Randell "Randy" Tyree (born 1940) is a

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

politician who served as

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Knoxville Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

from 1976 to 1983 and was the Democratic candidate for

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

in 1982.

Biography

Tyree was born in

Carthage, Tennessee Carthage is a town in and the county seat of Smith County, Tennessee, United States; it is part of the Nashville Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,306 at the 2010 census. It is located on the Cumberland River, which was importa ...

, in 1940. He received a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

from

Middle Tennessee State University Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU or MT) is a Public university, public research university in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Founded in 1911 as a normal school, the university consists of eight Undergraduate education, undergraduate colleges as ...

, where his major was political science. Subsequently he earned a law degree from the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...

.Randy Tyree (D) - Sheriff
''

Knoxville News Sentinel The ''Knoxville News Sentinel'', also known as ''Knox News'', is a daily newspaper in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States, owned by the Gannett Company. History The newspaper was formed in 1926 from the merger of two competing newspapers: '' ...

'', July 20, 2008 Tyree, now divorced, was married to the former Mary Pat Dukas. The couple has four children. For a ten-year period early in his career, he worked in

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of the government or other social institutions who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by investigating, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms gove ...

, including a four-year stint with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as well as a period as a

police officer A police officer (also called policeman or policewoman, cop, officer or constable) is a Warrant (law), warranted law employee of a police, police force. In most countries, ''police officer'' is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. ...

in Knoxville. He also served as a police commissioner in the City of Knoxville.Tyree will be on August ballot for Knox County sheriff
WATE-TV website, June 8, 2006 He was elected mayor of Knoxville at age 34 in 1975, the city's youngest candidate ever to hold that office, defeating Republican incumbent Kyle Testerman. He took office the following year.Chronology for World's Fair issues
, ''

'', April 28, 2002 In 1979 he won re-election to a second four-year term, and presided over the city during the

1982 World's Fair The 1982 World's Fair, officially known as the Knoxville International Energy Exposition (KIEE) and simply as Energy Expo '82 and Expo '82, was an international exposition held in Knoxville, Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, United States. Focu ...

. In 1982 Tyree ran for Governor with support from

Jake Butcher Jacob Franklin Butcher (May 8, 1936 – July 19, 2017) was an American banker and politician. He built a financial empire in East Tennessee and was the Democratic Party nominee for governor of Tennessee in 1978. He was also the primary promo ...

. He won the Democratic nomination by defeating Anna Belle Clement O'Brien in the

primary election Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pr ...

, but lost to Republican

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position. In an election, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the position that is up for election, regardless of whether they are seeking re-election. There may or may not be ...

governor

Lamar Alexander Andrew Lamar Alexander Jr. (born July 3, 1940) is an American politician and attorney who served as a United States senator from Tennessee from 2003 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he also was the 45th governor of Tennessee from 1 ...

in the November general election. Tyree unsuccessfully sought to again become mayor in the 1987 election. Tyree was a candidate for

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

of Knox County in 2006 and 2008. In the May 2006

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Work ...

he ran as a

write-in candidate A write-in candidate is a candidate whose name does not appear on the ballot but seeks election by asking voters to cast a vote for the candidate by physically writing in the person's name on the ballot. Depending on electoral law it may be poss ...

, winning over 5% of the vote and thus earning a place in the August general election, which he lost to Republican

Tim Hutchison. In 2008 he won the Democratic

held in February, but lost to J.J. Jones in the August general election.Primary & General Election Results, August 7, 2008
WATE-TV website, accessed April 5, 2011

References

External links

Randy Tyree's blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tyree, Randy 1940 births Living people American municipal police chiefs Law enforcement officials from Tennessee Federal Bureau of Investigation agents Mayors of Knoxville, Tennessee Middle Tennessee State University alumni Tennessee Democrats University of Tennessee alumni People from Carthage, Tennessee