Jeter vs. Cepicky: This Tennessee Republican primary will alter public education
County Commissioner Ray Jeter is out to put an end to Rep. Scott Cepicky’s reign
Rep. Scott Cepicky (R-Culleoka) is either infamous or famous. His descriptor depends on who you ask. Nonetheless he’s known. During Tennessee’s last legislative session, he led the failed vanguard for school vouchers and passed a law to regulate vaccine lettuce.
He earned major media attention for both bills. In an audio recording leaked to News Channel 5, Cepicky said the state should “throw the whole freaking (school) system in the trash,” and his vaccine lettuce legislation made a cameo on Jimmy Kimmell.
42-year-old Ray Jeter is sick of Cepicky. The Maury County Commissioner is out to put an end to the produce regulating rep’s reign and snag the District 64 seat. Jeter is challenging Cepicky in the August 1st Republican primary.
Cepicky’s shaft would alter the political theater in Tennessee’s upcoming legislative session. His absence would likely alleviate much of the muster for school vouchers and re-organize dynamics within the Republican caucus. Intraparty factions arose during the debate over school choice.
If re-elected, Cepicky, a loyalist to Gov. Lee told TENNBEAT he would sponsor another school choice bill. Last week at the Republican National Convention, Lee claimed school choice was a “civil rights issue” and pledged to push for the program in the 2025 legislative session.
What are the odds Jeter can oust Cepicky?
July financial reports indicate Jeter might have a chance in the joust. Though he raised roughly $3,000 less than Cepicky, 60% of his campaign contributions came from individuals within Maury County. Meanwhile only 30% of Cepicky’s donations were from district residents.
Ray Jeter
Ray Jeter remembers exactly when he decided to run for the Tennessee House of Representatives.
“It was during a meeting with Jason Gilliam back in February,” he told TENNBEAT.
Gilliam, an airline pilot, challenged Cepicky in the previous Republican primary. He fell to the cattle farmer by almost a thousand votes.
“I asked him if he planned on running against him again,” says Jeter. “I told him I couldn’t continue to sit by and watch Scott do nothing. If he wasn’t running, I would.”
Jeter has served on the Maury County Commission since 2022. He says the local body has been stunted by Cepicky’s leadership in the legislature.
“To get things done, local and state have to work together,” exclaims Jeter. “Scott is a lame duck. He’s not up there fighting for us.”
He offers impact fees as an example. The one-time development fees are designed to support local infrastructure. They are baked into the cost of building permits and can be used to expand sewer systems, add sidewalks, supplement local school funding and improve roads.
“Two years ago, several of us went to the capitol to support him on a bill that would have allowed us to have impact fees,” he says. “Another Republican representative shouted ‘Scott if you would have told me about this I would have helped you.’ He wasn’t really fighting for us. He didn’t even tell his colleagues about it.”
Jeter says the commission has spent more than six figures on a lobbyist who has worked alongside another representative, Rep. Tim Hicks, to pass “something to move the needle forward.”
“It still wasn’t what we needed. I don’t know how helpful it will actually be but at least Hicks did something for us. Our own representative didn’t,” says Jeter.
The commissioners aren’t the only ones Cepicky has ignored. Jeter claims countless individuals complain their emails and phone calls to the representative have gone unanswered.
“I hear it all the time, when I’m knocking doors,” says Jeter. “It’s wrong. Your job is to represent people, to listen to them and to help them. If you can’t help them, you point them in the direction of someone who can.”
Lettuce Legislation
Jeter says Cepicky’s lettuce legislation distracted him and the General Assembly from addressing problems that are present.
“He wasted our time with that,” Jeter says. “We have a list a mile long of issues that do exist. We have a water shortage here in Maury County. Our infrastructure is crumbling, and our schools don’t have enough funding.”
Education
Education is a top issue this election. It’s also an issue Cepicky and Jeter approach opposite of one another. Cepicky believes the way to fix the public school system is by “blowing it up.” Jeter believes in “building it up”.
“You’ve got to invest in the teachers and students,” he says. “You can’t starve a school system, and then expect great results.”
Jeter says if elected, he would not sponsor school choice legislation.
“We need to get back to basics,” says Jeter. “We need to talk to the teachers and see how we can best support them.”
Platform
Jeter says he would also focus on legislation to curb rising costs of living — including a statewide cap on property taxes for elderly Tennesseans on low and fixed incomes.
“Californians shouldn’t displace Maury County residents who have lived here all their life,” says Jeter. “Growth can be good, but it’s not good when it's driving people out of their homes.”
The elderly aren’t the only vulnerable class he is out to assist. He is determined to reform the Department of Child Services and make adoption easier and more affordable for Tennessee families.
His platform extends beyond people. It spills into the streets. The construction executive says Maury County’s infrastructure has not kept up with the growth.
“We are one of the fastest growing counties in the state,” exclaims Jeter. “Our infrastructure is crumbling. We are going to have to get some state funding in order to address the situation.”
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Background
Jeter’s commitment to Maury County started at a young age. He grew up in Columbia. After high school, he headed to “Bible College” in Texas where he studied theology. He left Longview and returned home to tie the knot with his kindergarten sweetheart.
“This is my home,” says Jeter. “I grew up here. I met my wife here. I raised my kids here.”
Prior to serving on the county commission, Jeter served as a volunteer deputy with the Maury County Sheriff's Department. Two years later, in 2011, they offered him a full time position, and in 2014 he was promoted to Chief Deputy. He left the agency in 2020 to pursue a better paying career in construction.
“I’ve always had a servant's heart,” he says. “I believe in serving others and speaking up for what is right.”
His servant heart is tied to his childhood trauma. Jeter’s biological family abandoned him at age 12.
“They left me in the middle of the night and moved to Oklahoma,” he tells TENNBEAT. “David Baker, my pastor, took me in.”
Jeter spoke out against the Baptist minister during his mayoral run two years ago. 32-year-old Aimee Spires accused Baker of turning a blind eye to the sexual assault she experienced at the hands of church member years ago.
Baker slammed Spires in a Facebook Video entitled “A Big Lie.” He said her story was being politicized because of his mayoral run.
Jeter felt called to respond. He said it was “appalling, reprehensible and disgusting” for the mayoral candidate to “attempt to minimize and discredit the young lady.”
“I’ve never been one to remain quiet,” Jeter says. “You have to speak up.”
Rep. Scott Cepicky
Cepicky is unphased by his competitor and any Democratic lawmakers who despise him. He insists his constituents — including Jason Gilliam — are pleased with the policy’s he proposed and passed.
“The reason Jason Gilliam isn’t running is because Jason supports me,” says Cepicky. He slid his cell phone across his Cordell Hull desk. On the screen was a text message from Gilliam. It showed admiration and appreciation for the incumbent. However, Cepicky declined to send the screenshot to TENNBEAT, and the date of the message is unknown.
As for the alleged unreturned phone calls and emails, Cepicky says, “He is insulting the hard working people we hire,” and points to the legislative assistant outside his office.
Education
The father of two also defended his efforts on the House Education Committee. Cepicky, who chairs the committee, sponsored a half-billion voucher bill and was an outspoken advocate of Tennessee’s third grade retention law.
Despite his bill's defeat and the well-documented opposition to school choice, Cepicky insists the majority of Tennesseans are in favor of vouchers.
“This is very popular with parents, but the left drowned their voices out,” he says.
62 school boards passed resolutions against school choice — none issued one in supporting the measure. Cepicky believes many school boards were “too scared” to vocalize their affinity for the program.
“There are 147 school boards. 62 of them passed resolutions against it. That’s not the majority. They were too scared of being attacked by the opposition and the media,” he tells TENNBEAT.
Cepicky’s legislation would have expanded Tennessee’s current voucher pilot program. Vouchers, also known as school choice, offer parents public tax dollars to send their students to private schools. Advocates insist it provides families with more education options, while those opposed argue it steals resources from already underfunded schools.
Unlike the current pilot program — which is limited to low income residents in failing school systems and mandates students take state standardized tests — Cepicky’s bill included no income requirements and did not require schools to adhere to state testing standards.
Those averse to vouchers called them “coupons”. They argue wealthy families whose students are already enrolled in private schools. They also said it was illogical to expand a program that did not improve student achievement. In the first year of the pilot program (2022-2023 school year), students who participated, performed worse than their public school peers.
Cepicky has an answer for the achievement gap. “In states like Wisconsin and Arizona, the kids always perform worse the first year. They are adjusting to a new school and a more rigorous curriculum. In year two, they bottom out, and in year three scores improve.”
TENNBEAT was unable to find data to support his assertions.
As for his trash talk, “You know that was taken out of context. Should I have used different words? Maybe…but anyone who knows me knows I’m not a politician and that’s how I speak.”
Cepicky also stood by his support of the third grade retention law. The policy which passed, holds back third grade students — if additional steps like tutoring or summer school are not taken — who don’t score proficient on the Language Arts portion of TCAP (Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program). In 2022, 60% of Tennessee third graders scored below the proficient benchmark.
Research on the success of holding students back in elementary school is mixed, with some studies showing gains in test scores and others finding no impact.
“The Department of Corrections bases the number of beds they need for prisons off third grade literacy,” he says. “We have to hold these kids back now, so they don’t end up in prison.”
Cepicky’s statement correlating prison capacity and literacy isn’t exactly accurate, but it’s not entirely inaccurate. Prison capacity predictions are linked to high school graduation rates. Third grade literacy is a bellwether for high school graduation.
Lettuce Legislation
Conversations on the controversy he stirred last session led to a discussion on his lettuce legislation. Cepicky is proud of the produce policy he passed. It classifies food that contains vaccines as a drug.
The legislation stemmed from a study at the University of California Riverside, where scientists are researching the possibility of “turning edible plants like lettuce into mRNA vaccine factories.”
The question for many remains: Why regulate something that doesn’t exist?
“You have to regulate problems before they become a problem,” Cepicky quips. “Back in 2020, I ran a bill to ban transgender females from playing girls sports. Everyone said this isn’t even happening. Fast Forward to 2022, Lea Thomas wins the NCAA swimming championship. Lea Thomas is a man. It wasn’t long after there were transgender females in Tennessee trying to do the same thing, but we had a law in place.”
Background
Sports are a central theme in the personal life and politics of Scott Cepicky. The St. Louis native was an all star high school athlete and was recruited to play football and baseball at the University of Wisconsin. In 1989, the punter entered into the NFL draft as a free agent. He was cut by two teams — the Cincinnati Bengals and Minnesota Vikings — during preseason.
The first baseman returned to baseball. That year he was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 23rd round. He played Minor League baseball from 1989 to 1994.
“Public service is a lot like sports,” he says. “You need to have discipline and put the needs of the team — other people — before yourself.”
A football game kicked off Cepicky’s political career.
“In 2010, I was watching the Alabama/Tennessee football game with my neighbor,” he recalls. “Obama made a mess of this country, and I was complaining. He bet me I wouldn’t do anything about it. The next day…I pulled a petition for county commission.”
Cepicky served on the Maury County Commission for four years. In 2014, he ran for county mayor and lost to former firefighter Charlie Norman by a narrow margin.
“147 votes,” he says with the sting of defeat still evident in his eyes. But Cepicky didn’t let the defeat put a damper on his political involvement. That year, he became the Chairman of the Maury County Republican Party.
“The county party was struggling,” says Cepicky. “I came in and turned it around.”
In 2018, then-District 64 Representative Sheila Butt rang. She was retiring, and suggested he run for her seat. Cepicky was successful. He has held the seat ever since.
The 57-year-old, told TENNBEAT feels sure he will soundly defeat Jeter in the Republican primary.
More than Maury County
Whether voters side with Cepicky or Jeter, this race represents more than Maury County. It will have profound implications on Tennessee’s next legislative session, public education and the Republican caucus.