Tre Hargett

Tre Hargett (born February 7, 1969) is an American Republican Party politician who is serving as the Secretary of State of Tennessee.

Tre Hargett
Secretary of State of Tennessee
Incumbent
Assumed office January 15, 2009
Governor	Phil Bredesen Bill Haslam Bill Lee
Preceded by	Riley Darnell
Chair of the Tennessee Regulatory Authority
In office February 2008 – January 2009
Governor	Phil Bredesen
Preceded by	Pat Miller
Succeeded by	Kenneth Hill
Member of the Tennessee House of Representatives from the 97th district
In office 1996–2006
Preceded by	Tim Joyce
Succeeded by	Jim Coley
Personal details
Born	February 7, 1969 Ripley, Tennessee, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Dawn Simbeck
Children	2
Education	University of Memphis (BA, MBA)
Website	Government website

Early life and education

He is the son of Tennessee Adjutant General Gus L. Hargett Jr. and Mrs. Pat Vaughan. He is a Southern Baptist.[1]

Hargett earned a B.B.A. in accounting with honors, as well as an M.B.A. from the University of Memphis.

Career

In the private sector, Hargett worked for Rural/Metro, an emergency services provider. At the time of his appointment as TRA chairman, Hargett was serving as the corporation's Vice President for the Southern Region.[2]

Politics

Hargett served in the Tennessee House of Representatives from 1996 to 2006 representing District 97 (Bartlett and Memphis).[3] He was twice elected Republican Leader by his colleagues.

In 2007, he was nominated to the position of Tennessee Regulatory Authority (TRA) chairman, which sets the rates and service standards of privately owned telephone, natural gas, electric and water utilities.[2][4] He was confirmed by the Tennessee General Assembly and served from February 2008 through January 2009. He was succeeded by Dr. Kenneth Hill.[5]

In January 2009, the state legislature's new Republican majority voted to replace longtime Secretary of State Riley Darnell with Hargett. Hargett immediately resigned from his position as TRA chairman and took office as secretary of state on January 15, 2009.

In September 2017, Hargett said he was in favor of keeping the bust of Nathan Bedford Forrest, a Confederate general and the first grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, inside the Tennessee State Capitol.[6]

In 2019, Hargett supported legislation which would make it possible to fine voter registration groups that submitted incomplete voter registrations.[7][8] Critics charged that the legislation was intended to reduce registration of new voters.[9] Hargett rejected that the bill was intended to reduce registration of black voters.[9]

In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic in Tennessee, Hargett opposed allowing voters who fear catching or spreading the coronavirus to vote by mail in the 2020 elections. However, a state judge overruled Hargett's position, holding that Tennessee must allow vote by mail for all voters and that the restrictions on vote by mail that Hargett sought to impose were "an unreasonable burden on the fundamental right to vote guaranteed by the Tennessee Constitution."[10]

References

1. 37243-0080, Susan Starr, Tennessee General Assembly, Legislative Information Services, Rachel Jackson Building, 1st Floor, 320 Sixth Avenue North, Nashville, TN. "Tennessee House Member, 100th Assembly". www.capitol.tn.gov.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
2. "12/7/2007 - Ramsey Nominates Hargett For Tennessee Regulatory Authority - Breaking News". Chattanoogan.com. Retrieved September 4, 2010.
3. 37243-0080, Susan Starr, Tennessee General Assembly, Legislative Information Services, Rachel Jackson Building, 1st Floor, 320 Sixth Avenue North, Nashville, TN. "Tennessee House Member, 99th General Assembly". www.capitol.tn.gov.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
4. "7 Dec 2007, E2 - The Tennessean at Newspapers.com". Retrieved March 30, 2019.
5. "9 May 2009, 12 - The Jackson Sun at Newspapers.com". Retrieved March 30, 2019.
6. Gervin, Cari Wade (September 1, 2017). "Vote to remove Forrest bust fails". Nashville Post. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
7. Martínez-Beltrán, Sergio. "Voter Registration Groups Could Soon Be Fined If They Submit Incomplete Applications". www.nashvillepublicradio.org. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
8. Stevens, Matt (April 16, 2019). "Tennessee Advances Bill That Could Make It Harder to Register New Voters". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
9. "Voter registration groups could face fines for too many incomplete forms under new bill". The Tennessean. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
10. "Judge: Tennessee must allow vote by mail for all amid virus". Associated Press. Retrieved June 9, 2020 – via Citizen Tribune.

External links

• Tennessee Department of State