Bill Powers (American politician)

Bill Powers (born March 10, 1957)[1] is an American politician who has served in the 111th Tennessee General Assembly since being elected in April 2019 and represents the Tennessee Senate's 22nd district.

Bill Powers
Member of the Tennessee Senate
from the 22nd district
Assumed office
April 25, 2019
Preceded byRosalind Kurita
Personal details
Born (1957-03-10) March 10, 1957
Clarksville, Tennessee
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)Fran Powers
Children3 (Spence, Louise, and Henry)
EducationUniversity of Tennessee
Websitewww.votebillpowers.com

Early life, family, and education

He was born in Clarksville, Tennessee and continues to live there to this day. He is the husband of Fran Powers, and they are parents of three children: Spence, Louise, and Henry. He graduated with honors from the University of Tennessee with a Bachelor of Arts, English/History.[2]

Political career

Local politics

He was elected two terms on the Clarksville City Council. Throughout his two terms, Powers served as Chairman of Clarksville Gas & Water; Clarksville Department of Electricity/ Lightband Board of Directors; Parks & Recreation; and Board of Zoning Appeals for the city.[3]

State politics

Powers began his campaign for the Tennessee Senate on January 11, 2019, due to Tennessee Senator Mark Green stepping down from his position, causing a vacancy.[3] On March 7, Powers won the Republican primary with 39.1% of the vote.[4] On April 23, Powers won the general election with 53.6% of the vote, defeating Democrat Juanita Charles and Independent candidates Doyle Clark and David Cutting.[5][6] Powers was sworn in on April 25, on the same day he voted in favor of governor Bill Lee's education savings account legislation.[7]

On February 14, 2020, Powers co-sponsored Senate Joint Resolution 723, which called for the Tennessee Valley Authority, United States Army Corps of Engineers, and other federal authorities to join Tennessee in “aggressively addressing the Asian carp invasion in Tennessee waterways.”[8] On May 11, Powers announced that the Tennessee Department of Health had received $118,309 to expand COVID-19 testing into Stewart County, to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic.[9]

Positions and committees

He is a member of multiple Senate committees and subcommittees which include:[1]

  • Senate Government Operations Committee
  • Education, Health and General Welfare Subcommittee of Joint Government Operations Committee
  • Senate Energy, Agriculture, and Natural Resources Committee
  • Judiciary and Government Subcommittee of Joint Government Operations Committee

Elections

A special election was held on April 23, 2019 in which Powers ran as a Republican against Democratic Juanita Charles as well as Independent party members Doyle Clark and David Cutting.[10] The results of the special election are shown in the table below.

Special General Election for Tennessee State Senate District 22 (2019)[11]
Candidates % Votes
Bill Powers (R) 53.6 6,461
Juanita Charles  (D) 44.4 5,352
Doyle Clark  (Independent) 1.3 155
David Cutting (Independent) 0.7 84

References
  1. "Senators - TN General Assembly". www.capitol.tn.gov. Retrieved 2019-11-29.
  2. "Bill Powers for TN". www.votebillpowers.com. Retrieved 2019-11-29.
  3. CampaignJanuary 14, Savanna Jacoby Bill Powers for Senate; Am, 2019 11:54. "Businessman Bill Powers announces campaign for State Senate". ClarksvilleNow.com. Retrieved 2019-11-29.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. "Special election has Powers carry Republican nomination". clarksvillenow.com. March 7, 2019. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  5. "Republican Powers wins Tennessee Senate special election". apnews.com. April 24, 2019. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  6. Smith, Chris (April 23, 2019). "Election results: Bill Powers wins state Senate with 53 percent of vote". tennessean.com. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  7. Allison, Natalie (April 25, 2019). "In first act as state senator, Bill Powers flips stance on school vouchers". tennessean.com. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  8. "SEN. POWERS CALLS FOR AGGRESSIVE ACTION TO ADDRESS ASIAN CARP INVASION IN TENNESSEE WATERWAYS". tngopsenate.com. Tennessee Senate Republican Caucus. February 14, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  9. "Senator Bill Powers announces $118,309 to expand COVID-19 testing in Stewart County". clarksvillenow.com. May 11, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  10. April 23, ClarksvilleNow com; Pm, 2019 8:44. "Republican Bill Powers wins District 22 State Senate election". ClarksvilleNow.com. Retrieved 2019-11-30.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  11. "Bill Powers (Tennessee)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2019-11-29.
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