Corker hears from Sevier

casey@theheraldnewspapers.com “The reason that I’m here today is that I want to hear more from you because it makes me a better candidate,” said Bob Corker, republican candidate to represent Tennessee in the United States Senate. “Being a candidate like this is like getting a PhD in life,” Corker said before a gathering of law enforcement and other emergency officials at the Sheriff’s Department on Monday. Corker visited both the Blount and Sevier county sheriff’s departments to hear their priorities in helping to keep local citizens safe. “Because of our knowledge of what you guys do, the professionals, we’ve really gotten behind our law enforcement people, and supported them, and violent crime went down 51 percent during that four-year period,” Corker said, outlining his efforts as Mayor of Chattanooga. “If I were to be the next U.S. Senator, summarize the top priorities, the things you would like to see a United States Senator of Tennessee focus on as it relates to what you all do daily,” asked Corker. Grants to aid in updating communications technology was the first mentioned by the group. “What I would like to see is the reimplementation of the COPS grants so we can get more police officers out on the street—I think that’s of vital importance,” said Chief Deputy Ron Seals. COPS is a federal program that provides grants to tribal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to hire and train community policing professionals, acquire and deploy cutting-edge crime-fighting technologies, and develop and test innovative policing strategies. “There are four principals that I’m laying out all across the state—four conservative principals that I want everyone to know me by,” said Corker. Those principals include utilizing the power of economic growth to create good paying jobs and raise the standard of living, keeping government small, preserving the traditions of faith and family, and keeping the citizenry safe. “At the end of the day, our citizens like all those other things, but they want us to make sure they’re safe and that’s obviously what you all do,” said Corker. “It also means doing those things we can to make sure that you guys have the things you need to be successful.” “When I ran for Mayor of Chattanooga—my term ended about a year ago—I told our citizens exactly what I was going to do, and I did that. They knew what they could anticipate from me and I actually followed through on all of those things. I loved being mayor, but I did everything I said I would do,” Corker said. Some examples Corker offered of his accomplishments to this end include a streamlining of city government and presiding over the lowest property tax rates since the 1950s.