Subcommittee on Trade and the Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures. He was also a member of the Republican Task Force on Trade, and the Republican Task Force on Ethics Reform. Governor of Tennessee First term In 1994, Sundquist ran for governor of Tennessee in the race to replace the Democratic incumbent, Ned McWherter, who was term-limited. He easily won the nomination, winning over 80% of the vote in the primary, and faced the Democratic nominee, Nashville mayor Phil Bredesen, in the general election. Bredesen criticized Sundquist for voting against a minimum wage increase while voting for a congressional pay raise. Sundquist accused Bredesen of flip-flopping on issues such as public funding for abortion and school privatization. On election day, Sundquist won, 807,104 votes to 664,252. During his first term, Sundquist focused on government efficiency and welfare reform. He signed the "Families First" bill in 1996, which reduced the number of families on welfare from 70,000 to 30,000. He also signed a series of crime-related measures which called for tougher sentences and more focus on victims' rights. In 1996, Sundquist eliminated the state's scandal-ridden Public Service Commission, replacing it with the Tennessee Regulatory Authority. That same year, he created the Department of Children's Services. Second term In 1998, Sundquist easily won renomination, defeating Memphis realtor Shirley Beck-Vosse, 258,786 votes to 28,951. In the general election, he easily defeated his Democratic opponent, John Jay Hooker, 669,973 votes to 287,790. Shortly after winning reelection in November 1998, Sundquist implemented the ConnectTen program, which made Tennessee the first state in the nation to connect its schools and libraries to the Internet. During his second term, Sundquist set out to raise more revenue for the state, which had traditionally been one of the lowest-tax jurisdictions in the country. He was concerned that the sales tax, which the state relied upon for much of its revenue, was too unstable, and prevented the state from competing with other Southern states in education and infrastructure. His tax reform plan therefore included a state income tax, the proposal of which had long been a third rail in Tennessee state politics. Many of his political allies turned against him, and anti-income tax street demonstrations were held in Nashville. In July 2001, demonstrators vandalized Sundquist's office, and broke windows in the state capitol when the legislature was considering the income tax measure. Post-governorship In 2002, toward the end of Sundquist's second