Dennis Powers (born 1953) is an American politician.[1][2][self-published source] He serves as a Republican member of the Tennessee House of Representatives for the 36th District, encompassing Campbell County Union and part of Claiborne Counties.[1][2][self-published source]
He was born on September 14, 1953, in LaFollette, Tennessee.[1][2][self-published source] He graduated from LaFollette High School and received a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of TennesseeinKnoxville, Tennessee.[1]
He started his career at the Baird Supply Company as a salesman, followed by the Furtex Corporation as a machinist, and later at the LaFollette Hardware and Lumber Co., a construction company.[2][self-published source] He then worked as an electronic data processing technician for Union Carbide (a subsidiary of Dow Chemical) in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, with a Security Q clearance.[2][self-published source] He also worked in the Energy Department Manager of the East Tennessee Human Resource Agency (ETHRA) for Campbell, Union and surrounding counties.[2][self-published source] He now works as an insurance agent.[2][self-published source]
He is former president of the Campbell County Young Republicans.[1] From 1992 to 1996, he was a Republican nominee for the 36th district of Tennessee.[2][self-published source] Since 2010, he has served seven terms for this district as a state representative.[1]
He is a member of the Tennessee Tea Party, The Heritage Foundation, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), the National Right to Life, the National Rifle Association of America, the National Federation of Independent Business, the Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation, and the National Conference of State Legislators.[1]
He is a member of Friends of Cove Lake State Park, committee chair of the Boy Scouts of America, and serves on the Campbell County Board of Habitat for Humanity.[1] He volunteers at LaFollette Medical Center.[1] Other philanthropic endeavors include the Wounded Warrior Project, the American Cancer Society and Relay for Life.[1]
In 2023, Powers supported a resolution to expel three Democratic lawmakers from the legislature for violating decorum rules. Some Democrats characterized the expulsion as unnecessary and unprecedented.[3][4]
He is married to Tracy (Adkins) Powers, and they have members of the First Baptist Church of Jacksboro since 1990.
Stated on February 21, 2023, in a debate regarding HB 327 which would make the Tennessee Office of Faith-Based Initiatives funded by the state, that he believes that some decisions made by the Supreme Court including Brown vs. Board of Education were right while others like Dred Scott and Plessy vs Ferguson were wrong decisions.[citation needed]
In March 2023, Powers introduced a bill to expand the methods of execution in Tennessee to include electrocution and later added an amendment to also include firing squads, claiming that it would be beneficial for the families of victims to have closure and that firing squad was the preferred method by death row inmates. Democrats criticized the bill as supporting "cruel and unusual punishment" that increased the pain of execution and a "step backward".[5][6]
