The State Senate today elected Sen. Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) as Tennessee’s 87th Speaker of the Senate. The Senate’s 33 senators met at noon on the first organizational day of the 110th General Assembly to elect their speaker. By statute, Speaker of the Senate of Tennessee holds the title of Lieutenant Governor.
After his election, Lt. Governor McNally addressed his colleagues and the people of Tennessee following the vote.
“I am truly humbled at the trust you have placed in me,” Lt. Governor McNally said. “Over the last ten years, our Tennessee Senate has developed a strong reputation as an efficient and fiscally responsible legislative body. It is a well-earned reputation that I plan to build on.”
“During the last decade, Tennessee has been blessed with outstanding political leadership,” McNally continued. “Tennessee has cut taxes, eliminated wasteful spending and kept public debt to a minimum. Our nation’s credit agencies have rewarded Tennessee with AAA ratings. These ratings are a direct result of our fiscal discipline and strong economic policy.”
“The path to success has been laid out for us. We know it well because we have already walked it,” McNally concluded. “We must continue our journey. We must have the strength and courage to stay on course to ensure Tennessee remains the greatest state in the nation to live, work and raise a family.”
Tennessee’s fiscal conscience, Lt. Governor Randy McNally is only the second Republican Tennessee Senate Speaker in modern history and the first from Anderson County in nearly 150 years.
As chairman of the Senate’s Finance, Ways and Means Committee for a decade, McNally oversaw the General Assembly’s only constitutionally proscribed duty: the passage of a balance budget. Recognized across the state as a finance and budget expert, McNally’s leadership has been critical in keeping Tennessee budget in balance and its credit “Triple-A” rated.
In addition to his 26 years on the Senate Finance Ways and Means Committee, McNally also served as chairman of the Senate Education Committee in the 102nd and 103rd General Assemblies.
A legislative leader for nearly 40 years, Lt. Governor McNally has been recognized for his both his work in the General Assembly and in his community. McNally counts among his many achievements the American Conservative Union Conservative Achievement Award, NFIB’s Guardian of Small Business Award, the Tennessee Association of Chiefs of Police Legislative Award and the Tennessee Press Association Open Government Award.
McNally received his B.S. from Memphis State University in 1967 and graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Pharmacy in 1969. He served as a hospital pharmacist at Methodist Medical Center in Oak Ridge from 1979 until his retirement in 2010. Lt. Governor McNally and his wife Janice have two adult daughters, Melissa and Maggie and three grandchildren, Haley, Morgan and Trent.
