Gary Odom
Gary Odom (b. November 1, 1951) is a former Democratic member of the Tennessee House of Representatives, representing District 55 from 1986 to 2014. He served as Majority Leader from 2008 to 2010.
Biography
Odom earned his B.S. in Law Enforcement Services from East Tennessee State University in 1973. He went on to receive his M.S. in Criminal Justice from Eastern Kentucky University in 1975. He has worked as a special investigator for the Tennessee Attorney General and a faculty member at Aquinas Junior College. Odom served on the Metro Council of the City of Nashville from 1983 to 1995.
Committee assignments
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Odom served on the following committees:
| Tennessee committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Finance, Ways, and Means |
| • Health |
| • TACIR |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Odom served on these committees:
| Tennessee committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Finance, Ways, and Means |
| • Health & Human Resources |
| • Rules |
| • TACIR |
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Odom served on these committees:
| Tennessee committee assignments, 2009 |
|---|
| • District 34 Ad Hoc |
| • Calendar and Rules |
| • Ethics |
| • Finance, Ways, and Means |
| • Government Operations |
| • Health & Human Resources |
| • Rules |
| • TACIR |
| • TennCare Oversight |
Issues
Cigarette tax
In January 2014, Odom supported an additional 44-cent tax on each pack of cigarettes to help fund the state's Medicaid expansion. Such a tax would be added on top of the 62 cents already paid by Tennessee citizens, and also on top of $1.01 in federal taxes per pack. Odom argues that the extra tax revenue will bring in an extra $175 million a year, which will go to expand TennCare, the state’s version of Medicaid, under the federal health reform law.[1]
Democratic platform
2010
Odom didn’t expect members of the House Democratic Caucus to hold him responsible for the party’s losses in the November 2010 midterm elections.
“I think the caucus members know what I did at the election. They know what happened,” said Odom, who sought re-election to another term as his party’s floor leader. He lost the position to Craig Fitzhugh.[2]
Elections
2014
Elections for 99 seats in the Tennessee House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election took place on August 7, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was April 3, 2014. Incumbent Gary Odom was defeated by John Ray Clemmons in the Democratic primary. Clemmons was unopposed in the general election.[3][4]
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
 John Ray Clemmons |
53.7% | 2,401 |
| Gary Odom | 46.3% | 2,074 |
| Total Votes | 4,475 | |
2012
Odom won re-election in the 2012 election for Tennessee House of Representatives, District 55. Odom ran unopposed in the August 2 primary election and defeated Susan Shann (G) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[5][6]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Gary Odom Incumbent |
77.3% | 14,645 | |
| Green | Susan Shann | 22.7% | 4,297 | |
| Total Votes | 18,942 | |||
2010
Odom won re-election to the 55th District seat in 2010. He was unopposed in the August 5 primary.[7] He defeated Republican Timothy Lee in the general election on November 2, 2010.[8]
2008
On Nov. 4, 2008, Odom won re-election to the 55th District Seat in the Tennessee House of Representatives, defeating opponent Timothy Lee (R).[9]
Odom raised $243,976 for his campaign while Lee raised $2,700.[10]
| Tennessee House of Representatives, District 55 (2008) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Gary Odom (D)
|
15,806 | |||
| Timothy Lee (R) | 8,264 | |||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Tennessee scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2014
In 2014, the 108th Tennessee General Assembly, second year, was in session from January 14 to April 18.
- Tennessee Conservation Voters: 2014 Scorecard
- Legislators are scored on their votes related to conservation and environmental issues.
- Tennessee National Federation of Independent Business: 2013-2014 Voting Record
- Legislators are scored on their votes on small business issues.
- The American Conservative Union: 2014 Scorecard
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
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In 2013, the 108th Tennessee General Assembly, first year, was in session from January 8 to April 19.
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2012
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show]. |
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In 2012, the 107th Tennessee General Assembly, second year, was in session from January 10 through May 1.
|
2011
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2011, click [show]. |
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In 2011, the 107th Tennessee General Assembly, first year, was in session from January 11 to May 21.
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Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Odom and his wife, Rachel, have two children.
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Gary + Odom + Tennessee + House"
- All stories may not be relevant to this legislator due to the nature of the search engine.
See also
- Tennessee State Legislature
- Tennessee House of Representatives
- Tennessee House of Representatives Committees
- Tennessee Joint Committees
- Tennessee state legislative districts
External links
- Official campaign website
- Tennessee Legislature - Representative Gary Odom (Archived)
- Profile from Open States
- Gary Odom on Facebook
- Legislative profile from Project Vote Smart
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Tennessee Votes profile
- Campaign Contributions: 2012, 2010, 2008, 2006, 2004, 2002, 2000, 1998, 1996
Footnotes
- ↑ WatchDog.org, "Paying more to puff? TN Legislature may hike cigarette taxes," accessed February 12, 2014
- ↑ TNReport, "Odom Still Optimistic," December 14, 2010
- ↑ Tennessee Secretary of State, "August 7, 2014 Election Results," accessed September 11, 2014
- ↑ Tennessee Secretary of State, "Petitions Filed for State Senate and State House of Representatives," accessed April 5, 2014
- ↑ Tennessee Secretary of State, "2012 List of Candidates," accessed April 18, 2014
- ↑ Tennessee Department of State, "Election Results," accessed April 18, 2014
- ↑ Tennessee Secretary of State, "2010 Primary Election Official Results," accessed April 18, 2014
- ↑ Tennessee Secretary of State, "2010 Tennessee General election results," accessed April 18, 2014
- ↑ Tennessee Secretary of State, "2008 Tennessee General election results," accessed April 18, 2014
- ↑ Follow the Money, "General Election Results," accessed April 18, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Tennessee House of Representatives District 55 1986–2014 |
Succeeded by John Ray Clemmons (D) |
