GOP picks nominees for Constitutional offices

Former state legislator, former deputy governor and county commissioner hope to fill key state offices

Email | Print By Ken Whitehouse

Republican legislators met today to decide who their nominees would be later in the week for the offices of State Treasurer, Secretary of State, and State Comptroller. The process, which at times has been contentious within the GOP caucus, ended with only one ballot needed to fill each slot.

To win the vote, prospective nominees needed to get 35 votes of the 69 members of the Republican caucus.

David Lillard, a Shelby County Commissioner, won the nomination for State Treasurer. Tre Hargett, a former House Republican Leader and current director of the Tennessee Regulatory Authority, won the nomination for Secretary of State. And former deputy governor Justin Wilson, unopposed for State Comptroller, won the support of the caucus.

Lillard beat out four other rivals, most notably Murfreesboro businessman Ira Brody. The subject of intense scrutiny by both the Republican caucus and the media, Brody recently stepped down from his position as a partner of the investment firm, InsCap Management, in order to show he was ready for the job. This past election cycle he chaired the state Republican Party's coordinated campaign.

A member of the Shelby County Commission, Lillard is a Memphis native and a member of the law firm of Burch Porter & Johnson. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Memphis and is a graduate of the University of Memphis School of Law. He also received a Master of Laws in Taxation from the University of Florida.

He served as an Election Commissioner on the Shelby County Election Commission from April 1993 to January 2002, including service as the Secretary of the Election Commission. He also served as a public member of the Tennessee State Board of Accountancy from 1995 to 1998.

For the office of Secretary of State, Hargett bested seven other rivals including former State Sen. Jim Bryson. Bryson was the GOP nominee for governor in 2006, losing to incumbent Gov. Phil Bredesen.

Hargett currently serves as chairman of the Tennessee Regulatory Authority, a position he will have to resign from if elected by the entire legislature later this week.