Bill Haslam facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Bill Haslam
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Haslam in 2016
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| 49th Governor of Tennessee | |
| In office January 15, 2011 – January 19, 2019 |
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| Lieutenant | Ron Ramsey Randy McNally |
| Preceded by | Phil Bredesen |
| Succeeded by | Bill Lee |
| Chair of the Republican Governors Association | |
| In office November 16, 2017 – November 29, 2018 |
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| Preceded by | Scott Walker |
| Succeeded by | Pete Ricketts |
| 67th Mayor of Knoxville | |
| In office December 20, 2003 – January 10, 2011 |
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| Preceded by | Victor Ashe |
| Succeeded by | Madeline Rogero |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
William Edward Haslam
August 23, 1958 Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse |
Crissy Garrett
(m. 1981) |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | Emory University (BA) |
| Signature |  |
William Edward Haslam ( born August 23, 1958) is an American billionaire businessman and politician who served as the 49th governor of Tennessee from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, Haslam previously served as the 67th mayor of Knoxville, Tennessee.
He was born in Knoxville and graduated from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. He began his career in business, joining his father, Jim Haslam, who was the founder of Pilot Corporation. Haslam rose to president of Pilot Corp in the 1990s, after his brother Jimmy Haslam became the company's CEO. Haslam then left Pilot and from 1999 to 2001 was the CEO of the e-commerce and cataloging division at the department store chain Saks Fifth Avenue. He then became a consultant at Saks and later served on the board of directors at Harold's Stores, Inc. He is a co-owner of a minor league baseball team, the Tennessee Smokies, and is set to become majority owner of the National Hockey League's Nashville Predators by 2025.
He was elected Mayor of Knoxville, Tennessee in the 2003 Knoxville mayoral election with 52% of the vote. He was reelected in the 2007 Knoxville mayoral election, winning 87% of the vote, and served until 2011. After incumbent Governor Phil Bredesen was term-limited, Haslam declared his candidacy for the office in January 2009. He defeated U.S. Representative Zach Wamp and Lieutenant Governor Ron Ramsey in the Republican primary with 47% of the vote and went on to defeat Democratic businessman Mike McWherter with 65% of the vote in the 2010 general election.
A 2015 Forbes article estimated Haslam's net worth at $2 billion, making him the nation's wealthiest elected official at that time. He was the wealthiest state governor in America, until Democrat J. B. Pritzker of Illinois took office in January 2019.
In the fall of 2019, Haslam became a visiting professor of political science at Vanderbilt University.
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Early life, education, and business career
Haslam was born in 1958 in Knoxville, Tennessee, the third child of Jim Haslam, the founder of Pilot Corporation, the parent company of the convenience store and travel center chain, Pilot Flying J, and his wife, Cynthia (Allen). Jim Haslam has been a Republican Party fundraiser and University of Tennessee donor and trustee for several decades.
Haslam was educated at the Webb School of Knoxville, where he became active in the Christian group Young Life. He later attended Emory University, graduating with a bachelor's degree in history in 1980. He is a member of the Beta Chi chapter of the Sigma Chi International Fraternity.
As a teenager, Haslam began working part-time in his father's corporation. He had made plans to teach history and eventually become a minister. Following his university graduation, he returned to Knoxville to work for Pilot in hopes of learning more about the business world before entering the seminary, and eventually decided to stay with the company. He was elevated to president of the company (with his brother, Jimmy, as CEO, and father as chairman) in 1995.
In 1999, Haslam joined Saks Fifth Avenue as the chief executive officer of the e-commerce and catalog division. He left Saks in 2001, and joined the board of the Dallas-based clothing chain, Harold's Stores Inc., later that year.
Haslam is one of the owners of the Tennessee Smokies, a minor league baseball team in East Tennessee. His brother, current Pilot Flying J CEO Jimmy Haslam, became majority owner of the Cleveland Browns in 2012.
Mayor of Knoxville
In 2002, Haslam announced he was running for Mayor of Knoxville, inspired in part by a conversation he had had with then-Chattanooga mayor (and later United States Senator) Bob Corker. Knoxville's mayoral elections are nominally non-partisan, but Haslam was known to be a member of the Republican Party when he ran for the office. His opponent in the race, Knox County commissioner Madeline Rogero, criticized Haslam as an oil company puppet, and blamed his father for the appointment of controversial U.T. president John Shumaker, an attack Haslam dismissed as "petty, personal politics". On September 30, 2003, he defeated Rogero by a 52% to 46% margin. He was sworn in in December 2003.
In 2006, Haslam appointed Rogero director of community development, later stating he had read Doris Kearns Goodwin's Team of Rivals, and was inspired by President Abraham Lincoln's decision to appoint former campaign rivals to his cabinet. He was reelected in 2007, winning 87% of the vote against challengers Isa Infante and Mark Saroff.
Haslam identifies several successful historic preservation initiatives among his accomplishments as mayor, including saving the historic S&W Cafeteria in downtown Knoxville, building a new cinema (the Regal Riviera) in the city's downtown, and revitalizing the historic Bijou Theatre. In 2008, he was appointed to a four-year term on the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation by U.S. President George W. Bush.
Along with historical preservation efforts, Haslam helped spur residential and retail growth in the downtown area, mainly by offering developers tax subsidies. He helped implement a master plan for the development of the South Knoxville riverfront, which was given an Outstanding Planning Award by the Tennessee Chapter of the American Planning Association. The Haslam administration operated under a balanced budget policy, which helped to double the city's savings during his first term.
Tenure as governor
2011
Haslam stated that job creation and long-term economic growth were his top priority as governor, followed by education reform and workforce development. On June 16, 2011, Haslam signed a $30.8 billion state budget, a 3.9% decrease from the previous year's budget.
The budget included 1.6% pay raise for state employees (though it also called for over 1,300 positions to be cut), grants to facilitate construction of an Electrolux plant near Memphis and a Wacker Chemie plant near Cleveland, and $10 million for the Memphis Research Consortium.
On May 23, 2011, Haslam signed a bill overturning a Nashville ordinance that barred discrimination against the hiring of homosexuals for any companies awarded city contracts. On June 1, Haslam signed a bill requiring voters to present photo identification at polling places, a measure supporters argue prevents voter fraud, but detractors have derided as an attempt to disenfranchise traditionally-Democratic voting blocs. On June 2, Haslam signed a bill replacing public school teachers' collective bargaining rights with a process called "collaborative conferencing", effectively bypassing the teachers' union, the Tennessee Education Association.
Other legislation signed by Haslam included a tort reform measure that limits non-economic damages in civil suits, a bill that lifted the cap on the number charter schools in the state and opened enrollment in charter schools to more students, and a bill that allows college students to use Hope Scholarship funds during summer semesters.
In October 2011, Haslam approved an order to implement a curfew on Legislative Plaza in downtown Nashville, where several hundred protesters with the Occupy Nashville movement (part of the greater Occupy Wall Street movement) were camping out. In the early morning hours of October 28, 29 protesters were arrested when they refused to comply with the order, and on the following day, 26 were arrested. In both cases, the arrests were thrown out by General Sessions Night Court Commissioner Tom Nelson, who ruled that the state had no authority to set a curfew for Legislative Plaza. Haslam stated the curfew was necessary due to deteriorating sanitary conditions and safety issues on the Plaza, though critics, including the American Civil Liberties Union, which filed a lawsuit in federal court on October 31 to halt the arrests, have stated that the curfew is a violation of the protesters' civil rights.
2012
The $31 billion budget bill signed by Haslam for 2012 included $50 million in tax cuts, $560 million for construction projects, a 2.5% pay raise for state employees, and additional funding to offset anticipated tuition hikes at state colleges. In June, Haslam signed bills that eliminated the state's gift tax and reduced the state's inheritance tax and the sales tax on groceries. He also signed the "Fast Track" bill, which provided cash grants to companies seeking to expand or relocate to Tennessee.
Tennessee was granted a waiver requested by Haslam from certain portions of the federal government's No Child Left Behind standards. Haslam argued that the law's Adequate Yearly Progress model labelled some state schools as failures in spite of these schools having made substantial improvement. In May, he signed a bill providing $37 million in grants for state schools. In July, Haslam called for an overhaul of the state's higher education system, with the intention of generating a higher number of college graduates in high-paying fields.
In March 2012, the legislature passed a bill protecting teachers who challenged scientific theories such as the theory of evolution and global warming in the classroom. Critics assailed the measure as a "monkey bill" that was little more than an attempt to allow creationism to be taught in science classes. While Haslam refused to sign the bill, he also refused to veto it, effectively allowing it to become law. He criticized the bill for creating confusion rather than clarity, but pointed out the legislature had passed it by a large margin, and argued the bill would have no effect on the state's science curriculum.
On March 8, 2012, Haslam instructed his Health and Wellness Task Force to focus on the state's growing obesity problem, noting that nearly one-third of Tennesseans are obese.
On April 24, 2012, Haslam signed into law the Tennessee Excellence, Accountability and Management ("TEAM") Act, which established a new hiring system for state agencies and overhauled the evaluation standards for state employees by placing a greater focus on job performance rather than seniority. The bill also makes it easier for executive branch employees to be hired and fired, establishes merit raises for high performing workers, and gives preference to veterans in job openings where applicants have equal qualifications.
Other bills signed by Haslam in May included a measure requiring drug testing for welfare recipients, a measure providing grants to companies to pay for training expenses for recently laid-off workers, and a bill requiring Amazon.com to start collecting sales taxes on online purchases by 2014.
After the General Assembly permanently adjourned in May, Haslam issued the first veto of his governorship. He vetoed a controversial bill that sought to end Vanderbilt University's "All Comers" policy, which required religious groups at the school to allow any student to join even if the student didn't share the group's religious beliefs. The legislature could not override the veto because it was no longer in session. Haslam stated he disagreed with the policy, but didn't think it appropriate for the government to interfere with the policies of a private institution.
In December 2012, Haslam announced the state would not implement a provision of the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare") that allows for a state-run health care exchange. Haslam had considered a state-run exchange for several weeks, but argued the federal government had not provided enough information regarding costs of the program, and what had been provided consisted of draft proposals subject to change. "More and more I'm convinced they are making this up as they go," he said.
2016
In April 2016, Haslam vetoed a bill to make the Bible the official book of Tennessee. The bill, sponsored by State Sen. Steve Southerland, R-Morristown, passed in both the State House and the Senate. If signed by Haslam, it would have made Tennessee the first state to make the Bible its state book. Haslam vetoed the bill on April 14, 2016. An attempt to override the veto failed in the State House, garnering 43 votes, short of the threshold of 50 needed to override.
Haslam will take part in the 16-member search committee to select a new chancellor for the Tennessee Board of Regents. He will continue to take part in restructuring the Board, which includes the implementation of the FOCUS Act.
2017
In April 2017, Haslam signed the IMPROVE Act into law. The bill, which stands for "Improving Manufacturing, Public Roads, and Opportunities for a Vibrant Economy," cut the state sales tax on food from five to four percent, increased the gasoline and diesel fuel taxes by six and ten cents, respectively, raised the tax on natural gas by eight cents, increased vehicle registration fees, and instituted a new $100 annual fee for electric vehicles. Its primary purpose was for TDOT to fund a $10 billion backlog of 962 needed highway projects. A similar plan called the Better Roads Program was initiated by then-governor Lamar Alexander in 1986.
In May 2017, Haslam signed HB 1111/SB 1085 into law. The bill was seen by the Human Rights Campaign as an attempt to challenge Obergefell v. Hodges and undermine same-sex marriage in Tennessee, and Haslam was criticized by the Tennessee Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Tennessee Equality Project (TEP) for signing it into law.
Political positions
Taxes and budget
Haslam favors a conservative state budget that keeps taxes low in order to create and maintain a business-friendly environment. While he largely supports budget cuts, Haslam has suggested that the Republican Party is too often focused on scaling back government rather than making it work. "At the end of the day," he said, "I think the most conservative principle there is, is giving people a dollar worth of value for a dollar worth of tax paid."
Gun laws
Haslam was formerly a member of the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition, but he resigned early in 2009 and became a member of the National Rifle Association. When a candidate for governor, Haslam said he would sign a constitutional carry bill, but as governor, he opposed constitutional carry.
Education
As Governor, Haslam implemented education reform programs that offered tuition-free access to higher education. The Tennessee Promise program, launched in 2014, provides two years of tuition-free access for high school graduates to attend community or technical college. The Tennessee Reconnect program provides tuition-free access for most of the state's adults to earn an associate degree or technical certificate. Haslam framed the education reforms as part of economic development, as the state sought to provide its workforce with more skills and thus attract businesses to the state.
LGBT issues
Haslam opposes same-sex marriage, though he has stated that he wouldn't discriminate against gay employees. In May 2017, he signed a bill requiring the so-called "natural and ordinary meaning" of words in state law and government forms be used unless those words are specifically defined. This law will make it more difficult for same-sex couples to adopt children, pleasing socially conservative groups like the Family Action Council of Tennessee. The latter lobbied heavily for this bill to be passed, in order to ensure Tennessee courts only accept a 'traditional' definition of family. LGBT organization GLAAD issued a statement that Governor Haslam "has now placed the future of the state’s economy and the well-being of the LGBTQ community in jeopardy.”
Immigration laws
Haslam has said he favors cracking down on businesses that employ illegal immigrants, and suggested he would sign a law requiring law enforcement officers to check the citizenship status of arrested individuals they suspect might be in the country illegally, if passed by the state legislature.
Other
On January 11, 2012, Bill Haslam endorsed Mitt Romney for the Republican nomination in the 2012 United States presidential election. This announcement came on the heels of Romney's victory in the New Hampshire primary on January 10. Haslam's father was the Tennessee state co-chairman for the Romney campaign.
In a 2013 interview with Politico, Haslam stated that many of the more controversial measures passed by the state legislature, such as the 2012 law protecting teachers who dispute evolution in class, were "frustrating and a distraction." He noted that in his travels across the state, "those aren't the issues I hear people bringing up."
Post-governorship
After US Senator Lamar Alexander announced that he would not seek re-election in 2020, speculation began to arise that Haslam would run for the seat. Haslam announced in July 2019 that he would not do so.
In June 2022, Bill Haslam agreed to become the new owner of the NHL's Nashville Predators "through a multi-phased acquisition transaction". Haslam, whose brother, Jimmy, co-owns the NFL's Cleveland Browns with his wife, Dee, reached an agreement with the franchise's present ownership group, which is chaired by Herbert Fritch and includes at least 17 others. He is set to become the majority owner of the Predators by July 1, 2025.
In May 2023, U.S. Senator and 2024 presidential candidate Tim Scott appointed Haslam as national co-chair of his 2024 campaign.
Personal life
Haslam met his wife, Crissy Garrett, at Emory University and they have been married since 1981; with one son and two daughters and eight grandchildren. Haslam is a Presbyterian, and is a longtime member of Cedar Springs Presbyterian Church, an Evangelical Presbyterian Church congregation in Knoxville. He attends Christ Presbyterian Church when in Nashville. Haslam has been a member of the Young Life Board of Trustees since 2011.
See also
In Spanish: Bill Haslam para niños
