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This presentation, a joint effort of the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge and the League of Women Voters of Tennessee, features Senators Jeff Yarbro, District 21, and Ferrell Haile, District 18, discussing how redistricting impacts not only constituents but Senators as well.
Senator Yarbro was born in Dyersburg, TN and attended public schools. After graduating with honors from Harvard University with a degree in Government, he worked for Al Gore’s presidential campaign from 1999 through the end of the Florida recount. He attended law school at University of Virginia serving on the Virginia Law Review. After law school, he and his wife, Tyler, also an attorney, moved to Nashville. After a clerkship with Judge Gilbert Meredith, of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, he joined the practice of Bass, Berry and Sims, where his practice focuses on civil and appellate litigation, consumer financial services, constitutional law, and government contracts. Over the last decade, he led his firm to implement policy changes to increase participation in their formal pro bono program. Senator Yarbro was first elected to the Tennessee State Senate in 2014 representing District 21, parts of Davidson County including Nashville, Berry Hill and Oak Hill.
Senator Yarbro, the minority leader since 2019, currently serves on the Finance, Ways and Means, Health and Welfare, State & Local Government and Calendar Committees. He has been the prime sponsor of over 25 bills passed by the legislature and signed into law. This legislation focused on a wide range of issues including affordable housing, public transportation, health care access, criminal justice, open data, election reform, and the environment. He has been a leader in the ongoing, bipartisan effort to expand Tennessee’s Medicaid program under the Affordable Care Act.
Senator Ferrell Haile was born in Sumner County. He attended public schools before attending Lipscomb University, and then the University of Tennessee, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy. After completing his graduate degree, he returned home where he owned several drugstores and pharmacies, serving the needs of customers and patients in the Sumner County area. He served as Chairman for the Tennessee Pharmacy Coop. Vice-Chair for the American Pharmacy Cooperative Inc., previously served as a board member of the Sumner County Health Department, member of the Tennessee Pharmacist Association, and member of the National Community Pharmacists Association. Since 1975, he has owned Haile Farms, a cattle farm serving middle Tennessee. In that capacity, he has been a member of the Tennessee Cattleman’s Association and the Tennessee Farm Bureau.
In 2010, Senator Haile was unanimously appointed by the Sumner County Commission to fill the vacant 18th District Senate Seat and was elected in 2012 and reelected in 2016. He currently is 1st Vice Chair of the Health and Welfare Committee; Chair of the Ethics Committee; and a member of the Education, Finance, Ways and Means and Rules committees. Since serving in the Senate, he has received such awards as Legislator of the Year – 2017. He has been recognized with a perfect voting record for supporting small businesses by the National Federation of Independent Business organization.
The next months will present a challenge for citizens both local and state-wide to engage with their legislators to ensure a fair redistricting process; so much is at stake.
Lunch with the League welcomes League members and nonmembers alike to this informative presentation. For instruction on linking to the live presentation, contact maryannreeves1 [at] att.net. All League members will receive an email with the zoom link prior to the meeting. A couple of days following the presentation, you may view the recorded presentation on the League’s website (https://my.lwv.org/tennessee/oak-ridge).