Man of Science, Man of Faith

Republican Sen. Raymond Finney's seemingly paradoxical opinions and votes span the political spectrum

Republican state Sen. Raymond Finney of Maryville, representing the 8th district and campaigning for re-election this August, may leave voters scratching their heads in confusion for his seemingly polarizing viewpoints. Members of his party may support his stance on immigration control and abortion limitations but question his seemingly progressive decisions regarding business and the environment. Democrats who appreciate legislation he supported this year to ban strip-mining in the state and regulate prescription drug advertising may not be able to stand behind his views on social issues facing our state.

Finney gained notoriety and public criticism in 2007 when he filed a resolution asking the Tennessee Department of Education to consider adding creationism to its science curriculum. He is the author of a Web site, www.abortion-and-bible.com, which uses religious teachings to defend its vehement opposition to abortion rights. He says he is strongly in favor of lowering taxes across the board.

Those convictions are ones you might expect from a member of the GOP, some perhaps even more extreme than anticipated.  But in other ways, Finney is not exactly a model conservative.

Drew Ruble, editor of Business TN Magazine, recently named Finney one of the five “worst lawmakers for business in Tennessee.” Ruble cites two reasons for this ranking: Finney’s “aye” vote on a bill banning most surface mining practices in Tennessee and Finney’s sponsorship of a resolution requesting Congress to examine problems in the pharmaceutical companies advertising prescription drugs directly to consumers. A conservative senator fighting big business in two different ways? Definitely unorthodox, at least according to Ruble, who writes in the listing: “Agree or disagree with Finney’s stands against those industries, he is clearly on the outs with Big Business in Tennessee at the current juncture."

But Finney says he doesn’t see it that way. To him, he’s merely doing his job, protecting and speaking for his constituents.

“Those votes didn’t put me on the outs with Big Business,” he says. “It may have upset some lobbyists, but I’m proud of [those votes]. I did what I thought was right for the people, and they’re the ones who elected me.”

Finney came under attack in the last four years of his first term, from Business TN, various columnists and bloggers (SayUncle, a national humor blog, posted a fake interview with Finney Feb. 27, 2007, with this inquiry leading the post: “Let’s get the question everyone is wondering out of the way: Are you retarded?”) but he says he’s received positive feedback in his district, especially after sponsoring the mountaintop removal ban.

The bill passed in the Senate Environment, Tourism and Conservation Committee with an 8-1 vote — ironically, the only senator voting against it was Democratic Sen. Tommy Kilby — but was later defeated in the House Conservation and Environment Committee.

“No one in the district here said, ‘What in the world were you doing trying to prevent coal mining?’ I think one of the reasons many of us live here is because of the beauty of the mountains,” Finney says. “I love them, and I want my grandchildren and their grandchildren to be near them. People have been attracted to the beauty, but they’ve also seen the exuberant development and what a less than careful use of resources will accomplish. They say, ‘Maybe we need to take a second and look at this and do some things that are looking out for the environment.’”

Though faith influences many of Finney’s decisions, he says he tries to balance his own beliefs with those of his constituents. He attributes his views against abortion as formulated when he was a doctor and hopes for an eventual Supreme Court overturning of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court case that established it was unconstitutional to make laws banning abortions. But he says  his opinion is backed by residents in his district, and cites Tennessee polls he says consistently show 70 to 80 percent of voters are anti-abortionists.

Finney claims he never intended to be a politician. After retiring from his job as a pathologist in 1999, he sought a way to give something back to his community, a community he’s been a part of his entire life — Finney was born in Knoxville in 1941 and has lived in Blount County since 1976.

“I did three things when I practiced medicine: I worked, I went to church or I was with my family. Those things didn’t leave much time for community involvement,” he says. “Someone suggested I run for the senate, so I did and I won.”

That was in 2004. Finney defeated incumbent Sen. Bill Clabough in the Republican primary, and Democrat Linda Jo Dees in the general election by more than 27,000 votes.

Finney runs for re-election in August, contending against Republican state Rep. Doug Overby, Republican Jim Bishop and Independent Ira Lapides. If he wins, he says it will be his last term.

“I’m in favor of term limits for everything,” he says. “Eight or 12 years should be enough for any politician. I think the idea of Tennessee legislature is to have a citizen that would go down to Nashville for a period of time, make some laws and then come back and live among the people affected by those laws.”

Silver-haired Finney doesn’t smile often. Even when joking, the corners of his mouth scarcely turn up before his facial expression reverts back to stoicism. It’s apparent that he takes his job as representative for the people of his district seriously, and according to him, he’s gone to great lengths to represent them accurately.

Finney was the first member of the Tennessee General Assembly to post a record of all of his votes online, and the list is updated regularly. His home and cell phone numbers are listed on his Web site, and he encourages citizen input on his blog.

“I’ve worked very hard at this,” he says. “I’m trying to represent my constituents as well as I can. Every constituent has a vote or two they wish I hadn’t made, but I’m trying to do everything I can.”