David Parker (born 1969) 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. He serves as a Republican member of the

Mississippi State Senate The Mississippi Senate is the upper house of the Mississippi Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The Senate, along with the lower Mississippi House of Representatives, convenes at the Mississippi State Capitol ...

for District 2, which includes part of DeSoto county.

Early life

David Parker was born on September 9, 1969, in Memphis, Tennessee. He was educated at Greenbrook Elementary and Southaven High School in Southaven, Mississippi. He graduated from Christian Brothers University on the pre-optometry track. He graduated from the Southern College of Optometry ''

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some So ...

''.

Career

Parker works as an

at his own business that he founded. He is a member of the American Optometric Association and the Mississippi Optometric Association. A Republican, Parker won a special election in 2012 to replace retiring senator

Merle Flowers Merle Flowers (born October 20, 1968) is an American businessman and politician from the state of Mississippi. A member of the Republican Party, Flowers served in the Mississippi State Senate. Flowers retired from the Mississippi Senate in 20 ...

in District 19 after defeating Rep. Pat Nelson. The district included parts of DeSoto County and was the most populous district in the state. Legislative redistricting created a new district in DeSoto county, resulting in Parker to run in District 2 for the

in 2015. He won the election. In 2019, his seat was considered "Safe Republican" by the

Mississippi Center for Public Policy The Mississippi Center for Public Policy (MCPP) is a free-market, conservative think tank located in Jackson, Mississippi. The organization's stated mission is "To advance the constitutional ideals of liberty and justice for all Mississippians by ...

. He voted to defund

Common Core The Common Core State Standards Initiative, also known as simply Common Core, is an educational initiative from 2010 that details what K–12 students throughout the United States should know in English language arts and mathematics at the conc ...

in 2014 on an amendment, which ultimately failed. In the aftermath of the

Charleston church shooting On June 17, 2015, a mass shooting occurred in Charleston, South Carolina, in which nine African Americans were killed during a Bible study at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. Among those people who were killed was the senior past ...

in June 2015, Parker calledfor the Confederate battle flag to be removed from the

flag of Mississippi The flag of Mississippi, also known as the Mississippi flag, consists of a white magnolia blossom surrounded by 21 white stars and the words 'In God We Trust' written below, all put over a blue Canadian pale with two vertical gold borders on a ...

, suggesting it was divisive. He was part of the legislative redistricting committee in the senate in 2021. He authored a proposal to reinstate the ballot initiative in the state. He declined to run for the 1st Congressional District upon Alan Nunnelee's death.

Personal life

Parker is married to Ashleigh Beckett and has four children. They reside in Olive Branch, Mississippi. He is a member of the United Methodist Church.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, David Living people 1969 births Christian Brothers University alumni People from Olive Branch, Mississippi Politicians from Memphis, Tennessee American optometrists Republican Party Mississippi state senators 21st-century American legislators