Chris Blackshear

Christopher Earl
"Chris" Blackshear

* * *

Alabama State Representative
for District 80 (Lee
and Russell counties)

Incumbent
Assumed office
February 2, 2016
Preceded by  |  Lesley Vance

* * *

Born  |  March 11, 1974
Citizenship  |  American
Political party  |  Republican
Spouse(s)  |  Krista Blackshear
Children  |  Two children
Residence  |  Phenix City, Alabama
Occupation  |  Employed by TSYS credit card processing firm

Christopher Earl Blackshear, known as Chris Blackshear (born March 11, 1974), is a former member of the city council in Phenix City, Alabama, who has since October 2016 represented District 80 in the Alabama House of Representatives. A Republican, his district encompasses Lee and Russell counties in the eastern portion of the state next to the Georgia state line.

Blackshear was elected at-large in 2012 to the Phenix City council and also served as mayor pro tempore.[1] He has been employed since 1994 with the credit card processing firm, TSYS. He has also been a reporter covering the football team for Troy University in Troy, Alabama. His wife, Krista, is an employee of the Phenix City School Board.[2]

On November 3, 2015, Republican state Representative Lesley Vance died in office. Blackshear won the special election on January 19, 2016, to choose Vance's successor. In an unusually low turnout of 895 voters, Blackshear received the Republican nomination with 621 votes (69.4 percent) to 231 (25.8 percent) for Russell County engineer James McGill, and 43 (4.8 percent) for Tommy Pugh, a member of the Russell County School Board. No Democrat filed to oppose Blackshear.[1]

Blackshear sits on these House committees: (1) County and Municipal Government, (2) Financial Services, (3) Insurance, (4) Internal Affairs, and (5) Lee County Legislation.[3]

In 2016, newly elected Representative Blackshear voted to forbid the sale or use in research of unborn babies, and he opposed dilation abortions. He voted to increase funding for new prison facilities. In 2017, he voted to prohibit the state from discriminating against, refusing to license, or refusing to renew the license of adoption agencies on the basis that the agency declines services because of its religious beliefs. The measure passed the House, 60-14. He voted to permit midwives to practice in his state, a measure which won House approval, 84-11. He voted to reduce the time for appeals from inmates on death row. He voted to prohibit alteration or removal of historic monuments, which passed 72-29. He voted to prohibit judicial override of sentencing guidelines, which passed the House, 78-19.[4]

## References[edit]

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Chris Blackshear. Ballotpedia. Retrieved on October 25, 2017.
2. ↑ Chris Blackshear announces bid for Phenix City Council seat. WLTZ.com (May 7, 2012). Retrieved on October 25, 2017.
3. ↑ Chris Blackshear's Biography. Retrieved on October 25, 2017.
4. ↑ Chris Blackshear's Voting Records. Project Vote Smart. Retrieved on October 25, 2017.