Randy McNally helped heal Tennessee government; his service still matters today | Opinion

Randy McNally had the good fortune to rise in Tennessee politics in the days of bipartisan state governance, and he entered the Senate in 1987, after eight years in the House of Representatives, an honest man intent on putting an end to corruption involving cash for bingo charity licenses and votes on legislation.

With help from the FBI, he succeeded in that mission.  It speaks well of the Senate leadership of that day that Sen. McNally’s effort did not seem to hurt his career.  Though there may have been difficult days as a consequence, in time he rose to vice chair of the Senate Finance, Ways and Means Committee, serving there many years under a Democratic chairman and Democratic speaker, who was elected at times by Republican senators.

Eventually, McNally became chairman of the education committee while in the legislative minority and then finance committee chairman when Republicans took the majority.

Those were the days when Speaker John Wilder, finance chairman Douglas Henry, and McNally, along with leapfrogging majority and minority leaders, Jim Kyle and Mark Norris, and governors Alexander, McWherter, Sundquist, Bredesen, and Haslam would ensure that responsible fiscal policy prevailed and that bipartisanship ruled.

McWherter could say to Alexander, yes, I’ll help you enact education reform, and you can help me build some roads, and they did both, with supporting, bipartisan tax increases.

Haslam could sign his first-year budget bill with unanimous votes of both chambers of the Tennessee legislature, the only time this has happened in modern history (2011 Public Chapter 473). Haslam could do that because he reached out to the Democratic senators in the spring of 2011 with fixes to TennCare and other health and social services issues that the Democrats wanted.  And McNally was there on the finance committee in support of the governor’s helping hand.

Keel Hunt:Randy McNally is a decent man who now faces the wrath of Republican extremists | Column

Hear more Tennessee Voices: Get the weekly opinion newsletter for insightful and thought provoking columns.

Moderation helps legislative policymaking

Now Speaker McNally is the lone link in the Senate to the bipartisan governance of Alexander’s Republican administration and the majority-Democratic legislature.

If McNally has a will to carry on, considering his health and recent controversy, the state Senate could learn and benefit from his continued service.  He can effect moderation in legislative policymaking, if he remembers his history and helps the Senate strike a different direction in the remaining month or two of the Senate session.

The Senate could begin by remembering its own historical moderating role and stopping the attack on the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County through disgraceful, punitive legislation taking over the airport and sports authorities, disrupting the successful convention center and tourism promotion programs, and perhaps eliminating Metro Nashville-Davidson Co. runoff elections for mayor, along with the enacted, unconstitutional Metro council downsizing.

Sign up for Latino Tennessee Voices newsletter:Read compelling stories for and with the Latino community in Tennessee. 

Sign up for Black Tennessee Voices newsletter:Read compelling columns by Black writers from across Tennessee. 

McNally is a man of character

In my experience — and I’ve had a lot with him — McNally has always been honest. He is a rare politician who admits a mistake, apologizes, and says he intends to learn better.

I have observed most of his House and all of his Senate career. I have sat in front of his desk, reaching across his Bible to deliver official papers for discussion.

I have sat in public and private state finance leadership meetings with him, at times asking for his help.  He is good for his word.

We should remember that he helped heal a sick government and has governed for decades with good will.

If he retains support, there is a need for him to help again, and resolving the state and local government relations problem would be a good place to begin.

Bill Bradley, who lives in Nashville, formerly worked for the State of Tennessee for 39 years, including 14 years as director, Division of Budget, Department of Finance and Administration.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Randy McNally helped heal Tennessee; his service still matters today