Robert C. Vick

Every Tennessean expects a turn of the switch to turn on the light, clean air for their kids to breathe, and an electric bill that doesn’t eat up their paycheck. Tech companies coming to Tennessee must be good neighbors, not an undue burden on our taxpayers.

My position is simple: if a company requires massive power, they must pay for their own infrastructure, install the cleanest technology available, and answer directly to the local community—not operate behind secret agreements. By enforcing strict air-permitting standards through TDEC, requiring utility providers to set separate large-load rates, and ensuring grid reliability stays priority number one, we can grow our technology economy without sacrificing our quality of life.

As a career educator, I know firsthand that children learn best when they are healthy and in class. We cannot ignore that falling vaccination rates create real risks for our kids, but we also won’t solve this problem by lecturing or forcing parents.

My approach is built on common sense, faith, and family:

Trust Parents and Physicians: Medical decisions belong between families, their faith, and their doctors. The state’s role is to ensure accurate information is available, not to force compliance.

Remove Obstacles for Working Families: Many low-coverage areas in rural Tennessee suffer from lack of healthcare access, not lack of care. Bringing health fairs and mobile pediatric care directly into local communities helps working parents keep their kids on schedule.

Respect Exemptions While Keeping Kids Safe: We can honor Tennessee’s tradition of respecting religious and medical freedom while taking practical, commonsense steps to protect immune-compromised children during an active outbreak.

I spent 15 years of my career in Cocke County, and seeing the destruction after Tropical Storm Helene broke my heart. But it also showed the unwavering spirit of East Tennesseans who stepped up when disaster struck. We owe it to our communities to build infrastructure that stands up to extreme weather, whether it’s historic high water or winter ice storms that knock out power across our region.

My plan centers on practical, real-world solutions:

Protect the Power Grid: Work directly with TVA and local power providers to fortify power lines against ice and wind while protecting residential ratepayers from paying for corporate grid overload.

Fix the Bottlenecks: Rebuild rural bridges, roads, and water lines with long-term flood standards, not just quick patches.

Empower Local Leadership: Give county mayors, sheriffs, and road superintendents the authority and state funding they need to clear waterways and prepare emergency shelters without waiting through months of state paperwork.

When severe weather strikes, Tennesseans deserve a state government that acts as a dependable partner getting the lights back on and keeping our roads open.

I spent 40 years working in public education, so I don’t look at teacher retention as a statistical exercise—I look at it through the eyes of the educators, students, and parents I’ve worked with every day. When a rural high school can’t find a qualified physics or chemistry teacher, our kids fall behind through no fault of their own.

My plan to solve this is simple and practical:

Invest in Local Talent: Expand ‘Grow Your Own’ programs that help local educational assistants and community members earn science teaching credentials right in their home counties.

Forgive Student Debt: Pay off student loans for science graduates who step up to teach in rural and high-need public schools.

Treat Educators Like Professionals: Pay teachers competitively, provide fully funded science lab materials, and give educators the classroom autonomy they deserve so they stay in the profession for the long haul.

Trust is a two-way street. When lawmakers ignore sound data, or when scientists communicate through academic jargon rather than practical realities, everyday people lose out. We need to replace political posture with honest conversation.

My approach to bridging this gap is simple:

Keep It Transparent: Show the public the full picture—the data, who paid for the study, and what we still don’t know. Transparency builds trust; secrecy creates suspicion.

Listen to Local Experts: Rather than relying on national talking points, we should lean on our local Tennessee universities, pediatricians, engineers, and agricultural experts who understand our communities firsthand.

Focus on Real-World Results: Science policy should serve people—whether that’s improving crop yields, strengthening our power grid, or finding cures. When people see practical results in their daily lives, trust follows.