We will soon be given another opportunity to elect representatives who we hope will fairly and accurately represent us in Washington, D.C. In the upcoming election for one of Tennessee’s two seats in the United States Senate, state Rep. Gloria Johnson (D-Knoxville) recently declared her candidacy. Pitting herself against Republican incumbent Sen. Marsha Blackburn, Johnson aims to be a hardworking, honest alternative. As her campaign materials say so clearly, “Gloria is running for U.S. Senate because she knows it is time to shift power back to where it belongs: with working and middle class families.”
As her campaign has also clearly made it known, Johnson is aiming directly at Blackburn’s voting record and policy platforms: “Tennesseans are fed up with corrupt, ‘do nothing’ politicians, like Marsha Blackburn, who has taken millions from the pharmaceutical industry, the NRA and the insurance industry while voting against lowering our drug costs, against bipartisan gun reform, and for denying coverage for people with pre-existing conditions.”
I have long been impressed with Johnson’s background and experience, as well as the matter-of-fact manner she brings to the Tennessee General Assembly. If you were to draft a wish list of what we need in our elected officials, Johnson checks an awful lot of boxes. A heart for children and families? Check. Johnson built her career as a special education teacher in Tennessee’s public schools and retired after 27 years of service. Experience as an elected official who is thoroughly familiar with the ins and outs of government? Check. Johnson has been elected to our state House of Representatives four times. Determination to do the right thing? Double check. Johnson garnered national attention for speaking her mind on the floor of the state House and becoming one of the renowned “Tennessee Three.” Johnson’s straightforward, no-nonsense way of conducting business and ensuring our government is working for us and not against us would be a refreshing change in Washington.
The contrast between Johnson and Blackburn could not be more stark. We all know where they share commonalities: They’re both college-educated white women raised in the South.
But that’s where the commonalities end.
While the South was being ripped apart during the civil rights movement of the 1960s, Marsha Blackburn was entering beauty pageants in her native Laurel, Miss. Where was Gloria Johnson? She was the daughter of an FBI special agent tasked with investigating the murderous criminal activities of the Ku Klux Klan. While Marsha Blackburn was learning to pose, smile and wave, a young Gloria Johnson was sleeping in the hallway of her family’s Knoxville home at night to avoid potential gunfire — the Klan’s possible retribution for her father’s bravery.
While Marsha Blackburn was learning to push the “hard sell” as a door-to-door salesperson, where was Gloria Johnson? She was a special education teacher in Knoxville’s public schools, working to ensure that all children could learn and achieve in a safe environment.
It’s no wonder that Gloria Johnson, the little girl who grew up seeing firsthand the ugliest sides of people, became the woman who spent her career as a no-nonsense public school teacher and took up the mantle of public service after retirement. This is the same woman who had no patience for our extreme, far-right state representatives who refused to take action on common-sense gun reform following the horrific Covenant School shooting.
Time will tell if enough Tennesseans are indeed fed up with corrupt politicians to vote Marsha Blackburn out of office, but Gloria Johnson certainly aims to see if that time is now.
Bill Freeman
Bill Freeman is the owner of FW Publishing, the publishing company that produces the Nashville Scene, Nfocus, the Nashville Post, and The News.
