Rick Jeffares is an American politician who served in the

Georgia State Senate The Georgia State Senate is the upper house of the Georgia General Assembly, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Legal provisions The Georgia State Senate is the upper house of the Georgia General Assembly, with the lower house being the Georgia ...

as a member of the Republican Party from 2010-2017. He represented Senate District 17, which encompasses Henry, Newton, and Rockdale Counties. In 2018, Jeffares was running as a candidate for

Lieutenant Governor of Georgia The lieutenant governor of Georgia is a constitutional officer of the State of Georgia, elected to a four-year term by popular vote. Unlike in some other U.S. states, the lieutenant governor is elected on a separate ticket from the Governor of ...

Early life, education and work career

Jeffares was born and raised in Henry County, Georgia. His father farmed

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...

soybeans The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean, which has numerous uses. Traditional unfermented food uses of soybeans include soy milk, from which tofu and ...

and

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

and raised cattle on tracts of land around the county. When Jeffares was 13, his father died. Jeffares took over the farm while helping his mother raise two younger brothers. Jeffares attended

Clayton College and State University Clayton State University is a public university in Morrow, Georgia. It serves Metro Atlanta and is a selective Senior Unit of the University System of Georgia. The main campus includes of wooded grounds, featuring five lakes and a park-like a ...

where he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Management. Jeffares began his career at the Henry County Water Authority and led the City of

Covington, Georgia Covington is a city in the U.S. state of Georgia and the seat of Newton County, and is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. As of the 2010 Census, its population 14,113. History Covington was founded by European immigrants to the United Stat ...

Water and Sewer Department. He then started J&T Environmental Services, an operation and maintenance services company that builds and service water, sewer and wastewater facilities. He also serves as a

project manager A project manager is a professional in the field of project management. Project managers have the responsibility of the planning, procurement and execution of a project, in any undertaking that has a defined scope, defined start and a defined f ...

for G. Ben Turnipseed Engineers. Jeffares resides in Locust Grove, Georgia

Volunteer work

After the 2004 earthquake and

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explo ...

in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

, Jeffares volunteered to build

water purification Water purification is the process of removing undesirable chemicals, biological contaminants, suspended solids, and gases from water. The goal is to produce water that is fit for specific purposes. Most water is purified and disinfected for hu ...

facilities in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. After

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

, he purchased supplies and brought them to ravaged areas of

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

. He built new water systems there, despite an alleged lack of support from

FEMA The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Exec ...

Political career

In 2001, Jeffares became the City Manager for

Locust Grove, Georgia Locust Grove is a city in Henry County, Georgia, United States. The population was 5,402 at the 2010 census, up from 2,322 in 2000. Some unincorporated communities such as Luella and many rural areas surround Locust Grove, and those communities ha ...

. In 2008, he left that position, eventually becoming a Commissioner for

Henry County, Georgia Henry County is located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. Per the 2020 census, the population of Henry County is 240,712, up from 203,922 in 2010. The county seat is McDonough. The county was named for Patrick Henry. He ...

In 2010, Jeffares was elected to the Georgia State Senate from the 17th District. He has represented portions of Henry, Newton, Rockdale, Spalding and Walton Counties during his tenure in the

Georgia General Assembly The Georgia General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is bicameral, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Each of the General Assembly's 236 members serve two-year terms and are directly ...

. He serves as Chairman of the Regulated Industries and Vice Chairman of the Natural Resources Committees. He is also a member of the Appropriations and Ethics Committees. He also serves as the Vice-President of the Georgia Rural Water Association and is a member of the Georgia Violence Commission.

Campaign for Lieutenant Governor

Jeffares filed his paperwork on May 25, 2017 for the race for lieutenant governor of Georgia. Jeffares received an endorsement from Congressman Drew Ferguson. While Rick joined the race significantly later than his opponents, but had strong fundraising total to disclose on his first financial disclosure report. On December 1, 2017, Rick Jeffares resigned from the Georgia State Senate to completely focus on his campaign.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jeffares, Rick Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Republican Party Georgia (U.S. state) state senators Clayton State University alumni