Cites Education,

Energy As Issues;

Presents Himself

As An Underdog

By TOM YANCEY

Staff Writer

Former Knox County Clerk Mike Padgett says he is seeking the Democratic nomination for the Tennessee seat in the U.S. Senate "because we truly haven't had good representation under the current senator."

If Padgett, 59, emerges from the field and becomes the nominee, he will face Lamar Alexander, a former governor, former president of the University of Tennessee and former U.S. Secretary of Education who rose to a leadership position in his first U.S. Senate term.

Padgett, after noting Alexander's resume, notes that Tennessee "is still ranked 48th in the nation in education" in money spent and in some testing. "How can that be, with a senator with that kind of experience in education?" Padgett asks.

Padgett, who was interviewed here this week, is a Knox County native who has been elected there "14 times, seven primaries and seven general elections," one time as a school board member and six times as county clerk.

While Padgett was Knox County clerk, "We did aggressive things," he said, because in heavily GOP-leaning Knox County, "I had to do things better than the typical Republican."

Padgett left office last year when the state's supreme court overturned a state attorney general's opinion and ruled that a Knox County Commission vote enacting term limits had to be enforced.

"I was term-limited," he said, and retired from county government in January 2007.

But while in that office, Padgett said, he opened five satellite locations, in addition to the downtown office, to serve the public. "From Farragut downtown and back is 20 miles," he said. Satellite offices, often in strip malls glad to have the foot traffic, saved the public travel time, gasoline and parking fees, Padgett said.

Office hours were not typical either -- 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays.

Under more customary hours, "The working class man never got to the clerk's office," Padgett said, so he moved the offices closer to where people live and extended the hours.

The Knox County clerk's office became the first in the state to offer driver licenses, and got its own zip code in order to be able to offer passports.

The last year he was clerk, Padgett said, the office "turned in $1.3 million in revenue."
The Knox County clerk's office had 130 employees in six locations, Padgett said.

His Background

Padgett said he planned to study medicine when he graduated from Calvary College in Letcher, Ky., with a degree in biological science.

Instead, he married his wife of now 38-years. They had three children. "They all have M.B.A.'s and are all doing well," Padgett said. "That's the greatest accomplishment that I have in life."

All three managed to get through school without debt, he noted. "I hope we have the same situation with their children and grandchildren," he said, but the rising cost of education and of living makes him wonder "if they'll be able to say what I said."

After leaving the clerk's office, Padgett said he began to think about his "lifelong ambition" of running for either Congress or the U.S. Senate.

"I read a lot," he said, adding that one of his political heroes has always been Harry S. Truman, who as a local judge in Independence, Mo., ran against a well-funded Republican" for a seat in the U.S. Senate, and was elected.

"It's always been a dream of mine to serve my nation in some capacity," he said.

Education, Energy Issues

Padgett said he wants to run because he believes Alexander has had a big role in bringing about "a failed educational system" in Tennessee. "We deserve better than that in this state," he said.

Energy independence is another theme of Padgett's campaign.

"As a U.S. Senator, we have to make sure we're putting America first in everything we do," he said.

He said he would try to harness "the wind belt," from Texas, to the Dakotas, with "windmill farms, and build "solar farms" to collect energy from the sun where practical.

"We also need to go off the coast of Cuba, in American waters, and drill for oil out there," Padgett said, noting that China and Russia are already drilling off Cuba, very close to the United States.

For that matter, Padgett favors drilling for oil on the continental shelf off the west coast of Florida, off Virginia, as U.S. Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., has said he wants to do.

Padgett also wants to explore the possibility of converting sugar cane into energy, as proposed by Dr. Nat Revis, of Oak Ridge. He said Brazil now gets 80 percent of its energy from growing a special variety of sugar cane that could be grown in Florida and Louisiana.

France gets most of its electricity from nuclear power, he said, and does so safely. He pointed to the U.S. Navy's excellent safety record with nuclear power, and faulted Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, "of my own party," for avoiding discussions of nuclear power.

Padgett said he thinks the United States should "abide by the wishes" of Iraqi President Maliki and leave that country "by a timetable conducive to a safe return of our troops."

The United States has already "removed a tyrant, let the people have their own democracy," let Iraqis vote for their own leaders and have their own army controlled by the elected government, "and we've gotten nothing in return for it, including oil," Padgett said.

Padgett said he intends to campaign vigorously for the Democratic nomination in all 95 Tennessee counties, and looks forward to debating Alexander.