Jim Coley (February 11, 1951 – October 10, 2021) was an American politician and a Republican member of the

Tennessee House of Representatives The Tennessee House of Representatives is the lower house of the Tennessee General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee. Constitutional requirements According to the state constitution of 1870, this body is to consis ...

for the 97th district, which encompasses part of Shelby County from 2007 to 2021.

Education and career

Jim Coley was first elected to the 105th

Tennessee General Assembly The Tennessee General Assembly (TNGA) is the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is a part-time bicameral legislature consisting of a Tennessee Senate, Senate and a Tennessee House of Representa ...

(2007–2008). He was a member of the House Education Committee, the House State and Local Committee, the House State Government Subcommittee, the House Higher Education Subcommittee, and the House Special Initiatives Subcommittee. Rep. Coley worked as a teacher at Bolton High School. He graduated from

Memphis State University The University of Memphis (Memphis) is a public university, public research university in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 20,000 students. The university maintains the Herff Col ...

with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree with honors. He obtained his

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree in Teaching from the

University of Memphis The University of Memphis (Memphis) is a public university, public research university in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 20,000 students. The university maintains the Herff Col ...

. Coley was instrumental in introducing a number of different bills in 2011 and 2012 regarding the practice of

human trafficking Human trafficking is the act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring, or receiving individuals through force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of exploitation. This exploitation may include forced labor, sexual slavery, or oth ...

. The bills introduced made sentencing against traffickers much more strict as well as providing more outreach to those who survive the practice. His work, along with his co-sponsors and NGO Operation Broken Silence, moved Tennessee to number 2 in the nation in the Polaris Project's annual state-by-state rankings of legislative work being done to stop modern slavery. Rep. Coley's immediate family consists of his ex-wife, Paula Coley, a CPA, and his son and daughter, Evan and Erin, respectively. He was diagnosed with dementia in 2020. He died on October 10, 2021, at age 70.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coley, Jim 1951 births 2021 deaths Republican Party members of the Tennessee House of Representatives Politicians from Houston 21st-century members of the Tennessee General Assembly