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around town
CONVERSATIONS
tion the case attracted. I will say this: Our opinion is the legal opinion, whether or not a bill like that complies with the Tennessee constitution and the federal constitution. I don’t want to do or say something that would diminish the sin- cerity and convictions of the proponents of that bill. In fact, I would share many of them. But the Tennessee Constitution says there will be no law that would ever be enacted that would establish a type of religion or worship. The word “ever” is critical—and our [Tennessee] Supreme Court has taken the position that is even broader than the federal constitution. So our position is: “Is the bill constitutional under the state constitution and the federal constitution?”—and we believe it would not be.
BF: Let’s move on to a position that’s been before the legislature: One of the governor’s priorities this year is Insure Tennessee. From your view and having been counsel to the governor, do you think there’s a good possibility that Insure Tennessee will come around again—or is it dead in Tennessee?
HS: I’m probably not the one to give you a good viewpoint because I’m not really close to it, but I think there’s still some interest. I think the governor said he doesn’t see, at this point, a way to bring it back, but at the same time, I think
the legislatures are talking about it. There are discussions centered around the question “What are we going to be doing”—because health care is not going to go away and the costs aren’t going to go down, so at some point Tennessee is going to address the issue. I don’t know if Insure Tennessee will be a landing place.
BF: Before you were appointed attorney general, you were general counsel to the governor. Tell us a little about that job and what were the challenges of being the lawyer for the governor?
HS: It was a great job. I’m obviously biased when I’m talking about the
governor, but to be able to engage with him and his team on policies at a high level on a daily basis was fascinating. There’s a degree of gravitas to every decision and every discussion—but, unlike private practice, you don’t have a lot of time to take a file and go deep. In private practice, you can take one mat- ter and devote the time that is neces- sary. In my position with the governor, I helped him make some decisions and gave advice—and you have to do it fast because there will be something just as serious coming down the path the next day. And, frankly, in private practice, you could somewhat plan your day— butifyoutrytodothatinaroleasthe governor’s counsel, you’ll be very disap- pointed because your day will flip in 10 minutes—and you won’t do anything you anticipated doing.
BF: Before Governor Haslam was elected and before you were called upon to serve him, what was your relationship with the governor?
HS: We were very good friends. Our families grew up together. My middle brother was the same age as his brother, and so they played sports together. We’ve known each other for around 45 years. And I happened to mention that to Jim Haslam, and he said, “Oh Herbert, it’s a lot longer than that.” I said, “Well, okay!” The gover- nor and I have been good friends, gone to the same church, and both our wives are from Memphis—there are a lot of connections. One thing I’ve learned from watching him and others is that it’s a lonely road when you run for office. You’re out in front and every- body is shooting at you. During his second term as mayor, I said, “If there’s an opportunity, I’d like to be a little closer if you’re going to do something later.” So when he decided to run for governor, he gave me a call. I ended up being treasurer of the campaign, but I really just wanted to be a better friend during the process.
BF: Tell us about the governor. What kind of man is he?
HS: I think Knoxville is in a differ-
ent place than other places because Knoxville has eight years of his leader- ship. He has great energy. One thing that really separates him a lot of people in the political world is that he genuinely loves people. Somebody might go to an event, and that’s draining to them, but Bill Haslam is energized by people. He loves hearing stories and talking with people. And he’s really smart. He’s very quick—particularly on financial matters. I wasn’t counsel for any other governor, so I wouldn’t know how other admin- istrations run, but I would think that some governors would manage four or five departments really heavily and trust commissioners to run the others. This governor manages 23 departments—and he is deep in each one of them. He also has a great ability to recruit people. I know one leader outside the administra- tion who says this cabinet is one of the finest—if not the finest cabinet—that’s ever been put together.
BF: What’s the most challenging issue you faced as counsel to the governor?
HS: You wake up every day wanting to be sure you’ll do the best job for him. I’ve got a little sheet of paper with the first line of Rick Warren’s book, The Pur- pose Driven Life: “It’s not about you.” I thought: It’s about what can I do to make him the most successful governor he can be. We had some tough issues during the first four years. In the end, I think most of those issues worked out.
BF: What was the most fun aspect of being counsel to the governor?
HS: That’s easy: Working with the team of people the governor had around him. They are just top-notch. They’re unique and very effective. We had plenty of things to laugh at—including some of our own remarks and comments!
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