NASHVILLE, TN – Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Chris Devaney issued a statement clarifying the facts about Republican State Rep. Tony Shipley’s leadership in having vital improvements made to State Route 126 in Sullivan County:

“Facts are stubborn things, especially for a party that will do anything – including distort the truth – in order to try and improve their dismal election chances,” said Devaney. “The fact is that Rep. Shipley has been instrumental in having a number of improvements made on State Route 126 and continues to play a significant role in securing future improvements to the road.”

A document from the Tennessee Department of Transportation actually states that Rep. Shipley partnered with the City of Kingsport and submitted a request for “safety improvements” to the road. The full document is available here and a key excerpt from the document follows:

“In December 2008, State Representative Tony Shipley and the City of Kingsport Metropolitan Planning Office presented TDOT with a request for a Safety Improvements Project to implement safety enhancements in the interim while the larger State Route 126 project is developed. The Safety Improvements Project (SIP) report recommended short term improvements for fourteen areas of State Route 126. It also recommended “major improvements for eight specific locations…”

“It’s clear that the Democrats in Nashville are misrepresenting the truth in hopes that they can gain back a seat they lost in 2008,” Devaney continued. “However, Rep. Shipley has demonstrated through his work on State Route 126 projects that he is a representative who follows-through on his campaign promises. I have no doubt that the voters in District 2 will see what he has accomplished over the last two years and send him back to the legislature again to represent west Sullivan County.”