James M. Summerville (born October 27, 1947) was a member of the

Tennessee Senate The Tennessee Senate is the upper house of the U.S. state of Tennessee , Tennessee's state legislature, which is known formally as the Tennessee General Assembly. The Tennessee Senate has the power to pass resolutions concerning essentially any ...

from the 25th district, encompassing:

Cheatham County Cheatham County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 41,072. Its county seat is Ashland City. Cheatham County is located in Middle Tennessee, and is part of the Nashville-Davidson� ...

Dickson County Dickson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 54,315. Its county seat is Charlotte. Dickson County is part of the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN Metrop ...

, Hickman County, Humphreys County, and Robertson County; and

, Giles County, Hickman County, Humphreys County, Lawrence County, and Lewis County before the 2012 redistricting. A former Republican he later declared himself an Independent.

Biography

Jim Summerville was born on October 27, 1947, in

Dickson, Tennessee Dickson is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. Located in Dickson County. It is part of the Nashville metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, Dickson's population was 16,058. History Dickson was named for Congressman William Dickson, as ...

. He received a B.A. in

Political Science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

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 ...

in 1969, an M.A. in English Literature from the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

in 1972, and an M.A. in American History from

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

in 1983. He teaches as an adjunct instructor in the Department of Languages and Literature at

Austin Peay State University Austin Peay State University (APSU) () is a public university in Clarksville, Tennessee, United States. Standing on a site occupied by a succession of educational institutions since 1845, the precursor of the university was established in 1927 ...

. Elected as a Republican, he resigned his membership in the Republican Caucus after losing in a primary in August 2014. In a letter he sent to the Republican Caucus Chairman, Summerville said he would be serving as an independent member of the Senate for the remainder of his term. He is a member of the

National Association of Scholars The National Association of Scholars (NAS) is an American 501(c)(3) non-profit politically conservative education advocacy organization. It advocates against multiculturalism, diversity policies, and against courses focused on race and gender i ...

and the Tennessee

Eagle Forum Eagle Forum is a conservative advocacy group in the United States founded by Phyllis Schlafly in 1972. Focused on social issues, it is socially conservative and describes itself as pro-family. Critics have described it as anti-feminist, an ...

. He attends a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

church in Dickson. He is the founder of th
Theodore Association Police Award for Nashville and Middle Tennessee.
He supported

Rick Perry James Richard Perry (born March 4, 1950) is an American politician who served as the 14th United States secretary of energy from 2017 to 2019 in the first administration of Donald Trump. He previously served as the 47th governor of Texas fr ...

for Republican primary of the presidential election of 2012. He was the lead volunteer for the restoration of th
Battle of Nashville Monument

Arrests

In September 2014, Summerville was arrested for public intoxication. The next month, he was arrested for stalking and assault.https://www.timesfreepress.com , October 20th, 2014 , Why Sen. Jim Summerville was arrested three times in one month , Associated Press

/ref>

Bibliography

*''Educating Black Doctors: A History of Meharry Medical College'' (Alabama, 1983) *''The Carmack-Cooper Shooting: Tennessee Politics Turns Violent'' (McFarland, 1994) *''Southern Epic: Nashville Through 200 Years'' (Hallmark, 1996) *''With Kennedy and Other Stories'' (Xlibris, 1998) *''Nashville Medicine: A History'' (Association Publishing, 1999)

Contributing writer

*''American National Biography'' (Oxford, 1999) *''Encyclopedia of Local History'' (Altamira, 2000) *''Historical Dictionary of the Gilded Age'' (M.E. Sharpe, 2003)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Summerville, Jim Living people People from Dickson, Tennessee University of Tennessee alumni University of Iowa alumni Vanderbilt University alumni Austin Peay State University faculty American Presbyterians Republican Party Tennessee state senators National Association of Scholars Tennessee politicians convicted of crimes 1947 births 21st-century members of the Tennessee General Assembly