Herron Starts Jobs Listening Tour

MEDIA CONTACT
Carol Andrews
(731) 364-5415

Dresden - State Senator and Congressional candidate Roy Herron will launch his Jobs Listening Tour next week with stops in the district's hardest hit counties, Lauderdale and Haywood, on Monday, February 8th. Herron will meet with small business owners and local leaders to hear their ideas about what he should do in Congress to help grow and save jobs.

Lauderdale County has the highest unemployment rate in the state at 18.9 percent, according to December 2009 estimates released by the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development. At 18.5 percent, Haywood County ranks fourth among Tennessee counties in terms of joblessness.

"Families and business owners all across the 8th District are hurting," Herron said. "It's time Washington focused on jobs instead of bailing out Wall Street. In Congress, my top three priorities will be jobs, jobs and jobs."

Herron's tour will include listening meetings in all of the district's 19 counties.

Herron's Jobs Listening Tour schedule for Lauderdale and Haywood counties on February 8th:

Lauderdale County
8:00 a.m. CST
UT Martin Ripley Center
315 South Washington
Ripley, TN

Haywood County
10:00 a.m. CST
Brownsville/Haywood Chamber of Commerce
(upstairs in Chamber Conference Room)
121 West Main Street
Brownsville, TN

A fiscal conservative, Roy Herron is pro-jobs. He has voted to balance state budgets and knows how to make the tough cuts needed to keep our country on track.

Herron has supported policies that make Tennessee one of the top business-friendly states in the nation. He has worked to help existing industries and businesses expand and grow jobs. He has sponsored legislation that helps employers develop plans for training workers to meet future industry needs.

In addition, Herron fought for the West Tennessee Megasite that will bring 21st century jobs and industry to rural West Tennessee. He also advocated investments for the Hemlock Semiconductor plant in Clarksville and the Northwest Tennessee Port and Industrial Park in Lake County. Together, these new facilities will create thousands of jobs.

Herron supported Governor Bredesen's workers compensation reform to help small businesses.