MEMPHIS - A group of leading elected state officials and community leaders, including many of the top law enforcement officials in Tennessee, are taking major roles in Bill Gibbons for Governor.

The state elected officials will serve as an initial group of campaign vice chairmen and key advisors. The group consists of leading Republicans and some Democrats and independents who have declared their support for Republican Gibbons in next year’s election. The area coordinators will take the lead in the campaign’s grassroots efforts across the state.

“I am honored to have the support and trust of such an outstanding group of state public officials and grassroots community leaders. They are crucial to helping carry the message of good jobs, good schools, and safe communities across our state,” said Gibbons, district attorney for Shelby County.

“This is an impressive group of leaders who have earned the trust of folks in their own communities and are very accomplished campaigners themselves,” said Gibbons’ campaign chairman David Kustoff, a former Tennessee campaign chairman and manager for President George W. Bush and for U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander.

“Like the many people in west Tennessee who knew him before this race, these leaders believe Bill Gibbons is the best qualified candidate to be our next governor. These folks will energize a grassroots organization that was already growing very well, and they will make a big difference in a strategy we believe will win the nomination.”

Newly established Gibbons state vice chairmen include:

Rep. Ron Lollar, Bartlett

Rep. Steve McManus, Cordova

Rep. Curry Todd, Collierville

District Attorney Phil Bivens, Dyersburg

District Attorney Mike Bottoms, Lawrenceburg

District Attorney Garry Brown, Trenton

District Attorney Tony Clark, Jonesborough

District Attorney Mike Dunavant, Ripley

District Attorney James Dunn, Sevierville

District Attorney Kim Helper, Franklin

District Attorney Randy Nichols, Knoxville

District Attorney Bill Whitesell, Murfreesboro

East Tennessee Coordinators

Rob Ailey, Sevierville, former President Bush campaign chairman

Jerry & Robin Estes, Athens, former district attorney for the 10th judicial district and educator, respectively

Middle Tennessee Coordinators

Jim Looney, Lawrenceburg, former Lawrence County GOP chairman

Laura Roberts of Franklin, former staff aide to U.S. Sen. Bill Frist, and campaign aide to U.S. Congressman Ed Bryant and State Sen. Jim Bryson

Joel Wallace, Clarksville, City Councilman

West Tennessee Coordinators

Bill Cloar, Dyersburg, former Dyer County chairman for Ed Bryant

John Cloar, Dyersburg, former Dyer County GOP chairman

Ryan Ellegood, Union City, former Obion County GOP chairman

Jim Rout, Memphis, former Shelby County mayor

Nancy Strawn, Jackson, former campaign chairman for President Bush, and U.S. Senator Bob Corker

“Bill Gibbons is the best prepared, best qualified candidate to lead Tennessee. His plans for jobs growth, better schools and safer communities will address our state’s top priorities. I can assure you this group is committed and will work tirelessly in our respective communities to build a winning coalition to put Bill Gibbons in the state capitol,” said Jerry Estes, former district attorney for the 10th judicial district in southeast Tennessee.

“Bill has been one of the great leaders working to make our communities safe by pushing for sentencing reform. He is respected across the state by law enforcement officials, and it’s why he has my support,” said Kim Helper, district attorney for the 21st judicial district serving Lewis, Hickman, Perry and Williamson counties.

Gibbons is the Shelby County district attorney General, serving as the top law enforcement official in the state’s largest jurisdiction. He entered the governor’s race on Jan. 4, 2009.

MEMPHIS – Bill Gibbons, Republican candidate for Tennessee governor, today announced major additions to the campaign’s finance, strategy and management team.
 
Gary Shorb, president and chief executive officer of Methodist Healthcare Corp., will serve as West Tennessee finance chairman.  Shorb serves as chairman of Memphis Tomorrow, and has served previously as chairman of the Memphis Regional Chamber of Commerce.
 
Bill Rhodes, CEO, president and chairman of AutoZone, Inc., a Memphis-based Fortune 500 company, will serve as Shelby County finance chairman.  He is the incoming chairman of Memphis Tomorrow.
 
Josh Thomas, Memphis area field representative for U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, will serve as campaign manager.
 
Dr. John Bakke, a professor emeritus of the University of Memphis, is senior consultant to the Gibbons campaign. Bakke has served as communications consultant to more than 100 political campaigns, and is recognized across Tennessee as a premier campaign consultant.
 
Layne Provine will serve as a consultant to the campaign.  Provine was a consultant to the Tennessee House GOP in 2008 and credited with playing a leading role in the effort that led to the Republican’s historic victory to gain control of the House.
 
Wendy Carter will serve as finance director.  Carter worked with U.S. Sen. Bob Corker on the Victory field staff, and has congressional campaign experience.
 
“Gary Shorb and Bill Rhodes are friends who are highly respected for their achievements in business. I’m proud to be working alongside them in this campaign,” said Gibbons, the Shelby County District Attorney General.  “I am energized by the support this campaign is receiving, and by the exceptional talent that we are bringing on board to win this race.
 
“We are not finished building our team,” Gibbons said.  “It’s still very early, and as this race moves forward we will add even more strong support across the state.”
 
“I’m excited to get this campaign moving with such a strong and talented group of professionals,” said campaign chairman David Kustoff.   “This team is running a campaign that will be well funded, highly organized and very focused.”
 
Gibbons for Governor is on the Web at www.gibbons2010.com.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The following statement is issued today by Bill Gibbons, Shelby County District Attorney General:
“I am a candidate for governor and will seek the Republican nomination in the August 2010 primary.
“As governor, I will place priority on two issues – crime and schools – that pose big challenges to our state and that we must address if we are to achieve a better future for Tennessee.
“Through safer communities and better schools, Tennessee will be positioned as a state where people want to live, raise their families, work and retire. And we will be a state where existing businesses want to remain and expand and new businesses want to locate.
“The very first sentence of the very first section of our state constitution notes that state government exists to provide for the peace and safety of the people.   As our next governor, I will take the leading in making changes to fix Tennessee’s criminal justice system because I believe we must not surrender a single street, neighborhood or community to crime.
“Tennessee has the second highest violent crime rate in the nation, and it is a statewide problem.  Over the past ten years, we have not shared in the national downward trend in violent crime.  Law enforcement throughout Tennessee is doing a good job with the tools we have, but Tennessee’s criminal justice system has deep flaws.   As district attorney in our state’s largest jurisdiction, I see those flaws up close, every day.  We must change the system.
We must do a better job of holding serious offenders accountable by keeping them off our streets and in prison where they belong.  At the same time we must address the underlying problem of drug addiction that drives so much of our crime.  We must address behavior among juveniles such as truancy that too often results in even more serious consequences. And we must make sure that our state law enforcement agencies, such as the Highway Patrol, develop and maintain a level of professionalism their employees and the citizens of Tennessee deserve.
“The other major challenge facing our next governor is our schools. In 2010, we will move to more rigorous standardized testing of our public school students. It will be a wake-up call for our state. We must make sure our young people have the skills and values necessary to compete in a global economy. We cannot simply pour more money into doing the same thing and expect significantly different results.

“My wife Julia and I are products of public schools, as are our two children. I was blessed to go to an excellent public high school in my hometown of Memphis, and my children were fortunate to go to exceptional public schools from kindergarten through high school. But I know many of our public schools today simply aren’t where they need to be in preparing our children for the future. As our next governor, I will change the status quo in our public schools and encourage innovation, instill high expectations of students, and demand and reward excellence in teaching.
“By making real progress on crime and public schools, Tennessee will be better positioned for the economic growth and employment opportunities so critical to the vibrancy of our communities.  My administration will be focused on attracting high-quality jobs in every county, and our success in doing so relies very much on safety and better schools.
“I’ve spent my professional and personal life preparing to tackle these challenges, and I’m ready to do the job. I intend to make my campaign a conversation with Tennesseans about the real issues we’re facing today.  I will be specific – about the direction I think we need to take, and the changes we will make – to ensure we do have safer communities, better schools, and more and better jobs.  I’m looking forward to having this conversation all across our state.
“That process begins today as I enter the race and form a campaign committee.   Germantown CPA Bill Watkins, who has served as chairman of the Shelby County Republican Party, as a member of the Tennessee Board of Regents, and as treasurer of dozens of campaigns for Republican candidates, has agreed to serve as treasurer of my campaign.”