• Home
  • Video
  • About Mike
  • Newsletter
  • Get Involved
  • Donate
  • Contact Me
  • Links
  • District Map

Dear Friends,

"Thank you, thank you, thank you." I can't say it often enough or loud enough.

Our great victory on November 4th was most certainly a collective effort. The razor-thin margin in this race for control of the Tennessee Senate was a mere 249 votes out of nearly 60,000 cast. If you think about it, there are literally dozens and dozens of folks to whom I owe a debt of gratitude for individually making a 249 vote difference in this election.

For many years folks in these hills have blessed me and my family with plenty of friendship, business and support. Your support by way of advise, encouragement, labor, financial contribution, prayers, and well wishes sustained my staff and me throughout the effort - on both good days and bad.

I was taught it's important to listen. Dad always said, "God gave you two ears but only one mouth for a reason!" So we put thousands of miles on my truck listening to and visiting with you, and friends like you, in Claiborne, Grainger, Hancock, Hawkins, Jefferson, and Union counties. If we didn't personally meet and visit along the way, I invite you to call on me now whether you voted for me or not. From the near one-hundred temperatures of late July to the early snows of mid-October and on to Election Day, we continued to focus on listening to you by knocking on doors in neighborhoods like yours. In all, I personally knocked on over 6000 doors in order to listen to you.

Here's what I heard over and over again: deliver a message of common-sense conservatism - the message of mountain republicans - to Nashville. I heard a lot of folks say they are sick and tired -sick and tired of crooked senators, sick and tired of elected officials forgetting their roots, sick and tired of politicians staying in office too long, sick and tired of politicians saying one thing but voting another way, sick and tired of partisan bickering, and sick and tired of decisions that seem to challenge good old common sense.

My plan is simple: concentrate on doing a few things well  - things that really matter in making our own communities good places to call home, good places to work, and good places to raise our children.

During the American Revolution, Thomas Paine authored a pamphlet we all know as "Common Sense". But he authored other works. I'm fond of "The Crisis" which Gen. George Washington read aloud to his troops the night before he crossed the Delaware River and took the fight to the Brits. Paine's words were as follows: "What we obtain too cheap, we esteem to lightly: it is dearness only that gives everything its value." I deeply value this job and the trust you have placed in me.

As you may know, I'm no stranger to hard work. And, if you don't yet know, I promise that you'll see. And, it's ok to let me know how I'm doing. A little constructive criticism won't hurt my feelings.

Thank you for taking your time to visit this site. And, please know that I deeply appreciate all that you've done so far. 

                                Sincerely,
   

 

An Introduction by Congressman Bill Jenkins    

 

My Fellow East Tennesseans:

 

Mike Faulk is the 8th generation of his mother’s family that has called Hawkins County home. Mike is what some folks call a “Mountain Republican.”

The Scots-Irish blood that flows through his veins, like that of Ronald Reagan whose mother was Scots-Irish, in large measure defines who he is. Mike says he is an old fashioned, leave-me-alone, common-sense conservative and a self-sufficient, rugged individualist who believes in small-government and values individual liberty most highly.

His people are farmers and factory workers. Mike, too, has spent his share of time in hay fields, tobacco barns, and on factory floors.

He’s proof that the American dream is alive and well in Tennessee. Mike Faulk is the first of his family to graduate from college. His mother, Rose, will tell you he had to work his way through college, graduate school, and law school. But Faulk says there are plenty of folks who deserve the credit for helping him along his way.

I first met Mike during a political campaign in 1970 while he was still in high school and working at WMCH Radio in Church Hill. We became reacquainted in 1982 when he managed the Tennessee Supreme Court campaign for my friend, Tom Hull, who is now a retired Federal Judge from Greeneville.

At the end of that campaign, Mike decided to move his family home – to Church Hill to be a country lawyer. When you sit down at his office conference table you'll see a quote from another pretty fair country lawyer, Abraham Lincoln, which has guided Mike Faulk in his law practice in East Tennessee. It reads: "Discourage litigation. Persuade your neighbors to compromise whenever you can . . . As a peacemaker the lawyer has a superior opportunity of being a good man. There will still be business enough."

His legal career has been exceptional. I know first hand. I was Circuit Court Judge in Hawkins County. A young lawyer named Mike Faulk became Hawkins County's first certified Civil Trial Specialist.

From t-ball coach to Juvenile Court Referee, to County Commissioner, to Vice-Chairman of the Hawkins County Republican Party and as the Vice-Chairman of the Tennessee Human Rights Commission, Mike Faulk has shown the heart of a servant.

I strongly recommend you take the time to get to know Mike by reading his story below. And get to know him personally. You'll find him easy to talk to, down to earth, and as hard working as they come.

 

                                                                 Your friend,

                                                            

                                                                 Bill Jenkins

 

 

ABOUT MIKE

Born in Kingsport on September 10, 1953, Mike Faulk was the first of three children born to Glade Faulk and Rosella Dykes Faulk. Mike had two half-brothers, too. Talk to Mike Faulk for more than two minutes and you’ll hear about his pride and joy – his two exceptional children, Katy and Andy.

In his early years Mike delivered newspapers, bagged groceries, butchered meat, stocked shelves, worked tobacco and hay fields and disc jockeyed at local radio station WMCH all while he was in high school. His classmates, as a harbinger of things to come, elected Mike Faulk as Mr. Church Hill High School.

Mike says attending the University of Tennessee at Martin (UTM) was a godsend. Any place bigger and he may never have graduated. With the Mississippi River, Kentucky Lake and Reelfoot Lake all nearby, there were plenty of opportunities for a college boy like Mike to hunt and fish. Learned from his dad, he’s always had a great love for the outdoors.

Faulk graduated from UTM in 1975 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration as an economics major.

Before graduating from college the political bug bit him. In the spring of 1974 Faulk was popularly elected as the President of the UT Martin student body. In the fall of that year another young politician, Lamar Alexander, from Maryville, recruited Mike and Mike’s student government vice-president and best friend, Art Swann, also from Maryville, to jointly head Lamar's campus campaign for Governor.

From UT Martin it was off to Memphis for a Masters Degree in Public Administration and a law degree. While in Memphis, Faulk taught economics and business law at Draughons Junior College, worked as a Management Analyst in the Shelby County, Tennessee Office of Budget and Management, and served Chancellor Robert Hoffmann as his courtroom clerk.

Alexander recognized the talent he saw in Faulk back in 1974 and asked Mike to run his 1978 campaign for Governor in House District 91 in Memphis while Mike was still in law school. Graduating in 1979 from law school, Memphis State University gave the Kirby Bowling Award to its most outstanding labor law student – Mike Faulk.

After two years of practice as a labor lawyer and starting a family in Memphis, Faulk accepted the call of the Tennessee Republican Party to serve as the statewide campaign manager for the three GOP candidates for the Tennessee Supreme Court in 1982 that included east Tennessee’s own Tom Hull who later became a federal judge in Greeneville.

Apparently Congressman Bill Jenkins isn't the only one who thinks Faulk is an exceptional lawyer. He is one of only a handful of northeast Tennessee attorneys known as a civil trial specialist certified by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. Practicing as a solo attorney since August 1996, Faulk maintains a peer review rating of AV - indicating very high to pre-eminent legal ability as established by confidential opinions from members of the Bar.

Mike Faulk was first elected to Who’s Who in American Law in 1987-1988. In 1993 he was chosen as one of America’s Leading Lawyers and was listed as one of the Outstanding Lawyers of America in both 2002 & 2003. Just recently Law & Politics named Faulk as one of the 2007 Super Lawyers of the Mid-South.

Tennessee Governor Lamar Alexander appointed Faulk to the Tennessee Human Rights Commission in 1985 where he served a six-year term. From 1989 to 1991, Faulk was the Vice-Chairman of the State Commission. The Juvenile Court Judge for Hawkins County, Tennessee, the Honorable G. Reese Gibson, appointed Faulk to serve as Juvenile Court Referee in 1986. Mike conducted Court in that post until 1989. 

He is a past-President of the Hawkins County, Tennessee Bar Association and served a term on the Board of Directors of Legal Services of Upper East Tennessee, Inc.

Faulk is admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States of America in Washington, DC, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals headquartered in Cincinnati, and the United States District Courts in Tennessee. He is licensed to practice in all courts of the State of Tennessee. Mike served the Town of Mt. Carmel and the City of Church Hill as their city attorney for many years.

As the years passed, Mike Faulk's practice evolved. He has been called the state's leading authority on alcohol-related injuries. In fact he penned the cover story for the May 2007 Tennessee Bar Journal, "One Too Many." He writes extensively on the subject and actively promotes the prevention of drunk-driving by freely giving of his time to teach classes for the Town of Mt. Carmel's alcohol server training program, offering seminars to businesses on the same subject, and providing public service announcements to local cable television.

You know, a lot of folks don't care for lawyers. We all know lawyers whose behavior makes us feel that way. Many times when a lawyer offers himself for public office his opponents try to say the lawyer's personal views are the same as his client's views. Fred Thompson went through some of that during his presidential run.  But Mike Faulk has made his reputation by prosecuting drunk drivers in civil court. It's called dram shop law.

By no means does being an attorney define Mike's life in East Tennessee.

Mike is an outdoorsman and conservationist. For over a decade he served as the Chairman of the Holston River Chapter of Ducks Unlimited raising thousands of dollars for wildlife conservation. He is an active member of the Holston Valley Sportsman's Club and a long-time NRA member who exercises his Second Amendment right on a regular basis. And, Mike Faulk has been a Cherokee Lake clean-up volunteer in both Hawkins and Grainger Counties. He enjoys whitewater rafting and snow skiing. He is an avid hunter and fisherman. His love for our great outdoors is often seen in the wildlife articles he writes for hunting and fishing publications that you may read at his sportsman's blog, Strum Island Journal

Kids love Mike and Mike loves kids. A t-ball and little girls softball coach, Mike taught 2nd graders Sunday School for five years at his home church, Oak Grove Baptist, in Mt. Carmel. He routinely takes time during lunch hours to read to kids in the local libraries' summer reading programs. Besides being Hawkins County's Juvenile Court referee for years and Volunteer High School's Mock Trial Team coach, Mike was the founder of a highly successful program in Hawkins & Hancock Counties to fight childhood obesity called "Get a Hit: Stay Fit."

Faulk served a term on the Hawkins County Commission during which the county began a new building program resulting in a new elementary school and the renovation of other county schools. A new, safer highway, Bradley Creek Road, to a regional landfill was built and the Commission increased appropriations for volunteer first responders - all without voting for a tax increase. Since his time on the County Commission, Faulk has continued his commitment to the volunteer firefighters of Hawkins County by donating computers and raising funds to provide insurance coverage for the brave men and women who risk their lives daily to protect life and property.

Mike Faulk's approach to life came from advice from his dad: "There'll always be someone smarter. Just make sure they don't out work you." And so it has been for 54 years. Mike Faulk won't be outworked. And now he's ready to work for you!

 

 

From the Desk of State Senator Mike Faulk

 

On the Hill this Week

 

Governor Presents His Last Budget

           (NASHVILLE, TN),  February 4, 2010  The focus on Capitol Hill this week turned to the budget as Governor Phil Bredesen unveiled his proposal to fund state government for the 2010-2011 fiscal year that begins July 1.  The governor said the $28.42 billion plan was the most difficult budget he has faced as he laid out his recommendations to cut permanent funding for 1,363 filled jobs and eliminate 456 vacant positions.  In addition, the governor is asking the legislature to approve $71.7 million in tax and fee increases.

“I’m pretty sure there’s no appetite in the General Assembly for tax and fee increases,” Sen. Mike Faulk said. “So I anticipate additional cuts beyond those proposed by the Governor.”

 

            Tennessee’s revenue collections have continued to underperform at unprecedented levels as the national economy has declined.  December tax collections represent the 19th consecutive month of negative sales tax growth. 

 

            Bredesen’s proposed budget would make $394.2 million in recurring reductions in state dollars for a wide variety of programs and services, including $200.7 million in the state’s TennCare program, $64.3 million in higher education, $15.9 million in Children’s Services and $20 million in non-BEP K-12 funds.  The governor’s proposal would stave off further reductions for two more years for about 40 programs by asking the General Assembly to tap into $202 million from the state’s Rainy Day Fund and TennCare reserves to keep them afloat.  Some of the programs slated to be continued for two years are the Coordinated School Health Program, Exemplary Educators programs, Family Resource Centers, Minority Health Initiative, HIV rapid testing, Behavioral Health Safety Nets and Family Support Services, to name a few.

 

            The Rainy Day Fund is the state’s savings account to be used in cases of severe economic hardship.  The fund will be essential if the economy worsens.   The TennCare Reserve Fund was put into place to make sure the state had money to address the fluctuations in costs in the program, which were particularly prevalent in the early years.  The reduction will leave about $550-$600 million in the two reserves combined.

 

            The governor’s tax proposals include a $21.3 million proposed sales tax on cable and satellite television services; $2 million to tax cable boxes, a $6.5 million increase in the rate charge on interstate and international business telecom service; $10 million to clarify ‘sale for resale’ provisions, and $10 million to repeal the dividend paid deduction on real estate investment trusts (REITs).

 

            In addition, the governor proposed that $21.9 million would be raised from a $2 per year increase for the cost of a Tennessee driver’s license.  The measure, however, would extend the driver’s license renewal time from 5 to 8 years.  The governor said the driver’s license fee has not been increased since 1988.  The fee increase would allow the Department of Safety to maintain 85 trooper positions in 13 rural counties that had been slated for reduction and 56 driver’s license positions. In addition, the Department of Safety would use the proceeds to purchase new radio equipment to digitally enhance emergency communications.

 

            Improvements to the budget include $47 million in growth money for the state’s Basic Education Program; $82 million to shore up the Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System; $164.7 million to provide a one-time 3 percent bonus to state employees and teachers – many of whom have had no raise since 2007; $23.5 million for an economic development package; $10.9 million to restore land and soil conservation funds; $2.3 million in perinatal grants; and, $7.6 million to keep prisoners in local jails.

 

            The budget is crafted from the high end of the revenue figures adopted by the Funding Board at the 1.9 percent growth rate.  Under the proposal, 24 percent of the budget will go to TennCare, 19 percent to Pre-K-12 education, 13 percent to higher education, 6 percent to transportation, with the remaining 38 percent going to other state government needs.  Approximately $12.44 billion of the budget is derived from state funds, with $11.2 coming from taxpayer dollars being returned to the state from the federal government.  The remainder, which totals $4.8 billion, comes from departmental revenues and fees. 

 

            Unlike Congress, the Tennessee General Assembly is constitutionally bound to balance the budget.   The legislature will closely examine the budget over the next two months as the various agencies and departments are called before Senate committees to explain the details further.  The weakened economy means lawmakers must be vigilant to make sure that taxpayer dollars are spent in the most efficient and effective manner.

    

Legislation approved by full Senate to boost sale of “prime milk” by Tennessee dairy farmers

 

            The full Senate has approved a bill to help Tennessee’s dairy farmers by establishing a category of milk to be called "Tennessee Prime Milk.”  The voluntary milk labeling category is designed to promote Tennessee's new official state drink: milk!

 

            The bill, Senate Bill 1899, sponsored by State Senator Mike Faulk aims to help Tennessee's dairy farmers which have declined from 10,000 active farms at the height of the business to 500 today.  The measure allows marketing and sale of a "home grown" milk product with solid non-fat content that will likely be priced below organic milk categories.  “By creating this niche category of Tennessee Prime milk, we hope to provide a way to jump start the recovery of Tennessee’s dairy industry,” said Mike Faulk, State Senator from Hawkins County.

 

            The voluntary program calls for the milk to be certified by the state’s Department of Agriculture for sale at retail stores as “Tennessee Prime Milk” if it meets higher standards.  Bottling plants can label their milk as "Tennessee Prime Milk", as long as 80% of the milk is produced in Tennessee.  Reduced fat Tennessee prime milk sold at retail must contain at least 10 percent milk solids not fat (SNF); non-fat or skim Tennessee prime milk must contain at least 9 percent SNF; and whole Tennessee prime milk must contain at least 8.5 percent SNF.

 

Only 50 percent of milk consumed in the state is from Tennessee dairies.  The bill, which has received national attention now goes to the House of Representatives for approval of an amendment before going to the governor for his signature.

 

Senate approves legislation to help protect children from Internet predators

     Legislation was approved by the State Senate this week to allow law enforcement to act more quickly to protect children from sexual predators. The bill, Senate Bill 1529, authorizes district attorneys general or assistant district attorneys general to issue a subpoena for the Internet Protocol (IP) address of a suspected child sexual predator.  The bill mirrors federal law on the matter. 

 

     An IP address can be used to identify the region or country from which a computer is connecting to the Internet. It can also show the user's general physical location.

 

     Last Spring, actor and child protection activist David Keith, who is the spokesman for the National Association to Protect Children, testified before legislative committees in favor of the bill.  He told lawmakers that since 2005 more than 750,000 pedophiles have been identified by computer in the United States, with only two percent of those being investigated.  He said hundreds of thousands of children are being raped, tortured, filmed and traced on the Internet, and law enforcement agencies don't have the resources to investigate the crime. 

 

     The legislation, which has already been approved by the House of Representatives, now goes to the governor for his signature. 

 

Higher Education working collaboratively to improve teacher quality

     Tennessee’s colleges and universities are working collaboratively to improve teacher quality according to officials of the state’s Teaching Quality Initiative who testified before the Education Committee this week.  Co-chairs Dr. Hal Knight, Dean of the College of Education at East Tennessee State University, and Dr. Bob Rider, Dean of the College of Education at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, told lawmakers the group is working on both the teacher quality and teacher supply issues facing Tennessee.

 

     The collaboration was formed to bring a shared vision among Tennessee higher education institutions to assure that teachers graduating from those institutions demonstrate higher levels of knowledge, competence and personal characteristics to bring student learning to new heights.  It will also ensure programs in the state’s colleges and universities are accountable for their graduates. 

 

     Dr. Knight thanked the Education panel for passing legislation last month to allow colleges and universities to receive feedback on how teachers who graduate from their colleges are performing.  The legislation gives teacher training programs access to non-identifying TVAAS data on their graduates to help identify the strengths and weaknesses of their programs.

 

     One of the group’s goals is to actively recruit science and mathematics majors to teach in Tennessee schools.  To accomplish this there has been a collaborative effort between the colleges of sciences and education.  This effort will help the state’s plan to enhance its Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) program.  The state is partnering with Battelle, which manages the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, to provide an extensive network of STEM programs across the state.  This includes building new science labs, adding new technology, and creating new curricula to inspire and create new interest in science and math.

 

     The group is also focusing on teacher mentoring programs to help provide the support system needed to establish those who are new to the profession.  The premise is that new teachers need a robust program of mentoring that begins early in their preparation programs and continues through their early years in the profession.  Induction and mentoring for beginning teachers have been shown to have multiple benefits for both teachers and the systems in which they work.

 

Issues in Brief

     Soldiers honored – Tennessee’s soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan were honored this week by Governor Phil Bredesen and the General Assembly.  In the State of the State Address, Bredesen recognized several soldiers who were deployed, some who have served multiple missions.  Lawmakers stood in silence to recognize the 11 Tennesseans who lost their lives in the War on Terror over the past year and the 114 who have made the ultimate sacrifice since 2001.

 

     Encouraging children to engage in outdoor physical activities -- The Senate passed Senate Joint Resolution 705 this week to encourage Tennessee children to engage in physical activities outdoors.  The bill comes from the “Every Child Outdoors-Tennessee” coalition of more than 100 supporting organizations.  Studies document that “children who engage in outdoor physical activities are healthier, perform better in school, have better social skills and self-image and lead more fulfilled lives.”  They also show the average child spends 6.5 hours per day in front of the television, on the computer or texting. “I feel strongly our child obesity problem could be addressed in part by the encouragement of outdoor activity,” said State Senator Mike Faulk who is the founder of a child obesity initiative in northeast Tennessee called “Get A Hit: Stay Fit”.

 

     Unemployment Fund -- Tennessee Finance Commissioner Dave Goetz told the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday that the state would have to borrow money by the end of the month to keep the fund solvent.  He also predicted a deficit could occur next year.  The money borrowed is interest-free until December, at which time the federal government will begin to charge if the funds are not paid back. 

 

    Eliminating government duplication -- The Senate Education Committee has approved a bill to eliminate the General Assembly’s Education Oversight Committee, a duplication of the efforts of the House and Senate Education Committees.  Passage of the bill, Senate Bill 2408, would save the state $25,200 in travel and per diem costs.  The Committee was created to oversee implementation of the Master Teacher Program which has since been phased out.

 

     Employer options for payment of wages -- Tennessee employers would have the right to issue payment of wages through either an electronic automated fund transfer or a prepaid debit card under legislation approved by the Senate Commerce Committee this week.  The bill, which is permissive, aims to help employers lower expenses by giving them the right to use these payment methods as an alternative.  The move is expected to save employers, who choose to utilize fund transfer, an estimated 75 percent from the costs of issuing payment by check.  Under the bill, Senate Bill 2633, employees would not be charged for the debit card withdrawal if they choose to access an in-network ATM machine to receive the payment. 

Tennessee is the Volunteer State.

Without Volunteers we can't win and now is the time that volunteers are crutial. Please share a little about yourself by using the form below. Many skills are needed. Let us know when you're ready, willing and able to start.

There will be many things to do. Do you know a good sign location? Tell us. Do you want to be a surrogate speaker? Mike can't be in two places at the same time. Will you host a small get together of family and friends to meet Mike? Will you put a sticker on your car, a sign in your yard?

Please fill out the Volunteer Information Form below:

Name:
Address:
City:
State:
Zip:
Phone:
Email:
*Occupation:
*Employer:
Display a Yard Sign:
Display a Bumper Sticker:
Work Events:
Raise Funds:
Write Letters to Newspaper Editors:
Call Talk Radio:
Send Newsletter:
Donate:
*required by campaign finance law
Thanks for stopping by. Donations cannot be accepted while in session.
The Battle of Kings Mountain - October 7, 1780
1/9/2010 1:33:36 PM

 

As the Revolutionary War raged east of the mountains, a band of about 900 mountain men assembled in 1780 at Sycamore Shoals in what is now Carter County, Tennessee. Their plan was to confront British Col. Ferguson who had promised to lay waste to the people and crops found over the mountains here in east Tennessee. These brave men became known in history as the Over Mountain Men who won the Battle of Kings Mountain, South Carolina.

According to Teddy Roosevelt, one of my political heroes, the decisive and swift defeat of Ferguson by the rag-tag over-the-mountain men was the turning point in the Revolutionary War. Up to that point the colonists were losing the war.

One of my ancestors, Daniel Jones, was one of those men. You see, my family has called Hawkins County home for eight generations now.

 In the battle,

Mike Faulk


PAID FOR BY FAULK FOR SENATE COMMITTEE
P. O. Box 2080 Church Hill, Tennessee 37642
Phone: 423-357-8088
Copyright © 2007
contact@faulkforsenate.com