Tre Hargett

Tre Hargett
Hargett in 2014
37th Secretary of State of Tennessee
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 15, 2009
Governor
Preceded byRiley Darnell
Chair of the Tennessee Regulatory Authority
In office
February 2008 – January 2009
GovernorPhil Bredesen
Preceded byPat Miller
Succeeded byKenneth Hill
Member of the Tennessee House of Representatives
from the 97th district
In office
1996–2006
Preceded byTim Joyce
Succeeded byJim Coley
Personal details
Born
Gus Lusk Hargett III

(1969-02-07) February 7, 1969
Ripley, Tennessee, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseDawn Simbeck
Children2
RelativesGus L. Hargett Jr. (father)
EducationUniversity of Memphis (BBA, MBA)
Signature

Tre Hargett (born February 7, 1969) is an American Republican Party politician who is serving as the 37th Secretary of State of Tennessee since 2009.

Early life and education

He is the son of Tennessee Adjutant General Gus L. Hargett Jr. and Mrs. Pat Vaughan. He is a Southern Baptist.[1]

Hargett earned a B.B.A. in accounting with honors, and an M.B.A. from the University of Memphis.

Career before politics

In the private sector, Hargett worked for Rural/Metro, an emergency services provider. At the time of his appointment as TRA chairman, Hargett was serving as the corporation's Vice President for the Southern Region.[2]

Tenure in state legislature and Tennessee Regulatory Authority

Hargett served in the Tennessee House of Representatives from 1996 to 2006 representing District 97 (Bartlett and Memphis).[3] He was twice elected Republican Leader by his colleagues.

In 2007, he was nominated to the position of Tennessee Regulatory Authority (TRA) chairman, which sets the rates and service standards of privately owned telephone, natural gas, electric and water utilities.[2][4] He was confirmed by the Tennessee General Assembly and served from February 2008 through January 2009. He was succeeded by Dr. Kenneth Hill.[5]

Tenure as secretary of state

In January 2009, the state legislature's new Republican majority voted to replace longtime Secretary of State Riley Darnell with Hargett. Hargett immediately resigned from his position as TRA chairman and took office as secretary of state on January 15, 2009.

Hargett's 'Safe at Home' Address Confidentiality program began in 2019. The program provides survivors of domestic violence, stalking, human trafficking, and sexual offenses with a substitute address to use throughout the state and local government. This resource is designed to protect survivors from discovery by their abusers or predators through public records. Participants may also use their substitute address to obtain a driver’s license and register to vote.[6][7]

Hargett's partnered with several state offices in 2020 to distribute "Baby in the Back" hangtags in an effort to help reduce heat-related illnesses and deaths due to children being left in hot vehicles.[8][9]

In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic in Tennessee, Hargett opposed allowing voters who fear catching or spreading the coronavirus to vote by mail in the 2020 elections. A state judge overruled Hargett's position, holding that Tennessee must allow vote by mail for all voters and that the restrictions on vote by mail that Hargett sought to impose were "an unreasonable burden on the fundamental right to vote guaranteed by the Tennessee Constitution."[10]

In July of 2021, a state debate took place on whether to remove a bust of Nathan Bedford Forrest, a Confederate general, from inside the Tennessee State Capitol. Hargett voted in favor of removing the Forrest bust, as well as those of U.S. Admirals David Farragut and Albert Gleaves. [11]

Hargett's Tennessee Businesses Against Trafficking program launched in 2024. It mobilizes businesses and their employees across Tennessee to recognize, report, and prevent human trafficking. The program includes a free, hour-long training for participating companies to help their employees identify the signs of human trafficking and take appropriate action when they spot them.[12]

2022 DUI Arrest

In June 2022, Hargett was arrested in Tullahoma, Tennessee, after leaving a bar after attending the Bonnaroo Music Festival, and was charged with driving under the influence. He took a "best interest" plea deal in October 2022, in which he pleaded guilty but maintained his innocence.[13]

References

  1. ^ Starr, Susan. "Tennessee House Member, 100th Assembly". www.capitol.tn.gov.
  2. ^ a b "12/7/2007 - Ramsey Nominates Hargett For Tennessee Regulatory Authority - Breaking News". Chattanoogan.com. Retrieved September 4, 2010.
  3. ^ Starr, Susan. "Tennessee House Member, 99th General Assembly". www.capitol.tn.gov.
  4. ^ "Subscription". The Tennessean. December 7, 2007. p. E2. Retrieved May 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "9 May 2009, 12 - The Jackson Sun at Newspapers.com". Retrieved March 30, 2019.
  6. ^ "Secretary Of State's Safe At Home Program Expanded Under Legislative Effort". Chattanoogan.
  7. ^ "'Safe At Home' Program To Protect Domestic Abuse Victims". Chattanoogan.
  8. ^ "Get FREE "Baby In The Back" Hangtags". WGNS Radio.
  9. ^ "Tennessee Secretary of State working with partners to help prevent "preventable" child deaths". WRCB-TV 3 News.
  10. ^ "Judge: Tennessee must allow vote by mail for all amid virus". Associated Press. Retrieved June 9, 2020 – via Citizen Tribune.
  11. ^ "Bust of Klan Leader Removed From Tennessee State Capitol". New York Times. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
  12. ^ "Nashville International Airport, Bridgestone join Tennessee's anti-human trafficking program". The Tennessean News.
  13. ^ Melissa Brown, Secretary of State Tre Hargett takes plea deal in DUI case, Nashville Tennessean (October 13, 2022).
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