Sheila Mcmahan

I do not support data centers moving into our rural communities, taking advantage of tax breaks, straining our electric grid, and putting our environment and public health at risk. These facilities can consume enormous amounts of electricity while creating relatively few permanent jobs. I question whether the benefits justify the costs our communities are being asked to bear.

Protecting electricity bills and grid reliability: I would support strengthening Tennessee’s existing data center infrastructure law, Public Chapter 961, to ensure companies pay the full cost of the additional generation, transmission lines, substations, and other infrastructure they require. I would also introduce an “If You Break It, You Buy It” resolution to advance enforceable protections requiring data centers to demonstrate grid readiness before beginning operations. If inadequate planning leads to grid failures, emergency repairs, or additional infrastructure costs, the company responsible should pay instead of passing those costs on to ratepayers and taxpayers. I would push for independent grid-impact assessments, public reporting, and enforceable reliability requirements before these projects are allowed to proceed.

Protecting our air and public health: As a respiratory therapist, I know firsthand how respiratory illness affects patients and families. The gas turbines powering data centers in the Memphis area have raised serious concerns about nitrogen oxide emissions, ozone formation, and respiratory health after increasing asthma/COPD exacerbations. I would push for stricter emissions oversight, comprehensive permitting, continuous emissions monitoring where appropriate, public access to emissions data, and meaningful penalties for violations. I would also support closing loopholes that allow large-scale power generation to escape appropriate scrutiny simply because companies characterize their turbines as temporary or emergency equipment. Our environmental standards must protect people, not bend to accommodate corporations.

Protecting taxpayers and local communities: I would scrutinize tax abatements and other public incentives, require transparent reporting of promised versus actual permanent jobs, and support ending subsidies for projects that fail to deliver their promised public benefits. Rural communities should have meaningful input into land-use decisions, and I would support stronger safeguards against approving projects that threaten local water resources, infrastructure, or quality of life.

I recognize that Tennessee has already taken steps to address some of these concerns, and I would build on those protections rather than pretend the work is finished. I would also work with TVA, local utilities, environmental regulators, and local governments to ensure that growth does not come at the expense of the people who already call these communities home.

Our rural communities are not sacrifice zones. I will not support handing corporations tax breaks while our people are left with higher bills, unreliable electricity, polluted air, and the health consequences. If a company wants to operate here, it should be responsible for the costs and consequences of its own operations. Our people and our future must come first.

As a healthcare professional, I believe vaccines are an important tool for preventing serious illness and protecting public health. At the same time, I believe parents have the ultimate say in making medical decisions for their children.

I would support specific measures to improve vaccination rates without abandoning that principle. These include expanding access to affordable vaccines through rural health departments and mobile clinics, funding evidence-based public education, strengthening immunization recordkeeping, and ensuring local health departments have the resources to investigate and respond quickly to outbreaks.

I support maintaining Tennessee’s existing school immunization requirements and legitimate medical exemptions, while respecting parents’ rights under current law. During an outbreak, public health officials should have the resources to provide timely warnings, identify exposures, and implement appropriate measures to protect vulnerable people.

I would also support publishing accurate county-level vaccination data to identify gaps and direct resources where they are most needed. The goal should be to build trust, remove barriers to vaccination, and prevent avoidable illness and deaths, not shame families or turn healthcare into a political fight.

As a respiratory therapist, I have seen how serious illness affects patients and their families. I believe we can respect parental decision-making while taking evidence-based steps to protect Tennessee’s children and communities from preventable diseases.

Tropical Storm Helene showed us the devastating consequences of severe weather, and the winter storms that followed reinforced how vulnerable our infrastructure can be. In East Tennessee, preparing for the next disaster means investing in systems that protect lives before a storm hits, not just responding after tragedy strikes.

First, I would pursue an automated flood-warning system for vulnerable communities. In rural areas of our district, entire communities have little or no cellular service, and falling trees can knock out electricity and this outside communication. Residents cannot depend on phone alerts when they have no signal or power. I would support installing water-level sensors at flood-prone creeks, rivers, and other critical locations that automatically activate outdoor sirens and visual warning signals when water reaches predetermined danger levels. These systems should have battery or solar backup, routine testing, and redundant communication methods so they can operate during power and cellular outages. Warnings should not depend solely on someone noticing rising water and reporting it. Seconds matter when flash flooding strikes.

Second, I would invest in stronger electrical infrastructure. I would push for targeted undergrounding of power lines where practical, improved vegetation management along utility corridors, stronger poles and equipment, and upgrades to vulnerable substations. I would also support public grid-resilience plans that identify repeat outages, prioritize the most vulnerable communities, and establish clear restoration and accountability measures. We should use available state and federal resilience grants to help local utilities make these improvements.

Third, I would expand reliable telecommunications in rural communities. I would work to expand broadband and cellular coverage while requiring emergency communications planning to account for outages. Critical facilities, including emergency shelters, hospitals, and emergency management offices, should have backup power and redundant communications. Rural residents should also have access to NOAA Weather Radios and other warning methods that do not depend on a cell phone.

Fourth, I would strengthen local disaster preparedness and recovery. I would support better coordination between TEMA, local emergency management agencies, utilities, and first responders; regular community evacuation and warning-system drills; and emergency plans for residents who need transportation or assistance evacuating. I would also push for timely recovery funding and rebuilding infrastructure to withstand future storms rather than simply replacing what failed.

I grew up here, and I know our mountain communities. We cannot prevent every storm, but we can make sure our people have a better chance of surviving one. No community should be left without a warning simply because it lives in a rural hollow with no cell service. Preparing for disaster is not just about repairing roads and restoring electricity. It is about making sure people get home safely to their families.

Every Tennessee student deserves a qualified teacher, regardless of their ZIP code. I would support targeted scholarships and student loan repayment programs for qualified science teachers who commit to teaching in rural and high-need districts, along with meaningful recruitment and retention bonuses for hard-to-staff subjects like biology, chemistry, and physics.

I would also support partnerships between Tennessee colleges and local school districts to create affordable pathways into teaching, paid teacher residency programs, competitive salaries, mentorship, and better funding for classroom supplies and science labs. Emergency credentials may fill an immediate vacancy, but they should not become a permanent solution to teacher shortages.

Finally, I would push for transparent, district-level reporting on vacancies and turnover so state funding reaches the schools that need it most. Our rural students deserve the same opportunities as everyone else, and that starts with investing in the teachers who prepare them for the future.

I believe scientists and policymakers need to work together through open communication, transparency, and public education. I would support partnerships between Tennessee universities, healthcare professionals, and state agencies to make scientific research more accessible and explain how it affects everyday Tennesseans, from public health and clean water to agriculture and severe weather preparedness.

Policymakers should make decisions based on credible, peer-reviewed evidence while remaining willing to ask questions and hear from the communities affected. Scientists should communicate findings in plain language, acknowledge uncertainty, and make their research accessible to the public.

As a respiratory therapist, I see how important evidence-based information is to people’s health and well-being. Science should not be a partisan issue. We may disagree on policy, but we should be able to agree that decisions affecting people’s health, safety, and future should be informed by reliable evidence, not political pressure or misinformation.