Kent Williams (Tennessee politician)
| Kent Williams | |
|---|---|
| 80th Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives | |
|
In office January 13, 2009 – January, 2011 |
|
| Preceded by | Jimmy Naifeh |
| Succeeded by | Beth Harwell |
| Member of the Tennessee House of Representatives from the 4th district |
|
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Assumed office January 3, 2007 |
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| Preceded by | Jerome Cochran |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
June 23, 1949 Carter County, Tennessee |
| Political party | Independent (self-proclaimed Carter County Republican) (2009—present) Republican (until 2009) |
| Spouse(s) | Gayle Williams |
| Residence | Elizabethton, Tennessee |
| Alma mater | Unaka High School |
| Occupation | Restaurateur, Farmer |
Kent Williams (born June 23, 1949) was a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives, first elected in 2006 to the Tennessee House of Representative as a Republican from the House District 4 (then entirely then Carter County in 2006 and subsequently reelected to the House in 2008.
Williams was the Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives during the 106th Tennessee General Assembly (2009—2010). During January 2009, Williams, together with all 49 House Democrats (including former Elizabethton resident Rep. Gary Odom), cast the last tie-breaking vote from the floor of the Tennessee House of Representatives to become the first elected Republican Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives since 1969.
The Tennessee Republican Party State Executive Committee, still stinging over the unanticipated election defeat of Rep. Jason Mumpower as the next Speaker of the House, voted to eject Williams as a bona fide member of the Tennessee Republican Party. In response, Speaker Williams then chose "Carter County Republican" as his new party designation and was later reelected to a third term in the Tennessee House of Representatives by Carter County voters over the Republican Party primary winner.
Republicans controlling the majority of the seats within Tennessee General Assembly following the 2010 U.S Census, gerrymandered the House 4th District boundary lines as to encompass parts of both Carter County and neighboring Unicoi County. Williams failed to win reelection within the redrawn House 4th District.
Williams was born in Carter County, Tennessee in 1949. His father worked as a laborer in one of the Elizabethton rayon mills. His family lived in Dale Hollow in the Sadie section of Stoney Creek, at the foot of Holston Mountain. Williams graduated from Unaka High School.
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