Jim McClendon (born January 10, 1943) is an American

optometrist Optometry is a specialized health care profession that involves examining the eyes and related structures for defects or abnormalities. Optometrists are health care professionals who typically provide comprehensive primary eye care. In the Uni ...

and politician. A Republican, he has served as a member of the Alabama State Senate from the 11th District since November 5, 2014 and was previously a member of the

Alabama House of Representatives The Alabama State House of Representatives is the lower house of the Alabama Legislature, the state legislature of state of Alabama. The House is composed of 105 members representing an equal number of districts, with each constituency contai ...

, where he represented the 50th District from 2002 to 2014.

Early life and education

McClendon was born in Mobile, studied as an undergraduate at

Birmingham Southern College Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West M ...

, and earned a bachelor's degree and a Ph.D. from the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...

. He served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

Medical Service Corps in Vietnam from 1968 to 1971.

Career

After his military service, McClendon taught clinical optometry at the University of Alabama, Birmingham and then entered private practice. He has been president of the Alabama Optometric Association.

Political career

In November 2002 McClendon defeated

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Marilyn Quarles in the 50th District for election to the Alabama House of Representatives; he represented the district for three terms, until 2014. In November 2014 he was elected to represent the 11th District in the State Senate, and has held that position since January 2015; he was re-elected in

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

. In 2016 and 2019, he put forward a state lottery, a perennial legislative proposal that would require an amendment to the state constitution. In May 2019, he voted for the

Human Life Protection Act The Human Life Protection Act, also known as House Bill 314 (HB 314) and the Alabama abortion ban, is an Alabama statute enacted on May 15, 2019, that imposes a near-total ban on abortion in the state. Set to go into effect in November 2019, ...

, which makes

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...

a crime in the state at any stage in a pregnancy, with no exemptions for rape or incest. Later that month, McClendon said on the Matt and Aunie morning radio show that cancer patients can just buy

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...

on the street if they need it.

Personal life

McClendon is married and lives on a farm in St. Clair Springs.

References

Living people Republican Party Alabama state senators Republican Party members of the Alabama House of Representatives 21st-century American legislators University of Houston alumni Birmingham–Southern College alumni American optometrists 1943 births 21st-century Alabama politicians {{Alabama-politician-stub