Representative Harry Tindell, a Knoxville GLBT Gay Favorite, is up for re-election to his District 13 seat in the Tennessee General Assembly in the Nov. 7 election.
A Knoxville native, Tindell is a graduate of Fulton High School and the University of Tennessee where he majored in business. His political career began in 1986 when he took a seat on the Knox County Board of Education, a post he held for five years. During his service on the school board he was named Tennessee Congress of Parents and Teachers Outstanding School Board Member for 1990. He also served the voters of District 13as an active member of the Parent-Teacher Association and the Arlington Neighborhood Crime Watch in the Fairmont-Emoriland Boulevard area.
He then made a successful bid for the Tennessee legislature as the Democratic candidate from his district and has served in that position since the 97th General Assembly convened in 1991. His service includes seats on committees including House Finance, Ways, and Means; House State and Local Government; Joint Pensions and Insurance; Joint Lottery Oversight; and Joint Tennessee Education Lottery Corp. Committees. He chairs the House Budget Subcommittee and serves as a member of the House Local Government and House State Government Subcommittees.
Tindell is a well-known figure in the Knoxville area, seen at numerous Democratic and GLBT supportive events. In addition to speaking to the GLBT community during the 2005 National Coming Out Day celebration, Tindell was also featured in a joint round-table discussion with Tennessee Equality Project (TEP) board members in that same year. The event was hosted at the Metropolitan Community Church of Knoxville.
Tindell was one of only seven House members voting against the referendum that would enact an amendment to the Tennessee State Constitution banning legalization of same-sex unions.
During the TEP Advancing Equality Day on the Hill, community members met with him in his office in Legislative Plaza in both 2005 and 2006. In every instance, he offered suggestions for ways to improve our relationships with legislators and tips for effective interactions with them.
Most recently, Tindell helped his father, Billy Tindell, in a successful bid for re-election to the Knox County Commission. The elder Tindell has served the voters of Knox County in that role for more than three decades. The Tindell home in North Hills is a familiar sight for many Knox area Democrats.
For further information regarding Tindell’s campaign, contact him at: District Address, P.O. Box 27325, Knoxville, Tenn. 37927-7325; phone (865) 524-7200. Nashville Address, 33 Legislative Plaza, Nashville, Tenn. 37243-0113; Phone (615) 741-2031; staff contact: Jessica Holland. Email: rep.harry.tindell@legislature.state.tn.us.