NASHVILLE, Tenn. (OSBORNE) -- WMOT is spending the summer talking with the 2018 candidates for statewide office. Today we speak with Republican Congressional Rep. Diane Black, now running for Governor.
On the subject of health care, Black notes that Tennessee’s opioid crisis is personal. She says her husband has lost two siblings to overdoses. Black says if elected governor she’ll stress more drug prosecutions and an education campaign to educate patients to the dangers pain killer pose.
On education, candidate Black praises Gov. Bill Haslam for his initiative to get more Tennesseans a college degrees, but says she’d like to see greater emphasis placed on vocational training.
“And for the 25 percent of the students that are not necessarily either willing to go to college or even need to go to college, we have to make sure that they are being respected and that they’re getting a skill.”
Black chides the Nashville and Memphis boards of education for filing lawsuits against the state in an effort to force more funding for schools. But she also says Tennessee’s school funding formula probably does need to be updated.
When asked about enhancing safety for Tennessee schools, Black says we need to do more for the mentally ill if we want our children to be safe at school.
“As a nurse I was always taught to go back and look at the root causes and that is the root cause of the violence we’re seeing."
You can learn more about Diane Black's campaign for governorhere.
See the links below for stories about the conversations we've held with other candidates for statewide office.
