Bill Powers | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of theTennessee Senate from the22nd district | |
| Assumed office April 25, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Rosalind Kurita |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1957-03-10)March 10, 1957 (age 68) Clarksville, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Fran Powers |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | University of Tennessee, Knoxville (BA) |
| Website | Campaign website |
Bill Powers (born March 10, 1957)[1] is anAmerican politician who has served in the 111thTennessee General Assembly since being elected in April 2019 and represents theTennessee Senate's22nd district.
He was born inClarksville, Tennessee and continues to live there to this day. He is the husband of Fran Powers, and they are parents of three children: Spence, Louise, and Henry. He graduated with honors from theUniversity of Tennessee with a Bachelor of Arts, English/History.[2]
He was elected two terms on the Clarksville City Council. Throughout his two terms, Powers served as Chairman of Clarksville Gas & Water; Clarksville Department of Electricity/ Lightband Board of Directors; Parks & Recreation; and Board of Zoning Appeals for the city.[3]
Powers began his campaign for the Tennessee Senate on January 11, 2019, due to Tennessee SenatorMark Green stepping down from his position, causing a vacancy.[3] On March 7, Powers won the Republican primary with 39.1% of the vote.[4] On April 23, Powers won the general election with 53.6% of the vote, defeatingDemocrat Juanita Charles and Independent candidates Doyle Clark and David Cutting.[5][6] Powers was sworn in on April 25, on the same day he voted in favor ofgovernorBill Lee's education savings account legislation.[7]
On February 14, 2020, Powers co-sponsored Senate Joint Resolution 723, which called for theTennessee Valley Authority,United States Army Corps of Engineers, and other federal authorities to join Tennessee in "aggressively addressing the Asian carp invasion in Tennessee waterways."[8] On May 11, Powers announced that theTennessee Department of Health had received $118,309 to expandCOVID-19 testing intoStewart County, to help combat theCOVID-19 pandemic.[9]
He is a member of multiple Senate committees and subcommittees which include:[1]
A special election was held on April 23, 2019 in which Powers ran as aRepublican againstDemocratic Juanita Charles as well as Independent party members Doyle Clark and David Cutting.[10] The results of the special election are shown in the table below.
| Candidates | % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| Bill Powers (R) | 53.6 | 6,461 |
| Juanita Charles (D) | 44.4 | 5,352 |
| Doyle Clark (Independent) | 1.3 | 155 |
| David Cutting (Independent) | 0.7 | 84 |