ATLANTA - Tennessee Gov. Don Sundquist yesterday named Memphis businessman John Ferguson to succeed Finance and Administration commissioner Bob Corker when Corker returns to the private sector July 1.
Ferguson is a former banker who also has been politically active. Most recently, Republican Sundquist in January named him to head a commission responsible for ensuring that Tennessee complies with court orders to shape up a state facility for the disabled.
His public service resume also includes a stint on the state Board of Education and work with the Jobs for Tennessee Graduates program.
Ferguson, 51, used to be chief executive officer of Community Bancshares Inc., a community bank in the Memphis suburb of Germantown, from 1990 to 1995. Before that, he founded and ran for eight years a company called Equity Investment Corp.
"John is a well-respected business leader. I have been impressed with his professional experience and his willingness to give back to his state," Sundquist said in a prepared statement.
Tennessee's finance commissioner is in charge of shaping the governor's budget and shepherding it through the General Assembly. The commissioner also automatically sits on four committees that approve state bond issues, including the one for the Tennessee Housing Development Agency.
Corker left his business career in Chattanooga in 1995 promising to stay with the administration only for two legislative sessions, so his departure announcement earlier this month surprised few.
He got high marks - occasional standing ovations, in fact - from legislators in both parties for his work in reforming the TennCare health care system, for negotiating a state role in financing a professional football stadium for Nashville, and for working out budget snafus with Democratic lawmakers.
During his watch, Tennessee computerized TennCare to make it more responsive and designed a new program to deliver mental health and mental retardation services. Corker also was involved with Sundquist's just-passed welfare reform package that stresses training and finding jobs for Tennesseans on public assistance.
He and his wife recently bought a home in Nashville, although Corker has not ruled out returning to Chattanooga to run for public office.
