June 21, 2018
By: Dwayne Page
Republican gubernatorial hopeful Randy Boyd brought his 95-county bus tour to Smithville Thursday afternoon.
Boyd is seeking the Republican nomination for governor in the Aug. 2 GOP Primary.
He stressed his experience as a businessman as a primary qualification for becoming governor and noted that he is “not a career politician.”
As for the issues, Boyd said the people of Tennessee have several concerns.
“They want to know about what we are going to do for education; what we are going to do for our young people to get the training they need to get the jobs in the future and today; and they also want to make sure we are focusing on bringing jobs to their communities. Our economy is doing great in Tennessee but one of the things I worry about is that it is not doing great for everyone. There are certain parts of our state that are doing extremely well and others that feel like they are being left behind. As Governor, I want to represent those that are being left behind. Finally, we have questions about the opioid crisis. Everywhere we go it is decimating communities. People want us to take strong action,” said Boyd.
Over the course of the campaign, Boyd has traveled to all 95 counties, run 537.3 miles across the state from Bristol to Memphis, generated significant grassroots support, with endorsements from nearly 200 elected officials, and leads all other campaigns in fundraising. Boyd’s nine-week, all 95-county bus tour is the only one of its kind in recent gubernatorial campaign history.
“Just as we have during the campaign, we want to send a clear signal that as Governor, we will be working for all 95 counties to make sure no one is left behind,” said Boyd. “This 95-county bus tour is just one more way to show Tennessee voters that we will never stop working on their behalf to make Tennessee THE State of Opportunity for everyone.”
A successful entrepreneur, business, and philanthropic leader, Boyd is the founder and chairman of Radio Systems Corporation, which is headquartered in Knoxville. First launched out of the back of Boyd’s van, the company today produces more than 4,600 pet products under brand names such as Invisible Fence, PetSafe, and SportDOG, with more than 700 employees and annual revenues of nearly $500 million.
Boyd previously served in Governor Bill Haslam’s cabinet as the state Commissioner of Economic and Community Development, and earlier while serving as the Governor’s Special Advisor on Higher Education was the architect of the state’s Drive to 55 workforce development initiative, and the tnAchieves and Tennessee Promise scholarship programs to help more young people go to technical orcommunity college tuition-free.