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Jeff Jackson (politician)

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Jeff Jackson
Member of the North Carolina Senate
from the 37th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
May 6, 2014
Preceded byDan Clodfelter
Personal details
Born
Jeffrey Neale Jackson

(1982-09-12) September 12, 1982 (age 42)
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseMarisa Jackson
Children2 sons, 1 daughter
Residence(s)Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.
Alma materEmory University
University of North Carolina School of Law
OccupationAttorney
WebsiteJeffJacksonNC.com
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Army
Years of service2002–Present
Rank Captain
UnitUnited States Army Reserve, North Carolina National Guard
Battles/warsWar in Afghanistan

Jeffrey Neale Jackson (born September 12, 1982) is an American soldier, attorney, and politician from North Carolina. A Democratic member of the North Carolina Senate, he represents the 37th district, which is based in Mecklenburg County. Jackson also serves in the North Carolina National Guard.

After the September 11 attacks, Jackson enlisted in the United States Army Reserve and served in Kandahar Province during the War in Afghanistan.[1] His military service continues to this day as a Captain in the JAG Corps with the Army National Guard.[2] He drills monthly with the 113th Sustainment Brigade.

After graduating from law school, Jackson worked as an assistant district attorney in Gaston County and tried over one hundred cases ranging from DWI to first degree murder. He has served in the North Carolina Senate since 2014.[3]

Early life

Raised in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Jackson earned a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in philosophy from Emory University. He also earned a law degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.[4]

Earlier career and military service

Jackson served as a Specialist (E-4) during his year-long deployment to Afghanistan. After returning home from his deployment, Jackson entered the ROTC program to become a commissioned officer. He is now a Captain (O-3).

Prior to joining the state Senate, Jackson worked as a prosecutor in Gaston County, North Carolina. He was forced to resign upon joining the senate, as the state constitution prohibits serving as an elected official and a prosecutor simultaneously.[5]

North Carolina Senate

When Sen. Dan Clodfelter resigned to become Mayor of Charlotte in 2014, his vacancy in the state Senate had to be filled by local Democratic precinct members. Jackson sought the office, along with three other candidates. On the day of the election, one of the candidates failed to secure someone to nominate him for consideration. Jackson - one of his opponents - stepped forward to provide the nomination, allowing the candidate to formally oppose Jackson in the election. Of 49 votes, Jackson received 25, officially winning by one vote. Jackson was also chosen to replace Clodfelter as the Democratic nominee on the November 2014 general election ballot. Because no other person had filed to run against Clodfelter for the seat, Jackson ran unopposed for a full two-year term.[6] Jackson was re-elected to his second full term in 2016, winning with 68% of the vote against Bob Diamond.[7]

In 2014, Jackson's speech on the budget process gained national attention.[8] Jackson also gained national attention when he was the only legislator to show up for work on a snow day in February 2015.[9][10][11] The episode earned him a featured segment on The Rachel Maddow Show.[12]

Jackson has repeatedly introduced legislation to end gerrymandering by implementing independent redistricting.[13] He also supports universal pre-K education programs.[14] In 2017, Jackson introduced a bill to repeal the Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act, a North Carolina law that requires people in government-owned buildings to use the bathroom that corresponds to their birth certificate. The bill also prevents municipalities from passing non-discrimination ordinances.[15]

Jackson is also known for his fight to close the consent loophole.[16] Under previous North Carolina law, women could not legally revoke their consent to engage in sexual intercourse once that act has consensually begun, meaning that "no" didn't legally mean "no" in North Carolina. After several years of introducing the bill to close the consent loophole, it finally passed in 2019.[17] North Carolina had been the only state with such a loophole.

Jackson faced his first competitive race in 2020.[18] His district had been significantly redrawn and was now a D+2 district, in which a Democratic candidate would only be expected to win by two points.[19] His Republican challenger was Sonja Nichols, a well-known philanthropist and wealthy businesswoman. Jackson pledged to run a 100% positive campaign and refrain from any attacks on his opponent.[20] He even complimented his opponent in a campaign ad.[21] In the final weeks of the campaign, Jackson was called up for National Guard service, preventing him from doing any campaigning during that time.[22] Jackson responded by handing his campaign over to his wife, Marisa, who became the face of the campaign for the closing weeks.[23] Jackson significantly outperformed the political make-up of the district, beating Nichols by 14%.[24]

Various news outlets mentioned Jackson as a potential candidate against Republican incumbent Richard Burr in North Carolina's 2016 U.S. Senate election. Jackson declined to run and Burr won re-election.[25][26] He was also mentioned as a top potential challenger to North Carolina's other Republican Senator, Thom Tillis in 2020. Jackson is widely considered to be a potential candidate for 2022 and has been described as the "early frontrunner to replace Sen. Burr."[27]

Personal life

Jackson currently works as a business litigator at Womble Bond Dickinson in Charlotte.[28] Jackson also continues to serve in the North Carolina Army National Guard as a Captain in the Judge Advocate General's Corps.[1]

Jackson is married to Marisa, a marketing director, with two young sons and a daughter.[29] Haden, now 10 years old, attends fifth grade at a public school in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools system. Owen is 3. Avery was born October 2018. Jackson is a member of Myers Park Presbyterian Church.

References

  1. ^ a b Sen, Ari (August 5, 2017). "Mumpower, Jackson debate state education funding". Citizen-Times. Retrieved August 14, 2017.
  2. ^ Dunn, Andrew. "Jeff Jackson is the N.C. politician most likely to become president". Longleaf Politics. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
  3. ^ Shamma, Tasnim (May 5, 2014). "Jeff Jackson Replaces Clodfelter In The State Senate". WFAE. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
  4. ^ DePriest, Joe (May 3, 2014). "Democrats elect Jeff Jackson to replace former state Sen. Clodfelter". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved August 14, 2017.
  5. ^ Morrill, Jim (June 9, 2014). Profile (1) "After winning N.C. Senate seat, he loses day job". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved August 14, 2017. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help)
  6. ^ Profile (2), CharlotteObserver.com, May 3, 2014.
  7. ^ "North Carolina 37th District State Senate Results: Jeff Jackson Wins". Retrieved May 31, 2017.
  8. ^ "He goes off for 6 minutes on all the politicians sitting right in front of him. It's. Just. Great". Upworthy.com. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
  9. ^ Profile, storify.com; accessed January 22, 2017.
  10. ^ Rothacker, Jen (February 18, 2015). "Sen. Jeff Jackson's snow day: Getting it done all by himself". CharlotteFive. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
  11. ^ "One way to spend a snow day: Pass all the laws you want". newsobserver. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
  12. ^ "NC State Sen. runs solo marathon session". MSNBC. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
  13. ^ Jeff Jackson NC (May 23, 2017), Two Minute Town Hall: Gerrymandering, retrieved May 31, 2017
  14. ^ Park, Jackie (July 13, 2015). "Sen. Jeff Jackson is an Army captain, attorney, dad and social media sensation". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved August 14, 2017.
  15. ^ Rose, Alex (February 1, 2017). "3 Democratic senators file bill for 'full, clean' repeal of House Bill 2". Fox 8. Retrieved August 14, 2017.
  16. ^ Burns, Janet. "In North Carolina, Women Can't Legally Revoke Consent After Sex Begins". Forbes. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
  17. ^ https://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0geJab92L9fqAwApDZXNyoA;_ylu=Y29sbwNiZjEEcG9zAzMEdnRpZAMEc2VjA3Ny/RV=2/RE=1606437246/RO=10/RU=https%3a%2f%2fwww.huffpost.com%2fentry%2fnorth-carolina-rape-loopholes_n_5dc46f4de4b07a341dfeb1a4/RK=2/RS=xat6yyPrfTjokqRjCbKeR7NAT.w-
  18. ^ https://www.charlotteobserver.com/article246553528.html
  19. ^ https://www.charlotteobserver.com/article246553528.html
  20. ^ https://twitter.com/JeffJacksonNC/status/1312017091877392384
  21. ^ https://twitter.com/JeffJacksonNC/status/1313133814982508544
  22. ^ https://cardinalpine.com/story/rise-to-the-occasion-how-marisa-jackson-is-closing-out-her-husbands-crucial-state-senate-campaign/
  23. ^ https://www.wbtv.com/2020/10/25/sen-jackson-leaving-training-turning-campaign-operations-wife/
  24. ^ https://www.charlotteobserver.com/article246553528.html
  25. ^ Cahn, Emily (March 13, 2015). "Democrats Prep North Carolina Contingency Plan". Roll Call. Retrieved August 14, 2017.
  26. ^ Schoof, Renee (May 29, 2015). "Wanted: Democrat to seek N.C. Senate seat; faint of heart need not apply". McClatchy DC. Retrieved August 14, 2017.
  27. ^ https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/11/8/1993088/-Is-State-Sen-Jeff-Jackson-D-NC-the-Early-Frontrunner-to-Replace-Sen-Richard-Burr
  28. ^ "Jeff Jackson". wcsr.com. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
  29. ^ "Get to Know Jeff Jackson". Charlotte Parent. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
  • Profile, ncleg.net; accessed January 22, 2017.
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