Gary Odom | |
|---|---|
 Odom in 2014 | |
| Member of the TennesseeHouseofRepresentatives from the 55 district | |
| In office 1987–2014 | |
| Preceded by | Michael D. Murphy |
| Succeeded by | John Ray Clemmons |
| Personal details | |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Alma mater | Eastern Kentucky University |
Gary Odom is an American politician from Nashville,Tennessee,and the former Democratic Minority Leader of the Tennessee House of Representatives. He was elected to represent the 55th district,which is part of Davidson County. [1]
Odom was first elected as a state representative to serve in the 95th Tennessee General Assembly (1987–1988),succeeding fellow Democrat Michael Murphy. In addition to serving as the Democratic Majority Leader,Odom served as Chair of the House Ethics Committee and the House Rules Committee. He also served on the House Finance,Ways and Means Committee;the House Health and Human Resources Committee;the House Government Operations Committee;the House Calendar and Rules Committee;the House Budget Subcommittee;the House Professional Occupations Subcommittee;the Joint TACIR Committee;the Joint Worker's Compensation Committee;the Joint Lottery Oversight Committee;and the Joint Tenncare Oversight Committee. [1]
Prior to his service in the Tennessee House of Representatives,he served in the Metropolitan Council of Nashville and Davidson County from 1983 to 1995. For three years,he was a faculty member at Aquinas Jr. College,and for 20 years he served as Executive Director of the Tennessee Optometric Association. In 1973,he graduated from East Tennessee State University with a Bachelor of Science degree,and in 1975 he earned his master's degree when he graduated from Eastern Kentucky University. [1]
In August 2007,Gary Odom sponsored a bill that made "doctor shopping," the practice of obtaining multiple prescriptions of the same or similar drugs from multiple doctors,a felony for patients on TennCare. [2] He introduced a bill that would have required hunters to have permission of homeowners before firing weapons on private property and within 100 yards (91 m) of someone's home,and after that was rejected by a House subcommittee,he introduced a bill to authorize local governments to regulate hunting. [3] In February 1998,he sponsored a bill that allowed Tennessee's 51 parks to put up voluntary donation boxes. [4] He voted against a bill that would have amended the Tennessee State Constitution to state that abortion is not included as a right to privacy in Tennessee. [5]
He was opposed to one aspect of Nashville,Tennessee's tree ordinance,which required 14 tree units,or about 28 small trees,to be planted per paved acre. Another option for large trucking companies was to make a payment to the city's tree fund,and a friend of Gary Odom owed the city's tree fund $191,000 as a result. He stated the ordinance is impractical for large industrial sites such as the 45-acre (180,000 m2) lot Western Express owns. [6]
Mary Marsha Blackburn is an American politician and businesswoman serving as the senior United States senator from Tennessee. Blackburn was first elected to the Senate in 2018. A member of the Republican Party,Blackburn was a state senator from 1999 to 2003 and represented Tennessee's 7th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 2003 to 2019,during which time the National Journal rated her among the House's most conservative members.
Lincoln Edward Davis is an American politician and the former U.S. Representative for Tennessee's 4th congressional district. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He is a member of the ReFormers Caucus of Issue One.
John Sumners Tanner is a former American politician who served as the U.S. representative for Tennessee's 8th congressional district,serving from 1989 until 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Since his retirement,Tanner has served as the Vice Chairman of Prime Policy Group.
James Hayes Shofner Cooper is an American lawyer,businessman,professor,and politician who served as the U.S. representative for Tennessee's 5th congressional district from 2003 to 2023. He is a member of the Democratic Party and was a member of the Blue Dog Coalition,and represented Tennessee's 4th congressional district from 1983 to 1995. His district included all of Nashville. He chaired the United States House Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces of the House Armed Services Committee,and sat on the Committee on Oversight and Reform,United States House Committee on the Budget,and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence,more committees than any other member of Congress. At the end of his tenure,he was also the dean of Tennessee's congressional delegation. Cooper is the third-longest serving member of Congress ever from Tennessee,after Jimmy Quillen and B. Carroll Reece.
Frank S. Niceley is a Republican member of the Tennessee State Senate representing the 8th district,consisting of Claiborne,Grainger,Hancock,Hawkins,Jefferson and Union counties.
Thelma M. Harper was an American politician and the first African-American woman state senator in Tennessee and the longest-serving female state senator in Tennessee history. She was also the first African-American woman to serve as the chair of the Senate Government Operations Committee;she held that position during the 102nd,103rd,104th,and 105th General Assemblies,and she also served as vice chair of the Senate State and Local Government Committee during the 97th and 101st General Assemblies and the first senator to serve as chair of the Tennessee Black Caucus.
Park M. Strader was a Tennessee politician and a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives for the 14th district,which comprises part of Knox County.
Beverly Robison Marrero is an American politician and a Democratic member of the Tennessee Senate District 30,which is a part of Shelby County. She was first elected to the 103rd General Assembly in the House by-election after Rep. Carol Chumney resigned to become a member of the Memphis City Council.
Harry J. Tindell is a Tennessee politician and a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives for the 13th district,which encompasses part of Knox County.
Ulysses Jones Jr. was an American politician and a Democratic member of the Tennessee House of Representatives for the 98th district,which encompasses a part of Shelby County,Tennessee.
Lois Marie DeBerry was an American politician who was a member of Tennessee House of Representatives and former Speaker Pro Tempore of the Tennessee House. She was elected to represent the 91st district,part of Shelby County,as a Democrat. She was first elected to the Tennessee General Assembly in 1972 and was at the time of her death the longest serving member of the House.
Michael Dean Bishop is an American attorney and politician who was the U.S. representative for Michigan's 8th congressional district from 2015 to 2019. He is a member of the Republican Party. He previously served in the Michigan House of Representatives from 1999 to 2003,and the Michigan State Senate from 2003 to 2010 where he served as majority leader.
Beth Halteman Harwell is a member of the board of directors of the Tennessee Valley Authority and the former Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives. She served as State Representative for Nashville and is a former chair of the Tennessee Republican Party. First elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives in 1988,Harwell served as a Republican Minority Whip and Commerce Committee chair before being elected to the Speakership. She is the first woman to serve as Tennessee's Speaker of the House. In 2017,she announced her candidacy for governor of Tennessee in the 2018 election.
John D. Ragan Jr. is an American politician. A Republican,he represents District 33 in the Tennessee House of Representatives.
Cameron A. Sexton is an American politician from Tennessee. A Republican,he has been a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives for the 25th District since 2011,and has been the Speaker of the state House since 2019. Before becoming Speaker,Sexton was Majority Caucus Chairman.
Brian S. King is an American politician serving as a Democratic member of the Utah House of Representatives from the 23rd district. Before redistricting following the 2020 Census,he represented the 28th district since January 1,2009. In April 2024,he became the Utah Democratic Party's nominee for Governor.
Dan Howell is an American politician from Cleveland,Tennessee. Since 2013,he has served as a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives for the 22nd district. He is a member of the Republican Party.
Bob Freeman is a Democratic member of the Tennessee House of Representatives representing the 56th District,a part of Davidson County.
Paul Sherrell is an American politician. A Republican,he represents District 43 in the Tennessee House of Representatives.
Diana Lynn Harshbarger is an American pharmacist,businesswoman,and politician. A member of the Republican Party,she has served as the U.S. representative for Tennessee's 1st congressional district since January 3,2021. Her district is based in the Tri-Cities area in northeastern Tennessee.