Teri Mai

I am a life-long Democrat, but have not been active in politics until recently. I decided to run for office now because I cannot, in good conscience, sit back and let the republican super-majority continue to run rough-shod over the good people of middle Tennessee.

I have three main issues I believe should be addressed immediately:

Common sense gun safety reforms must be enacted. We must feel safe to live our lives – to go to school, to go shopping, to go to church, to go to a movie, to go to a concert;

The right of all persons to bodily autonomy must be codified. We must be able to make our own healthcare decisions, without the interference of the legislature or the courts; and

Election reforms must be enacted. We must be able to have our voice heard by having our vote count. Voting should be easily accessible to all eligible voters.

I am running for office because I want my voice to be heard. I want the voices of the people of District 92 to be heard.

I can and will do better to represent the values of the majority of people who live in middle Tennessee.

• We should feel safe from gun violence at work, in the park, at the shopping mall, and at restaurants. Churches should be sanctuary for all who enter. Parents should not have to wonder if it is safe to send their children to school. Children should not be afraid to go to school. We need sensible control NOW.
• The United Nations Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women prepared a paper stating, in part, “The right of a woman or girl to make autonomous decisions about her own body and reproductive functions is at the very core of her fundamental right to equality and privacy. . .”. It further states, “The decision as to whether to continue a pregnancy or terminate it, is fundamentally and primarily the woman’s decision . . .”. The government has no business making healthcare decisions for ANYONE. The best person to make healthcare decisions is the person whose health is at stake. Healthcare decisions should be between a woman, her doctor and her God.
• Election laws should be voter-centric — making it easier for voters to select representatives of their choice. The vote of each and every citizen of the United States should count! The access to vote, particularly in response to legislation that marginalizes certain populations. The voter registration process and the voting processes should be easily accessible to all citizens who are or should be eligible to vote. Early voting, voting-by-mail, and voting by drop box should be available to all registered voters. Partisan gerrymandering needs to stop and all partisan gerrymandering that currently exists needs to be remedied. The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act or similar legislation needs to be enacted.

Gun Safety Reform
Women's Rights to Bodily Autonomy
Election Reform
Health Care Reform
Public Education

There are so many people who I respect and honor, I am sure I will miss many, but here is a partial list, in no particular order:
Michelle Obama - her candor, willingness to fight for social issues, "when they go low, we go high"
Hillary Clinton - her ability to stand up for her values and it seems like she never buckled under pressure
Jimmy Carter - his tireless work for peace, human rights, not to mention his personal integrity
Barack Obama - his compassion, sense of humor, integrity, composure, speaking ability, intelligence
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. - his commitment to Civil Rights, his ability to speak passionately which in turn motivated and empowered others, his perseverance in standing up for his beliefs
Ann Richards - her humor, wit, compassion, and willingness to help others, particularly women
Cissy Farenthold - one of the first women to attend law school at UT Austin, she fought for women's rights, and one of the people who encouraged me to go to law school at a time when most people would be planning their retirement
Gloria Steinem - what can I say - she was the face of the women's movement and our fight for equal rights.
Betty Friedan - same as Gloria - an icon of the women's movement and fight for equal rights
Mother Teresa - such a humble soul, compassionate, lived her life in service to her God and His people

My hope and my goal is to leave the world a better place than I found it. What does that mean? That means when I see a wrong, I work to make it right; if I see a person in need of help, I do what I can to give them a hand up; if there is something that needs doing, and nobody else will do it, I will if I can.

I remember the day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. I was 7 years old.

My first job was cashier at Kentucky Fried Chicken. It was a while back, but I think I worked there between 2 and 3 years. I quit shortly after being held up at gun point.

I have three favorite books -

Illusions, The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah, by Richard Bach. This book helped me learn that we are all responsible for our journeys, for our successes and our failures. One quote to give an idea of the contents is this - "Here is a test to find out whether your mission on earth is finished: If you're alive, it isn't."

The Greatest Miracle in the World, by Og Mandino. I was given this book at a particularly dark time in my life, I was having a crisis of faith and remember thinking to myself, "If only God would write me memo". There is a chapter in this book called "The God Memorandum" and it continues to speak to me.

The Four Agreements, by Don Miguel Ruiz. This book helped me become aware of agreements I had made with myself that were no longer working for me and gave me four agreements, that when I live by them, my life works.

I continue to be in awe of the wisdom of our founding fathers who devised the system of checks and balances so that no one branch of government could wield so much power as to render the other branches of government powerless. My belief is that each of the branches of our state (and federal) government has a duty to perform, a specific role to fill; however, that duty, that role, is not independent. It is to be performed within the framework of the constitution. Each branch of government is subject to the oversight of the other two branches. No one branch should hold all power.

I believe the greatest challenges over the next decade that Tennessee will deal with is whether Tennessee will be a state that takes care of its people and resources, or if it is going to sell itself out to the highest bidder.

I believe that, as representatives of the people, it is in the legislators and the peoples' best interest when legislators have good working relationships. As representatives of the people, the legislators should work with integrity and compassion for all, including people they disagree with. Are legislators likely to always agree with one another? Absolutely not. Should they learn to respectfully disagree on some issues and continue to work together, to look for common ground on which to build? ABSOLUTELY! Is this easy to do? Of course not. If it was easy to do, politicians would be doing this already and politics and elections would not be contentious. But all of our legislators should be working for the good of the people. It is easier to work for the good of all people when we see the good in others and work to bring out the best in ourselves and others (rather than the worst)

It depends. There are times and issues when compromise is acceptable for the greater good. There are so many adages about standing on principle to the detriment of the stated principle. However, compromising key components of a policy so that the policy ends up being an empty shell - no, that compromise is not desirable.

None as yet

Pretty much all of them - here are my top five, in no particular order:

Agriculture & Natural Resources
Civil Justice (Children & Family Affairs Subcommittee)
Education Administration
Health
Local Government (Elections & Campaign Finance Subcommittee)