Jimmy Naifeh
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James O. Naifeh (born June 16, 1939) is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party from the State of
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 ...
. He served as the
Speaker Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Speaker" (song), by David ...
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 ...
from 1991 to 2009, serving longer in that position than anyone else in Tennessee history.


Early life

Naifeh is a second-generation Lebanese-American from Covington, a town north of
Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Mem ...
. His family was in the grocery business. After graduating 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 ...
, Naifeh served in the
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as an infantry officer.


Political career


Election to the House

He was first elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives in 1974, and was Speaker from 1991 to 2009. He represents House District 81, which includes most of Tipton County and all of Haywood County. Prior to his election as Speaker served in other positions in the Democratic Caucus such as chairman of the Rules Committee, Majority
Floor Leader A parliamentary leader is a political title or a descriptive term used in various countries to designate the person leading a parliamentary group or caucus in a legislative body, whether it be a national or sub-national legislature. They are thei ...
, and chairman of the Rural
West Tennessee West Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of Tennessee that roughly comprises the western quarter of the state. The region includes 21 counties between the Tennessee and Mississippi rivers, delineated by state law. Its geography consists ...
Democratic Caucus.


Marriage

From 1995 to 2008, Naifeh was married to Betty Anderson, considered by many Tennessee political observers to be the most influential
lobbyist Lobbying is a form of advocacy, which lawfully attempts to directly influence legislators or government officials, such as regulatory agencies or judiciary. Lobbying involves direct, face-to-face contact and is carried out by various entities, in ...
in the state.


Contested 2004 election

In December 2002,
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
physician Jesse Cannon, a Republican and Naifeh's personal doctor, announced that he would oppose Naifeh in 2004. On November 2, 2004, Naifeh defeated Cannon by a margin of approximately 58% to 42%.


Republican majority in 2008

In the 2008 November elections Republicans won the majority of the state House, winning 50 of the 99 seats, with the Democrats holding 49. This is the first time the GOP has had a majority in the Tennessee House since 1971, and the first time both House and Senate have had Republican majorities since
Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...
. This ended Naifeh's long term as Speaker, but the Republicans' narrow majority in the House did not allow them to elect their preferred Speaker. While 49 Republicans voted for
Jason Mumpower Jason Everett Mumpower (born September 22, 1973) currently serves as Tennessee's 35th Comptroller of the Treasury. He was first elected to the position by the Tennessee General Assembly on January 13, 2021. He is responsible for leading the Comp ...
, the 49 Democrats and Republican Representative Kent Williams voted for Williams to succeed Naifeh as Speaker. Naifeh, who was chairing the House for the last time, helped to engineer Williams' election by instructing the House clerk to depart from the normal practice of conducting a
roll call ''Roll Call'' is a newspaper and website published in Washington, D.C., United States, when the United States Congress is in session, reporting news of legislative and political maneuverings on Capitol Hill, as well as political coverage of c ...
of the members in alphabetical order, instead calling first on the Democrats, then on the Republicans. This allowed Williams to vote last, so that before he voted he knew that his vote for himself would be the deciding vote."Kent who? Dazzling maneuver makes backbencher speaker," ''The Tennessee Journal'' Vol. 35, No. 3, January 16, 2009


Retirement

On March 8, 2012; Naifeh announced he would not run for a 20th term in November.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Naifeh, James 1939 births Living people People from Covington, Tennessee University of Tennessee alumni Military personnel from Tennessee American politicians of Lebanese descent Speakers of the Tennessee House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the Tennessee House of Representatives 21st-century members of the Tennessee General Assembly 20th-century members of the Tennessee General Assembly