Tennessee Sen. Becky Massey’s bad day

by Mark Harmon, Tennessee Lookout
February 14, 2025

State Sen. Becky Massey, a Republican who represents roughly half of Knox County, started February with a rough morning at a legislative forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters and the East Tennessee chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.

I’ve watched Massey for years, and noticed her pattern is to diffuse controversial topics with discussions of process. She’ll take a tough question about pending legislation and talk about which committee it’s in, whether she serves on that committee and the status of that bill — and frequently not commit to her stance on the matter.

That deflection was not possible at the start of the forum when the moderator, Scott Barker of the Knoxville local news site Compass, directly asked each of the attending five legislators to explain their vote on the voucher bill. House Democrats Sam McKenzie and Gloria Johnson bashed the many flaws of the plan, noting it is a costly subsidy going mostly to families already sending children to private schools. Senate Republican Richard Briggs reiterated his opposition, and House Republican Dave Wright had just a few words in support of his yes vote.

Massey mentioned overall state spending increases for education and changes in funding formulas and then declared, “When I was on the campaign trail, I talked to people when I was at their doors. We polled on it this summer. So, there’s been lots of conversation  . . . I read every email that came in to me.” She also mentioned talking to people at church or invited events. “I looked at all the details of the bill, and did get my answers” on the “hold harmless” provision of the legislation, describing it as a baseline so schools will not lose money.

Johnson said at the same meeting that “the fiscal note says this coming next school year TISA [Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement Act, the formula for state public school funding] will be $45 million short in the funding because of the vouchers…In the hold harmless fund there is $3.3 million.  Now, that might be some voucher math, but that’s not math where I went to public school, because $3.3 million is not going to make up the $45 million that we are short.” Further, the funding gaps only grow more severe as the voucher program goes through scheduled expansion. Massey does not explain where that mystery money will come from, and it seems very likely public schools will suffer.

Of course, public support for vouchers varies wildly depending on how the question is worded. One informal poll by Knoxville television station WBIR found a whopping 89% who responded to a survey opposed to vouchers.

When the subject turned to a recently-passed immigration bill promoted by Gov. Bill Lee, Massey also had some curious statements. Her rambling answer included the line, “the original people registered at Ellis Island.” McKenzie, who is Black, did not interrupt to say some of his relatives may have arrived by a different route. Massey then said immigration is a Tennessee issue because of fentanyl overdoses from drugs being brought into our state, leaving unstated the assumption that Mexican and other Latin American migrants bring it with them.  It took someone during the question-and-answer session to correct her; the vast majority of such drugs enter through ports of entry and the actions of citizens, not migrants.

Let’s temper our criticism with some appreciation. These five legislators were the same ones who showed up last year for the same forum at the same location, a YWCA in Knoxville. State House Republicans Michele Carringer, Elaine Davis, Justin Lafferty, and Jason Zachary (plus Lt. Gov. Randy McNally) all were invited to this month’s forum but did not attend.

Massey also gave a prompt response to an email from me, clarifying a point raised at the forum and insisting, “I evaluate each piece of legislation on its own merits which is what I did with the Education Scholarship bill last week.  After doing my research, I got my questions answered and I voted for the bill.”

Fair enough, but close inspection of the bill’s merits simply does not justify anything other than a resounding “no” to Lee’s voucher schemes.

Massey certainly knows politics. In her early elective years, her name most often appeared as Becky Duncan Massey, a not-so-subtle reference to the family name of her brother and father, who represented the Knox County area in Congress for a combined 54 years. So, when the numbers start coming in about the failures of the voucher plan, she will need to give stronger answers for switching her 2019 “no” vote on a similar voucher plan to a 2025 “yes” vote based on dubious reasoning.  And process answers will not suffice.

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