John Ray Clemmons (born July 14, 1977) is an American politician from the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

. A member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, he serves in the Tennessee House of Representatives, representing the 55th district, in West Nashville.

Early life

Clemmons was born in Lebanon, Tennessee, raised on a farm between Lebanon and

Watertown, Tennessee Watertown is a town located in Wilson County, Tennessee. The population was 1,477 at the 2010 census .The population then raised to 1,556 after the 2020 census. It is located southeast of Lebanon, and northwest of Smithville. History Prior to the ...

, and attended Lebanon High School, graduating with Honors in 1995."Representative John Ray Clemmons"
/ref> He then earned a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

in history from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, while rowing on the Columbia lightweight

crew A crew is a body or a class of people who work at a common activity, generally in a structured or hierarchical organization. A location in which a crew works is called a crewyard or a workyard. The word has nautical resonances: the tasks involved ...

team, in 1999. He earned a Juris Doctor from the

University of Memphis Law School The University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law is an American Bar Association accredited law school and is the only law school in Memphis, Tennessee. The school has been associated with the University of Memphis since the law school's ...

in 2006. He and his wife Tamara Baxt Clemmons have three children, and the family lives in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

. Clemmons is a civil litigation attorney.

Political career

2014–2019

In the 2014 elections, at 36 years of age Clemmons challenged Gary Odom, the

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an 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 seeking re-ele ...

representative for the 55th district in the Tennessee House of Representatives in the Democratic primary, who had held the seat since Clemmons was eight years old. Odom had served in the Tennessee General Assembly since 1986, and was a former House majority leader. Clemmons defeated Odom, with 54% of the vote. Clemmons was then unopposed in the general election. In 2016, Clemmons ran for reelection to his House seat, and was unopposed in both the Democratic primary and general elections. In 2018, he ran again for his House seat, and was unopposed in the Democratic primary and won the general election with 100% of the vote. Clemmons ran for

Mayor of Nashville The Mayor of Nashville is the chief executive of Nashville Tennessee's government. The current mayor is John Cooper, a member of the Democratic party. Each mayor serves a term of four years, with a limit of two terms, unless this is interrupt ...

in the 2019 Nashville mayoral election. One of the youngest candidates in the race, he focused on public education, affordable housing, and infrastructure. In the 10-candidate race he finished in fourth place behind incumbent Nashville Mayor

David Briley Clifton David Briley (born January 8, 1964) is an American politician. A Democrat, he was the eighth mayor of Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County. He was elected in 2015 as vice-mayor and was sworn in as acting mayor after Megan Barry's ...

, eventual winner John Cooper, and Vanderbilt University professor Carol M. Swain, failing to make the two-candidate runoff election.

2020–present

In 2020, Clemmons ran for reelection to his House seat, and was unopposed in both the Democratic primary and general elections. In 2021-2022 he was on the House Civil Justice Committee, Education Administration Committee, and Health Committee. In 2022 he was rated 92% by NORML (the

National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML ) is a social welfare organization based in Washington, D.C., that advocates for the reform of marijuana laws in the United States regarding both medical and non-medical use. Ac ...

). In January 2022, when the board of trustees of

McMinn County Schools McMinn County School District or McMinn County Schools is a school district headquartered in Athens, Tennessee. Most of McMinn County is zoned to the district for all grade levels. Residents of Athens and Etowah however have separate school di ...

, in a 10–0 decision, removed the Pulitzer Prize-winning

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

graphic novel '' Maus'' from its curriculum for 8th grade English classes, overriding a State curriculum decision, Clemmons was critical of the decision. Clemmons said "Books are being stripped out of public libraries that give detailed personal accounts from survivors and about victims of the Holocaust."

References

External links

Legislative website
*Sam Zern (February 3, 2019)
"Q&A with John Clemmons, the state representative challenging David Briley for Nashville mayor,"
''Vanderbilt Hustler'' *Tommy Crouse (July 31, 2019)
"Meet the mayoral candidates: Rep. John Ray Clemmons; Clemmons promises transit referendum,"
News Channel 5, Nashville. {{DEFAULTSORT:Clemmons, John Ray Living people Columbia Lions rowers People from Lebanon, Tennessee Politicians from Nashville, Tennessee Democratic Party members of the Tennessee House of Representatives 21st-century American politicians 1977 births Columbia College (New York) alumni University of Memphis alumni