Editorials The Collierville Herald
October 21, 2004

Reelect Norris, Todd to Legislature

State Sen. Mark Norris, Republican who lives with his family just outside Collierville on Collierville-Arlington Road, has served the area well in the Tennessee legislature. He is standing up for Shelby County schools by pushing for special district status, so they will be immune from attempts to consolidate them with the Memphis schools. He has stood up for senior citizens by sponsoring the Homestead Exemption to freeze property taxes at age 65. And he stands firmly against the proposal for a Memphis payroll tax, calling it unconstitutional and "taxation without representation," since it would be imposed on citizens who work in Memphis but live outside. They would not be allowed to vote on it.

Running for reelection Nov. 2, Norris is opposed by Pete Parker, a Dyersburg businessman who owns a shoe store and is former chairman of the Democratic Party for Dyer County. They are candidates in District 32, which runs from Collierville north through much of east Shelby County and includes Tipton, Lauderdale and Dyer Counties. Parker supports public schools, particularly special education, and measures to create more jobs. Norris is an attorney with a large Memphis firm, Armstrong Allen. He has been a state senator since 2000. He has been a stabilizing influence in our legislature, where too many members often have appeared in disarray, particularly in the battle over balancing the state budget and an attempt to pass an income tax, which he correctly called unconstitutional.

We believe Mark Norris deserves another four-year term in the Tennessee legislature and recommend reelecting him.

Rep. Curry Todd of Collierville, running for reelection to the legislature, is unopposed. We recommend reelecting him.