Steve Godsey

Early career

Godsey attended Tennessee High School in Bristol, Tennessee, followed by Bristol College (now defunct), Appalachian Flight School (defunct), Dana Automotive Technology School, and Cooper Automotive Sales and Mark School. He worked for many years as a small business owner selling used cars. For ten years, he was a sales manager for Dana Corp, and for five he worked as a sales manager at Champion Spark Plug-Cooper Automotive. For eight years, he was a sales manager and special projects coordinator.

State Representative

A Republican, Godsey represented the 1st District, which encompasses part of Sullivan County, in the Tennessee House of Representatives in the 100th through 104th Tennessee General Assemblies. While serving within the Tennessee General Assembly, Godsey was at various times a member of the Education Committee, the Transportation Committee, the Commerce Committee, the K-12 Subcommittee, and the Small Business Subcommittee.

County mayor

Godsey was elected to a four-year term as county mayor of Sullivan County in 2006 and won re-election to a second term in 2010. The county mayor is the chief administrative officer for the county. Sullivan County elects its mayors on a partisan basis. As of 2010, the mayor's salary was $101,024. He was defeated by Richard Venable in the 2014 election.

Anti-Homosexual Stance

Godsey took advantage of the National Day of Prayer to express his outrage at both NBA player Jason Collins' admission of homosexuality and President Obama's congratulatory phone call. Calling Mr. Collins a "devout homosexual", Mr. Godsey chose to overlook the historical significance of Mr. Collins's admission, as the first openly-homosexual major professional sports figure. The complete text of the speech is found at the link below. http://www.timesnews.net/article/9061237/sullivan-mayor-preaches-against-obama-at-prayer-event#.UYPvqV_bpdA.mailto