James M. Summerville (born October 27, 1947) was a member of the

Tennessee Senate The Tennessee Senate is the upper house of the U.S. state of 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 issue rega ...

from the 25th district, encompassing: Cheatham County,

Dickson County Dickson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 54,315. Its county seat is Charlotte. Dickson County is part of the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN Metropoli ...

, Hickman County, Humphreys County, and Robertson County; and

, Giles County, Hickman County, Humphreys County, Lawrence County, and Lewis County before the 2012 redistricting. A former Republican he later declared himself an Independent.

Biography

Jim Summerville was born on October 27, 1947 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 ...

. He received a B.A. in

Political Science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

from the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state, ...

in 1969, an M.A. in English Literature from the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

in 1972, and an M.A. in American History from

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

in 1983. He teaches as an adjunct instructor in the Department of Languages and Literature at

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 ...

. Elected as a Republican, he resigned his membership in the Republican Caucus after losing in a primary in August 2014. In a letter he sent to the Republican Caucus Chairman, Summerville said he would be serving as an independent member of the Senate for the remainder of his term. He is a member of the

National Association of Scholars The National Association of Scholars (NAS) is an American non-profit politically conservative advocacy organization, with a particular interest in education. It opposes a perceived political correctness on college campuses and supports a return ...

and the Tennessee

Eagle Forum Eagle Forum is a conservative interest group in the United States founded by Phyllis Schlafly in 1972 and is the parent organization that also includes the Eagle Forum Education and Legal Defense Fund and the Eagle Forum PAC. The Eagle Forum has ...

. He attends a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

church in Dickson. He is the founder of th
Theodore Association Police Award for Nashville and Middle Tennessee.
He supported

Rick Perry James Richard Perry (born March 4, 1950) is an American politician who served as the 14th United States secretary of energy from 2017 to 2019 and as the 47th governor of Texas from 2000 to 2015. Perry also ran unsuccessfully for the Republica ...

for Republican primary of the presidential election of 2012. He was the lead volunteer for the restoration of th
Battle of Nashville Monument

Arrests

In September 2014, Summerville was arrested for public intoxication. The next month, he was arrested for stalking and assault.https://www.timesfreepress.com , October 20th, 2014 , Why Sen. Jim Summerville was arrested three times in one month , Associated Press

/ref>

Bibliography

*''Educating Black Doctors: A History of Meharry Medical College'' (Alabama, 1983) *''The Carmack-Cooper Shooting: Tennessee Politics Turns Violent'' (McFarland, 1994) *''Southern Epic: Nashville Through 200 Years'' (Hallmark, 1996) *''With Kennedy and Other Stories'' (Xlibris, 1998) *''Nashville Medicine: A History'' (Association Publishing, 1999)

Contributing writer

*''American National Biography'' (Oxford, 1999) *''Encyclopedia of Local History'' (Altamira, 2000) *''Historical Dictionary of the Gilded Age'' (M.E. Sharpe, 2003)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Summerville, Jim Living people People from Dickson, Tennessee University of Tennessee alumni University of Iowa alumni Vanderbilt University alumni Austin Peay State University faculty American Presbyterians Republican Party Tennessee state senators National Association of Scholars Tennessee politicians convicted of crimes 1947 births