U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, R-3rd, of Chattanooga, who is running for the Republicans' 2010 nomination for governor, was here Monday to meet with local officials and campaign.

Wamp first visited Tusculum College to pay a courtesy call on Dr. Nancy Moody, president of Tusculum College.

Wamp said he developed a good relationship with Dr. Moody when she was president of Lincoln Memorial University, which is in his district.

While at the college, he talked to a political science class, taught by Troy Goodale.

From there, the congressman from Chattanooga went to the Greene County Courthouse annex, where he met with County Mayor Alan Broyles, County Clerk David Thompson, Assessor of Property Ralph Bowers, and Register of Deeds Joy Rader, and their staffs.

Wamp met supporters for lunch at the Bean Barn restaurant, where owners Jerry and Donna Hartsell asked to have their picture taken with him, to put with the picture they have of themselves with former U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson.

Among the Greene Countians joining him for lunch was Mike Carlton, whose daughter, Cristy, is in Wamp's Sunday school class at Red Bank Baptist Church.

After lunch, Wamp met with the directors of the Greene County Partnership to hear what problems they would like to see the state's next governor address.

When Wamp stopped by his office, Assessor of Property Ralph Bowers asked him why he wants to be governor.

Wamp said he is running because Tennessee needs a new agenda, and he believes his background has prepared him to set the agenda to address health care and education.

"I have known for some time that this is where preparation and opportunity meet," Wamp said.

"We're 47th out of 50 states in health," Wamp said of Tennessee, and 42nd in education, according to national tests.

He said Tennessee has not really had a new agenda since Lamar Alexander was governor. "When Lamar ran for governor, it was, 'roads and schools, roads and schools,' but today, health care dominates the state budget."

He cited growth of TennCare spending by $3 billion in the last five years, and the state's number one-ranking in per-capita prescription drug use as indicators.

"The governor has to lead the state to a better place in health," and in education, he said.

Wamp said "the first big step" he would take as governor is to push hard to improve teaching of reading in the first three elementary grades.

Improving education and health care can improve the state's manufacturing base and its economy, he said, including agriculture.

Saying that Tennessee is third in manufacturing related to the automobile industry, Wamp said, "we could go from third to first in the next 10 years," despite changes in that industry toward smaller vehicles and hybrids.

"The change will create opportunity," he said. Tennessee remains a right-to-work state with a high quality of life and a low cost of living, the factors that helped Volkswagen and Toyota decide to locate here, he added.

"When the economy recovers, if we position ourselves right, we can really land a lot of the next-generation automotive" manufacturing jobs, he said.

Greene County, because it is bisected by Interstate 81, is well-positioned itself, if the right situations exist, or can be made to exist, at this county's four interstate exits, he said.

"This is a major interstate highway, and there's growth potential along this highway," including in Greene County. "This county has a lot of room to grow, and a lot of land available at a low cost," compared to other locations, he said.

Wamp said Greene County remains in contention for the intermodal rail/truck terminal that Norfolk Southern has been planning for about five years.

Wamp said Jefferson County is Norfolk Southern's first choice, but state Rep. Frank Niceley, R-Strawberry Plains, and his family are publicly on record as opposing the intermodal terminal location at New Market, where Niceley owns property.

Wamp said Niceley "is promoting the Greene County location to Norfolk Southern," but Norfolk Southern is still more interested in the Jefferson County location because it is cheaper.

Wamp said the Chattanooga area, like Greene County, lost "a whole lot of its industries," but by "intentionally going after new technology growth, we have restarted the manufacturing sector in the Chattanooga area in a big way."

Both Volkswagen and Wacker Chemie AG (in Cleveland, Tenn.) have begun billion-dollar investments each.

"When you've got 15,000 total jobs coming into an area in a recession, that's a real big change," Wamp said. "We are going to have to grow ourselves out of this problem, because we cannot tax ourselves out."

Others seeking the Republican nomination for governor are: Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam, Shelby County District Attorney General Bill Gibbons, and Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, of Blountville.