Davis Knows Williamson County Portion of District
By Mindy Tate
Executive Editor of The Review Appeal
January 12, 2003

Fourth District Congressman Lincoln Davis represents approximately 10,000 voters in Williamson County.

Many people do not realize that Williamson County is represented by two U.S. congressional districts, the highly publicized 7th District, which covers much of the county, and the lesser known 4th District, which includes approximately 10,000 voters.

But 4th District Congressman Lincoln Davis of Pall Mall remembers and says he won’t forget the people he represents in Williamson County.

When Davis, 59, wakes up in the morning in his Washington, D.C., apartment, he is immediately reminded where he is headed.

“From my apartment, when you look out the window, you can see the top of the White House, the Lincoln Memorial, the Veterans’ Memorial, the end of the Pentagon, the Washington Monument as well as the Capitol — all six of the major tourist destinations,” Davis said on Tuesday.

“When I wake up in the morning, I can look where I am headed when I come to work in the morning,” he said.

Most of the registered voters in Davis’ district are in Franklin, according to the Williamson County Election Commission office. The district then heads west across Williamson County, encompassing parts of Leipers Fork and then on into Fairview.

Sworn into office on Tuesday along with the other 51 freshman representatives, Davis was trying to take it all in from his office on the fifth floor of the Cannon Office Building.

“I have told people I feel kind of like a sponge,” Davis said. “I am absorbing everything I can and hopefully when I have to squeeze that information out, it will come out and be beneficial to those of us who live in the 4th Congressional District of Tennessee.”

There’s learning the way around, finding which elevator goes to the fifth floor, lots of things for a freshman to be concerned about.

“We had our new office on Friday and we will be sworn in today and the anticipation of officially becoming a congressman from the small, rural area in which I live is certainly very exciting and it is very rewarding also.”

The excitement of the week only heightened some feelings for Davis, 59, who was joined by his wife, daughters and brother during the festivities, as well as supporters from across the 4th District.

“I have had that feeling ever since I started running, that should I be lucky enough to win, the responsibility of serving, the responsibility of doing what is right, the responsibility of doing what is fair, has always been pretty much a part of my campaign and my service and what compels me to do what I do,” Davis said.

“We could talk about all the glorious things — the war debate, the economic stimulus packages, health care,” Davis said when asked what he thinks the 4th District constituency expects. “I think the people want me to be honest and do what’s right and believe in the right principles.

“I had a guy tell me, ‘Be yourself, don’t ever change, and we will like you. Be like you have been all your life and we will like you,’” Davis recalled.

“I think what the people of the 4th District really want is for me to be honest,” he said,

“When I vote for something, they want me to ask myself, ‘Is it fair for all these folks? In the long run, will it be the right thing for America?’

“They want me to ask that whether it is a tax cut, whether it is a tax increase, whether it is cutting the budget, whether it’s war, whatever it is, ‘Is right for America?’”