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from: The Mountain Press

County's legislators support change to help AT&T

By: DEREK HODGES Staff Writer
March 10, 2008

"I've gotten more correspondence from voters on this one issue than I have about anything else since I got elected," State Sen. Raymond Finney, R-Maryville, said. "I've been amazed at just how strongly people feel about this."

State Rep. Richard Montgomery, R-Sevierville, notes Finney wasn't in Nashville as officials debated the creation of an income tax, an issue that drew response from every corner of the state. Still, Montgomery said he, too, has gotten a lot of response on AT&T's proposal to allow state-issued cable franchising.

"I have had a lot of citizens call me, write me and talk to me about this," Montgomery said. "Most of them have been in favor of the change. The way we do cable now, it's like saying we're only going to allow one grocery store to operate in Sevier County. It doesn't really make sense for them to go to every county for licenses when they've got the ability to serve the whole state. At the end of the day, we have to listen to both sides of the issue and decide what's best for the 80,000 people living in Sevier County."

Montgomery, like Finney and State Rep. Joe McCord, R-Maryville, said he supports the legislation. All three men said the move will allow for competition, ultimately benefiting the customer.

"At the beginning and the end of the day, I'm for the customer," McCord said. "I support this. I am typically going to be in favor of deregulation because I feel like competition is the greatest regulator there is."

McCord echoed Montgomery, saying he has gotten more correspondence about this issue than anything else except the income tax proposal. He credits the reaction on the fact that the issue is "always in front of" the state's residents.
"It is TV; so you can't turn your television on without seeing an ad on one side or the other of this issue," McCord said. "They've got the perfect medium to deliver their message to the public. I have never seen as much money spent on advertising a legislative proposal as we've seen spent on this one."

Montgomery, who serves on the House Commerce Committee, which has been charged with considering the issue before it comes before the full chamber, said he expects the issue may be ready for a vote in the coming weeks.

"It just depends on when they can reach a compromise on some of these issues that are still bothering the different sides," he said.

Both Finney and McCord accepted donations of $500 each from AT&T within the last two months of 2007, while Montgomery's campaign got $250 from the company at the beginning of 2006. It is not unusual for political action committees (PACS) like the one AT&T operates to donate to candidates for state office during election campaigns. All three local lawmakers will be up for re-election this year.