Ron Ramsey (born November 20, 1955) is a Tennessee politician and a member of the Tennessee Senate representing the 2nd district, which encompasses Johnson County and Sullivan County.
He was elected to the 98th and 99th General Assembly as a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives, and he was first elected as a member of the Tennessee Senate to the 100th General Assembly. During his time as a state representative, he represented the 1st district, composed of Sullivan County. Ron Ramsey is the current leader of the Senate Republican Caucaus. He is a member of the Environment and Conservation and Tourism Committee, the Finance, Ways and Means Committee, the State and Local Government Committee, and the Calendar Committee.
Ramsey was defeated in his 2005 bid to be elected as Lieutenant Governor of Tennessee and Senate Speaker in large part by moderate republicans in the Senate of the 104th General Assembly.[1]Ramsey also sparked statewide controversy in 2005 after he was allegedly video-taped in his legislative Cadillac speeding through Knoxville on I-40East at 92 m.p.h. by Keith Jones, a Republican who sells speed detecting radar equipment to law enforcement agencies.[2]
During the 2004 election cycle, Ramsey was one of a few very prominent Tennessee General Assembly leadership members who accepted campaign contributions from both the Jack Daniels' PAC and the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of Tennessee PAC[3][4]
Ramsey organized an August 1999 Nashville meeting with then TennCare Director Brian Lapps and also attended by State Reps. Steve Godsey, David Davis, and Jason Mumpower at the bequest of then King Pharmaceuticals lobbyist Jim Holcomb that was sucessful in placing the Monarch Pharmaceuticals --- a King Pharmaceuticals subsidary --- branded drug Altace to the TennCare Preferred Drug List. Ramsey was later quoted stating about bringing about the addition of Altace is that, I'm proud of setting up that meeting. What it did was provide good jobs and good benefits for a company in my district.[5] Lapps resigned as TennCare Director underdate of September 27, 1999.[6]
Ron Ramsey graduated from Sullivan Central High School in 1973, and in 1978 he obtained a B.S. in Industrial Technology from East Tennessee State University. He is a member of the advisory board of the Farm Credit Association, a former president of the Blountville Business Association, and a former president and current member of the Bristol TN-VA Association of Realtors. He currently workers as a real estate broker and an auctioneer.
References
- ^ "Wilder, Naifeh keep jobs". Skip Cauthorn. Nashville City Paper. January 12, 2005
- ^ http://www.wate.com/Global/story.asp?S=3693161
- ^ The Institute on Money in State Politics Candidate Database (2004) - Ron Ramsey
- ^ "Drink at Naifeh fete courtesy of Jack Daniel's: Lawmakers, lobbyists mingle at Coon Supper." Tennessean. Trent Seibert. April 27, 2006.
- ^ "Campaign gift spat touches the governor." Tennessean. Bonna de la Cruz. October 2, 2004.
- ^ " TennCare chief Lapps resigns." Tennessean. Bonna M. de la Cruz. September 28, 1999.
External links
- Ron Ramsey's profile at the Tennessee General Assembly
- Ron Ramsey's archived profile as a state representative
- "Policy Lock-Down: Prison Interests Court Political Players" (.pdf). The Institute on Money in State Politics
 | This Tennessee politician–related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |