Jeffery Washburn

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Jeffery Washburn

Independent

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 3, 2020

Education

Bachelor's

Bethel University, 1998

Law

Nashville School of Law, 2003

Personal

Birthplace

McKenzie, Tenn.

Religion

Baptist

Profession

Attorney

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Personal LinkedIn

Jeffery Washburn (independent) ran for election to the Tennessee House of Representatives to represent District 76. He lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.

Washburn completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.

## Contents

* 1 Biography
* 2 Elections
* 2.1 2020
* 3 Campaign themes
* 3.1 2020
* 4 See also
* 5 External links
* 6 Footnotes

## Biography[edit]

Jeffery Washburn was born in McKenzie, Tennessee. He received a bachelor's degree from Bethel University in 1998 and a J.D. from Nashville School of Law in 2003. He also attended the University of Tennessee at Martin. Washburn's professional experience includes being an attorney, a newspaper editor, a business owner and manager, and a part-time police officer. He previously served as a city alderman and as mayor of Dresden, Tennessee.

Washburn received his EMT-paramedic license. He has been affiliated with the Weakley County Rescue Squad, the Weakley County Economic Development Board, the Weakley County E-911 Board, the Weakley County Chamber of Commerce, the Dresden Planning Commission, and the Weakley County Baptist Association.[1]

## Elections[edit]

### 2020[edit]

See also: Tennessee House of Representatives elections, 2020

General election

##### General election for Tennessee House of Representatives District 76

Tandy Darby defeated Jeffery Washburn in the general election for Tennessee House of Representatives District 76 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate

Votes

|
|
|

✔ |

| Tandy Darby (R)  |

76.0

| 16,948

| Jeffery Washburn (Independent) |

24.0

| 5,365

* * *

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

| Total votes: 22,313

|
|

= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

#####  Republican primary for Tennessee House of Representatives District 76

Tandy Darby defeated John McMahan, Keith Priestley, Dennis Doster, and David Hawks (Unofficially withdrew) in the Republican primary for Tennessee House of Representatives District 76 on August 6, 2020.

Candidate

Votes

|
|
|

✔ |

| Tandy Darby |

38.0

| 2,822

| John McMahan |

22.5

| 1,673

| Keith Priestley |

21.1

| 1,564

| Dennis Doster |

16.3

| 1,211

| David Hawks (Unofficially withdrew) |

2.1

| 159

* * *

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

| Total votes: 7,429
(100.00% precincts reporting)

|
|

= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

## Campaign themes[edit]

### 2020[edit]

#### Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Jeffery Washburn completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Washburn's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am a resident of Dresden, Tennessee and currently serve as Mayor for the City of Dresden. I am an attorney at law and a small business owner. I also am a member of Bible Union Baptist Church and currently service Music Director for the church. I believe that experience as a businessman, attorney, and service as an elected Mayor for a small town makes me uniquely qualified to serve as State Representative for the 76th Dist of Tennessee. If elected, I will place the issues and concerns of the 76th District first and foremost. The citizens of this district will be my boss and I will a representative who pays attention to the needs of this District.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

* Jobs & Economic Development: Rural West Tennesseans need good jobs at good wages. Too many hard-working Tennesseans are struggling to provide for their families. Far too many have been left out and left behind. As your State Representative, I will work to bring new employers, industries, and jobs to our District.
* Education: Our children are our future. Every single child in Tennessee, regardless of their zip code, deserves an opportunity to succeed. I will work hand-in-hand with teachers to meet the challenges they face in the classroom and make sure they have the resources our children need. Our teachers deserve to be treated and compensated like the professionals they are. And I will make sure teachers and parents can help our children without government bureaucrats in Nashville interfering with our schools.
* Health Care: Tennessee is one of only 14 states that refused federal funds to expand Medicaid, leaving hundreds of thousands of Tennesseans without health insurance. Almost three-fourths of the states, including Indiana when Vice-President Mike Pence was governor, have accepted the federal funds. If we don't take the money, Tennesseans will pay taxes for other states to get health care, but too many of our men and women will do without. No one's parent or child should die because the local hospital closed. Yet recently hospitals in McKenzie and six other rural West Tennessee towns have closed. Tennessee is losing more hospit

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Economic Development, Education, and Health Care.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

There are many persons who I look up to, but one of the most influential in my life was our former County Mayor Houston Patrick, Mayor Patrick set a good Christian example for all in the way that he lived his life and based upon his love and kindness to his fellow citizens of our county. His shoes would be very difficult to fill, but he set an example that inspired me to be a better Christian and made me aspire to follow his example of service to mankind. As a politican, I also look up to former State Representative and Governor Ned Ray McWherter based upon his ability to bring the difference sides of political debates together and reach compromises that resulted in real solutions to the problems facing the state.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

As an Independent candidate, my political philosophy incorporates portions of the beliefs of both of the major political parties. I do not know of any particular book that accurately reflects my personal political philosophy Very possibly the book Crossing the Aisle by Keel Hunt closely reflects my philosophy on how to be a legislator or governor able to work with both sides and achieve tangible results.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Elected officials should be listening to their constituents and represent and serve their respective districts first and foremost! Elected officials should be individuals of high integrity and morals who bring honor and respect to the office that they hold. Elected officials should study each piece of legislation before them to insure that they know what they are voting on and what the impact will be to the citizens of their district.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

Ability to listen to and communicate with fellow legislators and work to achieve unity among various members of a legislative group. Very knowledgeable of governmental finance and how to balance budgets within the revenues available. I welcome and appreciate citizen input in matters pending before city government and will do likewise as a member of the Tennessee House of Represenatives.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

The core responsibility is to represent the citizens of their district in governing as a State Representative in Nashville.

What legacy would you like to leave?

I would like to leave a legacy that I was an office holder that had his district and citizens at heart and worked each and every day to better their lives and ability to make a decent living wage in the 76th District.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

The first big historical event that I recall was the assassination of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy on November 22, 1973. I was in the third grade at the time and I recall that our school principal came on the school intercom and made the somber announcement that President Kennedy had been assassinated. On the day of President Kennedy's funeral, my aunt who was my cousin and my Cub Scout den leader had us dress in our Cub Scout uniform and stand at attention before the television as the funeral procession moved toward Arlington National Cemetery. I have since visited Kennedy's grave site at Arlington several times to pay my respects.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My very first job was working in the newspaper business. My family owned two weekly newspapers in Northwest Tennessee and I went to work in the family business first when I was nine years old and then began work when I was 13 years of age in the print shop. I moved from my hometown of McKenzie in February 1974 to serve as managing editor of the Dresden Enterprise. I retired from the family newspaper business in September 2019. I worked in the newspaper business for over 50 years.

Every state besides Nebraska has two legislative chambers. What do you consider the most important differences between the legislative chambers in your state?

The Tennessee House of Representative is currently comprises 99 house districts across the state. Each House district is comprised of approximately 64,000 residents. The House is the most representative of the two chambers of the Tennessee Legislature based upon the smaller house districts and larger number of Representatives who serve. Members of the Tennessee House of Representatives serve two year terms. The Tennessee Senate is comprised of 33 districts with one State Senator elected from each district. State Senators serve four year terms with one-half of the Senators being elected every two years. With fewer members, the Tennessee Senate is prone to have less debate and a more expeditious review of pending legislation.

Do you believe that it’s beneficial for state legislators to have previous experience in government or politics?

I believe that it is good and beneficial for state legislators to have had previous experience in the operations of government and parliamentary procedure. As a former city alderman and current Mayor of the City of Dresden, I have obtained a significant amount of experience in interacting with state agencies and exposure to state regulations. I personally believe this experience as an elected city official has provided invaluable experience that can be used to be a good State Representative.

What do you perceive to be your state’s greatest challenges over the next decade?

I believe that the Tennessee must find ways to insure that our local community hospitals continue to operate and provide our residents with health care services close to home. Tennessee must find ways to insure that economic development and infrastructure development is distributed evenly across the state in order that all citizens of Tennessee have the ability to make a living wage and good job opportunities. Without a doubt, Education and funding of our schools remains a real challenge in our state. Teachers need to be treated and compensation like the professionals that they are.

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between the governor and the state legislature?

The Governor of Tennessee should propose state budgets and legislation that is reasonable and fair for all citizens of this state and which has great potential for receiving bi-partisan support in the state legislature. I would personally like to see more cooperation between the Governor and members of the legislature in developing and passing legislation that is supported by the majority of Tennesseeans. The governor and the legislature need to work to end the disconnect that the citizens of Tennessee feel exists between them and the elected representatives.

Do you believe it’s beneficial to build relationships with other legislators? Please explain your answer.

It is absolutely beneficial to build relationships with other legislators in order to improve communications among the various members of the legislature and to help end the legislative gridlock that exists in Nashville and Washington.

What process do you favor for redistricting?

I favor a process that follows natural boundaries and one that is not intended to unfairly seek to section off citizens or voting blocks to favor either political party or insure the election of candidates from a specific political party. We need to insure that we have districts that insure that the citizens of each district are fairly represented in our State Legislature.

If you are not a current legislator, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

The current committees that I would have a particular interest in serving on based upon my current knowledge and experience would include the Local Government, Education, Health, and Judiciary committess.

If you are not currently a member of your party’s leadership in the legislature, would you be interested in joining the leadership? If so, in what role?

As a new member of the legislature and as an independent, I would not be eligible to serve in a particular party's leadership. However, I would be interested in meeting and communicating with the leadership of both parties to learn about the goals of each party and how proposed legislation would be beneficial to the citizens of the state and particularly to the residents of the 76th House District.

Is there a particular legislator, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

I personally knew Speaker Ned Ray McWherter when he served in the House of Representatives and later as Governor for the state for eight years. If there was any recent legislator who I would want to model myself after, it would would be Governor McWherter particularly when he was speaker of the house because of his ability to bring the parties together to achieve real progress for the State of Tennessee with bi-partisan support.

Are you interested in running for a different political office (for example, the U.S. Congress or governor) in the future?

I do not have an interest in running for a different political office in the future. My primary focus as a candidate for State Representative of the 76th District of Tennessee to represent my constituents to the best of my ability for no more than eight years, and probably less, and then step aside from government service.

Both sitting legislators and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

I hear many personal stories about inability to pay for healthcare and being unable to have access to healthcare. Some of those stories are heartbreaking. I also hear stories from our teachers about how they are unable to effectively teach their students because of having to teach a test that their students are required to take. I also hear stories about excellent teachers leaving the profession because of government interference. I have talked to a number of those teachers who have told me that they loved teaching, but that the hurdles they were required to jump through had become too much. This certainly impacts me when I realize that government interference in our public schools and lack of fair compensation to our state public school teachers is actually detrimental our system of public education as our best and brightest are leaving the profession of teaching.. Touching-yes! Memorable-yes! Impactful-without a doubt!

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

## See also[edit]

2020 Elections

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## External links[edit]

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## Footnotes[edit]

1. ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on June 18, 2020

[show]

Current members of the Tennessee House of Representatives

Leadership

Speaker of the House:Cameron Sexton

Representatives

District 1

John Crawford (R)

District 2

Bud Hulsey (R)

District 3

Scotty Campbell (R)

District 4

John Holsclaw (R)

District 5

David Hawk (R)

District 6

Tim Hicks (R)

District 7

Rebecca Alexander (R)

District 8

Jerome Moon (R)

District 9

Gary Hicks (R)

District 10

Rick Eldridge (R)

District 11

Jeremy Faison (R)

District 12

Dale Carr (R)

District 13

Gloria Johnson (D)

District 14

Jason Zachary (R)

District 15

Sam McKenzie (D)

District 16

Michele Carringer (R)

District 17

Andrew Farmer (R)

District 18

Eddie Mannis (R)

District 19

Dave Wright (R)

District 20

Robert Ramsey (R)

District 21

Lowell Russell (R)

District 22

Dan Howell (R)

District 23

Mark Cochran (R)

District 24

Mark Hall (R)

District 25

Cameron Sexton (R)

District 26

Greg Martin (R)

District 27

Patsy Hazlewood (R)

District 28

Yusuf Hakeem (D)

District 29

Greg Vital (R)

District 30

Esther Helton (R)

District 31

Ron Travis (R)

District 32

Kent Calfee (R)

District 33

John Ragan (R)

District 34

Tim Rudd (R)

District 35

Jerry Sexton (R)

District 36

Dennis Powers (R)

District 37

Charlie Baum (R)

District 38

Kelly Keisling (R)

District 39

Iris Rudder (R)

District 40

Terri Weaver (R)

District 41

John Windle (I)

District 42

Ryan Williams (R)

District 43

Paul Sherrell (R)

District 44

William Lamberth (R)

District 45

Johnny Garrett (R)

District 46

Clark Boyd (R)

District 47

Rush Bricken (R)

District 48

Bryan Terry (R)

District 49

Mike Sparks (R)

District 50

Bo Mitchell (D)

District 51

Bill Beck (D)

District 52

Mike Stewart (D)

District 53

Jason Powell (D)

District 54

Vincent Dixie (D)

District 55

John Clemmons (D)

District 56

Bob Freeman (D)

District 57

Susan Lynn (R)

District 58

Harold Love (D)

District 59

Jason Potts (D)

District 60

Darren Jernigan (D)

District 61

Brandon Ogles (R)

District 62

Pat Marsh (R)

District 63

Glen Casada (R)

District 64

Scott Cepicky (R)

District 65

Sam Whitson (R)

District 66

Sabi Kumar (R)

District 67

Jason Hodges (D)

District 68

Curtis Johnson (R)

District 69

Brian Ragan (I)

District 70

Clay Doggett (R)

District 71

David Byrd (R)

District 72

Kirk Haston (R)

District 73

Chris Todd (R)

District 74

Jay Reedy (R)

District 75

Bruce Griffey (R)

District 76

Tandy Darby (R)

District 77

Rusty Grills (R)

District 78

Mary Littleton (R)

District 79

Curtis Halford (R)

District 80

Johnny Shaw (D)

District 81

Debra Moody (R)

District 82

Chris Hurt (R)

District 83

Mark White (R)

District 84

Joe Towns (D)

District 85

Jesse Chism (D)

District 86

Barbara Cooper (D)

District 87

Karen Camper (D)

District 88

Larry Miller (D)

District 89

Justin Lafferty (R)

District 90

Torrey Harris (D)

District 91

Vacant

District 92

Todd Warner (R)

District 93

G.A. Hardaway (D)

District 94

Ron Gant (R)

District 95

Kevin Vaughan (R)

District 96

Dwayne Thompson (D)

District 97

John Gillespie (R)

District 98

Antonio Parkinson (D)

District 99

Tom Leatherwood (R)

Republican Party (72)

Democratic Party (24)

Independent (2)

Vacancies (1)

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