July 6, 2018
By: Dwayne Page
Former Nashville Congressman Bob Clement will be the keynote speaker at a Get-Out-The Vote potluck lunch hosted by the DeKalb County Democratic Party on Saturday, July 14 at the county complex in Smithville starting at 11 a.m..
The rally is in support of candidates running in the DeKalb County General Election and Tennessee State Primary. Candidates running for office will also have an opportunity to speak. Music will be provided by Jake Hoot. Please join them for food fun and music. If you have a special dish feel free to share.
Clement, the former Congressman who represented Cheatham, Dickson and Davidson Counties in Washington from 1987 to 2002, served in the National Guard from 1969 to 1971, and remained in the reserves until 2001. In 1978 he ran unsuccessfully for Governor in the Democratic Primary but later served on the TVA Board of Directors and was elected to the Tennessee Public Service Commission. He came on as president of Cumberland University in 1983. Clement lost his first bid for a Congressional seat in 1982 but was elected to the U.S House of Representatives in 1988. He ran unsuccessfully for the United States Senate in 2002 and ended his career in politics after a narrow loss to Karl Dean for the office Mayor of Nashville in 2007. His father is the late Tennessee Governor Frank Clement.
Clement co-authored a book, “Presidents, Kings and Convicts: My Journey from the Tennessee Governor’s Residence to the Halls of Congress,” which was published in October 2016. The book chronicles Clement’s years of being in Congress, serving in the military, and being President of Cumberland University.