Douglas S. "Doug" Jackson (born July 10, 1954 in
Dickson, Tennessee
Dickson is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. Located in Dickson County. it is part of the Nashville metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, Dickson's population was 16,058.
History
Dickson was named for Congressman William Dickson, as wa ...
) is a former
Tennessee state senator
The Tennessee Senate is the upper house of the U.S. state of Tennessee , Tennessee's state legislature, which is known formally as the Tennessee General Assembly.
The Tennessee Senate has the power to pass resolutions concerning essentially any ...
, and is an
attorney
Attorney may refer to:
* Lawyer
** Attorney at law, in some jurisdictions
* Attorney, one who has power of attorney
* ''The Attorney'', a 2013 South Korean film
See also
* Attorney general, the principal legal officer of (or advisor to) a gove ...
, and executive director of the Renaissance Center.
Early life
Jackson is a son of Dr. Jimmy Jackson, a fixture in the Dickson medical community who operated (along with his brothers Lawerence and William) the former Goodlark Medical Center (now
HCA
HCA may refer to:
Courts
* High Court of Australia, the supreme court in the Australian court hierarchy and the final court of appeal in Australia
Organizations Europe
* Hall–Carpenter Archives, an archive of materials related to gay activism ...
-owned Horizon Medical Center). Most of the descendants of these three physicians and brothers entered the medical field, but Doug chose instead the study of law following his graduation from
Battle Ground Academy
Battle Ground Academy (BGA) is an independent college-preparatory school for grades K-12. BGA is located in Franklin, Tennessee, US. Founded in 1889, the school was originally located in part on the site of the Battle of Franklin in the America ...
in
Franklin, Tennessee
Franklin is a city in and county seat of Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. About south of Nashville, it is one of the principal cities of the Nashville metropolitan area and Middle Tennessee. As of 2020, its population was 83,454 ...
and
Austin Peay State University
Austin Peay State University () is a public university in Clarksville, Tennessee. Standing on a site occupied by a succession of educational institutions since 1845, the precursor of the university was established in 1927 and named for then-sitt ...
in
Clarksville, Tennessee
Clarksville is the county seat of Montgomery County, Tennessee, United States. It is the fifth-largest city in the state behind Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville, and Chattanooga. The city had a population of 166,722 as of the 2020 United States ce ...
. Jackson's legal studies were undertaken at the
Cumberland School of Law
Cumberland School of Law is an American Bar Association, ABA accredited law school at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. It was founded in 1847 at Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tennessee and is the 11th oldest law schoo ...
at
Samford University
Samford University is a private Christian university in Homewood, Alabama. In 1841, the university was founded as Howard College by Baptists. Samford University describes itself as the 87th oldest institution of higher learning in the United Sta ...
in
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...
, after which he was admitted to the Tennessee
bar
Bar or BAR may refer to:
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* Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages
* Candy bar
* Chocolate bar
Science and technology
* Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment
* Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud
* Bar (u ...
.
In addition to the regular practice of law, Jackson often assisted his father with regard to legal issues affecting his operation of the hospital and practice of medicine. In 1986, Jackson decided to challenge long-term
incumbent
The incumbent is the current holder of an official, office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seek ...
Walter "Buck" Work for his seat in the 69th
House
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
District of the
Tennessee General Assembly
The Tennessee General Assembly (TNGA) is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is a part-time bicameral legislature consisting of a Senate and a House of Representatives. The Speaker of the Senate carries the additional title ...
.
State House of Representatives
Defeating Work handily in the August
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
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*Botswana Democratic Party
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*Demo ...
primary
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Works
* ...
, Jackson coasted to election in November by a margin of roughly two to one over his
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
opponent in what was at the time still an overwhelmingly Democratic district. After this he never faced a truly well-funded or highly organized campaign against him for the next six two-year terms, never failing to receive less than 57% of the vote in any contest despite the district's increasingly Republican nature.
During this period, Jackson established a fairly
conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
voting record, generally being pro-
business
Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for pr ...
and always
anti-abortion
Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respons ...
, a position at odds with the national Democratic Party but well in tune with a majority of his constituents. He has stated that his pro-life views grow naturally from his
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
faith and were not politically motivated or in any way negotiable. It was reported that Jackson was among several Democratic House members approached by the Republican Party after they had gained temporary control of the Tennessee State Senate through
party switching
Party switching is any change in political party affiliation of a partisan public figure, usually one currently holding elected office.
Party switching also occurs quite commonly in Brazil, Italy, Romania, Ukraine, India, Malaysia , and the Ph ...
to take part in a similar effort in the House but that he declined to do so.
In 1994 and during his House tenure, Jackson survived a very serious bout with
cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
, which forced him to miss many legislative meetings. When he reappeared on the House floor, still bald from the effects of
chemotherapy
Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemotherap ...
and
radiation
In physics, radiation is the emission or transmission of energy in the form of waves or particles through space or through a material medium. This includes:
* ''electromagnetic radiation'', such as radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visi ...
treatments, it was to a protracted standing ovation. As of 2019, Jackson has suffered no recurrence.
State Senate
Following his family's sale of Goodlark Medical Center to HCA, the funds for the proceeds from this sale were placed in a foundation, the Jackson Foundation, which was established for the primary purpose of operating an educational and cultural center on
State Route 46 south of Dickson. Jackson was named executive director of the foundation and the center and was reportedly not intending to seek any further terms in the House. However, when 25th District State Senator Kenneth N. "Pete" Springer was found dead in his apartment in early 2000, Jackson's plans suddenly changed. Springer's widow was elected by the
Hickman County Commission as an interim replacement; it was correctly assumed that she had little interest in
politics
Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...
and would serve merely as a
caretaker
Caretaker may refer to:
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* ''The Caretaker'' (film), a 1963 adaptation of the play ''The Caretaker''
* ''The Caretakers'', a 1963 American film set in a mental hospital
* Caretaker, a character in the 1974 film '' T ...
with no desire to stand for election in her own right. Jackson soon entered the hotly contested primary for the remaining two years of Springer's term and defeated, among others, Springer's former staff director and campaign manager in August 2000.
The Tennessee Republican Party made a concerted effort to regain the control of the state senate that fall that it had lost when the party switchers mentioned above retired from office, so Jackson was to face a hard-fought campaign for the November election against
Decaturville, Tennessee
Decaturville is a town in and the county seat of Decatur County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 867 at the 2010 census. It is named for American Revolutionary War Commodore Stephen Decatur, Jr.
Geography
Decaturville is located at ...
businesswoman Bonnie Butler, whom he defeated by a margin of 55% to 45%.
Subsequent elections
Jackson was elected to a full term in November 2002 by a larger margin over his Republican opponent, retired
Humphreys County educator Jim Brasfield, than he had won over Butler two years previously. Jackson apparently remained quite popular; he won the Democratic nomination for a third (second full) term in the Tennessee Senate on August 3, 2006 with over 80% of the vote. However, he was defeated in the general election by Republican Jim Somerville on November 2, 2010, ending his Senate service.
Legislative actions
Jackson sponsored a controversial bill "allowing Tennessee's estimated 270,000 handgun-carry permit holders to go armed in restaurants, bars, museums and other establishments licensed to sell alcohol for on-premises consumption (providing that they refrained from consuming themselves while armed)." The Senate voted to override an earlier
veto
A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president or monarch vetoes a bill to stop it from becoming law. In many countries, veto powers are established in the country's constitution. Veto ...
by Tennessee's Governor Phil Bredesen on May 28, 2010. The law took effect on July 1 of that year. Democratic then-
Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
Phil Bredesen opposed the "guns bill sponsored by Sen. Doug Jackson, D-Dickson, on the basis that 'guns and alcohol don't mix.'" Despite Jackson's assertion that, "I haven't gotten a complaint from a single citizen that a permit holder made them feel uncomfortable" there was some public outcry and websites started to voice opposition to the law. At the time of its passage, many high-profile law enforcement officers stood in opposition to Jackson's position on the bill.
Jackson received public attention in early 2006 as a sponsor of a bill to increase Tennessee's
minimum wage
A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation by the end of the 20th century. Bec ...
to $1.00 an hour above the then-federally required $5.15/hr. Unlike many other states, Tennessee has never had a state minimum wage requirement in excess of the federal rate. This bill faced stiff opposition from business interests which have often supported Jackson in the past, as well as Republican members. Jackson's passed on the floor of the then-Democrat controlled House but failed on the floor of the Republican-controlled senate. The vote broke along party lines.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Douglas S.
1954 births
Austin Peay State University alumni
Living people
Democratic Party members of the Tennessee House of Representatives
Democratic Party Tennessee state senators
Samford University alumni
Tennessee lawyers
People from Dickson, Tennessee