks, vaccine benefits, and known side effects. Public reporting would show local vaccination gaps, outbreak trends, and how safety concerns are investigated, while protecting individual privacy. I support evidence-based school immunization policies and appropriate medical exemptions, backed by strong testing and rapid outbreak response. The deeper achievement is a community that understands its connection to others: protecting one child also helps protect the newborn next door and the neighbor receiving cancer treatment. Government earns trust by making sound knowledge accessible and care dependable. I would measure success through fewer preventable illnesses, smaller access gaps, and families who feel informed and respected. Prevention gives children more healthy days in which to discover who they can become.

I want rebuilding to leave communities stronger than they were before the storm. I would create a public, continually updated map connecting flood projections, vulnerable roads, power equipment, evacuation routes, and residents needing additional assistance. That map would guide investments before failures become emergencies. Communities would receive help to restore floodplains, improve drainage, elevate electrical equipment, and strengthen critical bridges. With utilities, I would pursue winterization and local power systems that can keep essential services operating when the wider grid fails. Schools and community centers could become resilience hubs with backup power, communications, and supplies. My Skills Guarantee would connect this work to paid apprenticeships in electrical systems, construction, water management, and emergency technology, giving local people careers protecting their own communities. We would track outage duration, evacuation access, and completed risk-reduction projects. The result should be visible: a grandmother’s medical equipment stays powered, a family receives a warning in time, and a young worker earns a living making their hometown safer. Preparation can build both security and opportunity.

I want a Tennessee student to look at their community and see problems they have the knowledge to solve. I would build regional partnerships connecting schools, universities, technical colleges, and employers around real projects: testing water quality, understanding energy systems, studying soil, and learning robotics. Qualified science teachers would lead that work, supported by paid preparation, targeted tuition assistance, competitive compensation, mentoring, and protected planning time. Rural schools would receive laboratory resources and access to shared equipment and research partnerships. Scientists entering teaching would complete supervised classroom preparation and licensure requirements. Through my Tennessee Skills Guarantee, scientific understanding would connect to credentials, apprenticeships, and useful economic skills. Teachers would have opportunities to deepen their expertise through paid summer research. We would measure teacher retention, laboratory access, student learning, and pathways into further education and employment. This creates a reinforcing cycle: students gain capability, employers gain skilled people, and communities gain residents equipped to improve life around them. A young person should leave school with curiosity alive and a credible path to independence.

I want Tennessee to become a place where public curiosity can shape public decisions. I would establish a science advisory council alongside regular community forums where residents bring questions from their lives and researchers help investigate them. Universities could partner with communities on water testing, air monitoring, and other projects with transparent methods and accessible results. Major policies would carry a public explanation: what evidence supports the decision, what remains uncertain, what success should look like, and when the policy will be reviewed. Where appropriate, we would begin with measured pilots and expand approaches that demonstrate results. Funding decisions and conflicts of interest would be disclosed, and scientific independence protected. Scientists would gain a clearer understanding of people’s circumstances; residents would gain a clearer understanding of how knowledge is tested. Leadership must be willing to change course when evidence changes. My ambition is a culture where discovering an error becomes an opportunity to improve, and learning together strengthens our ability to govern together. That is how intelligence becomes a source of confidence, freedom, and shared progress.