Les Trotman has clearly drawn the battle line in his bid to unseat Paul Sherrell in the Tennessee House of Representatives.

Trotman believes the state should expand Medicaid and hammered that point home emphatically during a political forum sponsored by the Southern Standard and WCPI on Monday night.

“We can all be about children, but if you let them go without healthcare and their parents are already paying the tax, I’m sorry folks, that’s just bad business,” said Trotman, a Democrat from Warren County. “We’ve sent over $5.6 billion out of our state for no other reason than for political purposes. Gov. Haslam asked our legislature to expand Medicaid because we absolutely needed it and they still wouldn’t do it.”

Sherrell, a Republican from Sparta, is seeking his second term as representative of the 43rd District. He said he views the state’s issues with drugs as a much bigger problem than healthcare.

“Having health insurance is a very important thing for every one of us and we want everybody to have health insurance, good health insurance,” said Sherrell. “I don’t know if that’s the major problem in Tennessee. It is a major problem, but I believe the major problem we have in the state of Tennessee that I’d like to work harder on is our drug problem. We have a major problem with legal drugs and illegal drugs that cause a lot of problems in our homes. If we can get rid of some of these drugs in some way, if we need to make the penalties stronger, if we need to hook up the electric chair, we need to do whatever to get tougher on these people who are giving drugs to our children. The penalty needs to be stiffer for people who are committing crime.”

Sherrell emphasized the work the state has done to prevent and treat those with opioid addictions through the Tennessee Together program.

“It seems a lot of employers in our district are having a difficult time filling positions due to people not being able to pass a drug test,” said Sherrell. “We not only have a problem with opioids, we have a problem with illegal drugs. We need to encourage our children, our parents and our communities that a good education is needed by all. When our students have a good education, they will be prepared for a good job and make good employees. Also getting a good education will help keep our citizens out of our overcrowded jails, which we have a major problem with in the state of Tennessee.”

Trotman maintains the state needs to immediately pass the expansion of Medicaid to bring our federal tax dollars home and help 24,000 veterans who don’t have health insurance.

“It doesn’t take much to stand up, man up and say I will vote for the expansion of Medicaid,” said Trotman. “Mr. Sherrell has had two years to stand up for it and he’s failed to do that. We have the poorest county in the state up in Grundy County. Their median income is $14,000. That’s the median income in Grundy County. How are they expected to afford insurance and feed their families and make a house payment? It’s virtually impossible. If nothing else, I will follow Gov. Haslam’s suggestion and vote to expand Medicaid for Tennesseans so they can use their own tax dollars.”