John Ray Clemmons

John Ray Clemmons (Democratic Party) is a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives, representing District 55. He assumed office on November 4, 2014. His current term ends on November 3, 2026.

Clemmons (Democratic Party) is running for re-election to the Tennessee House of Representatives to represent District 55. He is on the ballot in the general election on November 3, 2026. He advanced from the Democratic primary on August 6, 2026.

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Campaign website

The following were found on Clemmons' campaign website.

QUALITY OF LIFE

Live Nashville: A Quality of Life Agenda for ALL Nashvillians

John Ray Clemmons is committed to creating an equitable vision for Nashville’s future. One that will protect the character of our neighborhoods and empower residents. No issue can be solved in a silo, but instead requires a holistic approach. Working together, we can build a better Nashville - a Nashville that prioritizes the well being of its people through a budget that reflects our values. A Clemmons Administration, guided by our core values, will improve the quality of life of all Nashvillians.

Core Values

Craft Metro policies to ensure equity, create opportunity, and demand justice;

Ensure that Nashville remains a welcoming city that embraces diversity;

Protect the character of our neighborhoods and what makes Nashville, Nashville; and

Operate with transparency and accountability.

Fiscal Responsibility

Streamline government services and create efficiencies where possible to conserve resources and reduce any wasteful spending;

Responsibly pay down our city’s debt;

Establish clear budgetary priorities and work to ensure that collected tax revenues are appropriately used to fund those priorities;

Require commercial developers to pay their fair share for the additional burdens they place on our infrastructure systems, both above and below ground;

Identify new revenue streams and public-private partnerships to address budgetary needs;

Create a model and expectation of good corporate citizenship for any company relocating to or doing business in our city; and

Protect Metro assets, rather than sell them off to fill one-time budgetary gaps.

Priorities

Public Education is Priority One: Fully fund our public schools, support our educators, and provide every child an opportunity to succeed;

Build a strong working partnership with MNPS to achieve our vision of becoming the fastest improving school district in the country;

Increase affordable housing options across the entire city to create more stability for families and provide an opportunity to build financial equity and improve credit;

Address our city and region’s worsening traffic challenges and lead collaborative city-wide and regional efforts to build consensus and a 21st-century transit system;

Support our first responders to provide residents peace of mind and improve public safety;

Start work on addressing the serious water infrastructure needs of our city;

Ensure access to diverse employment options, quality health care providers, and reliable mass transit;

Work towards achieving our goal of creating a carbon-neutral city by cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 80-100% by 2050 or sooner;

Improve emergency systems and community preparedness; and

Raise the minimum wage to $15/hr for all Metro employees.

Strong Neighborhoods

Revitalize and strengthen the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhoods (the “MOON”);

The MOON will be designed to level the playing field by providing neighborhood residents the assistance, guidance, and resources they need to navigate the planning process and have a voice in what happens in their neighborhoods;

Protect the character of neighborhoods by remaining engaged with the residents and small businesses who make our community special; and

Ensure that neighborhoods are represented on relevant boards and commissions throughout Metro.

Teamwork

Work closely with members of the Metro Council and neighborhood association leaders to address the unique challenges in each part of our community;

Streamline efforts and improve working relationships and coordination with non-profit and faith-based organizations to better facilitate and support their missions to help our youth, address homelessness, build affordable housing, and improve educational performance;

Lean on corporate citizens and residents alike to help achieve our goals of improving our environment and building a carbon-neutral city;

Show our small businesses the deference that we currently show large corporations.

AFFORDABLE HOUSING

Nashville has an affordable housing crisis - right now. It is only going to get worse if we do not take action. In six years, our city is estimated to have a shortage of 31,000 units for middle and low-income families. Our educators, first responders, Metro workers, artists, and entrepreneurs are being priced out of our county. Everyone deserves an opportunity to call Nashville home.

John Ray will work to end our affordable housing crisis by building a comprehensive plan to address affordability, create new housing stock, establish sustainable public and private partnerships, and mitigate displacement and homelessness because he believes that no neighborhood should be off limits to anyone.

EDUCATION

John Ray Clemmons recognizes the importance of listening to teachers, keeping our promises and fully-funding MNPS. He is committed to providing a meaningful educational experience for all children. John Ray believes we should empower every child to meet their potential and become thriving members of society and our workforce.

John Ray believes the Mayor's office should serve as a partner with the MNPS Board of Education and the Director of Schools to support the families of our 86,000 Nashville school children. As Mayor, John Ray Clemmons will ensure that the leadership at MNPS reflects the cultural and linguistic diversity of our city and includes the expertise in the vast range of need our students have while also being responsive to the needs and expectations of Nashville's various communities.

FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY

John Ray understands that we have built great things in our city but we must be mindful of our residents' quality of life and protect what makes Nashville, Nashville. Whether it's a small business or church in our neighborhood, a locally owned music venue, or even the fairgrounds, we must be intentional and purposeful in our planning and growth so that the soul of our city is not lost.

John Ray believes that the Metro budget is more than just numbers on a spreadsheet -- it's an accord between elected officials and residents that demonstrates our city's priorities. John Ray Clemmons wants Nashville to become the city that we envision - one that ensures equity, creates opportunity, and demands justice for ALL of its residents. That's why he will work towards a budget that reflects our priorities, addresses our most pressing challenges, and demonstrates a thoughtful plan and clear vision for our future.

INFRASTRUCTURE

John Ray Clemmons knows that it is time to invest in our neighborhoods. Despite the growth and unprecedented prosperity, Nashville is a 21st century city sitting on 20th century infrastructure. John Ray Clemmons will focus on modernizing our infrastructure systems for transportation and water to prepare Nashville for the growth ahead.

NEIGHBORHOODS

John Ray Clemmons recognizes that despite unprecedented growth there are many communities across our county that have not seen a significant level of investment in years. As Mayor, John Ray will invest in our residents and in the communities they call home.

As a former neighborhood association president, John Ray knows first-hand the important role community leaders have In creating a better Nashville. He will work along side each neighborhood to implement thoughtful plans as we prepare for the opportunities ahead.

PUBLIC SAFETY

John Ray Clemmons supports Nashville's heroes and understands that as our city grows the strain on our first responders continues to rise. We need to ensure that our first responders receive competitive salaries and benefits that allow them to live in the county they serve.

John Ray knows that to keep Nashville safe we must expand these critical departments to handle the increased density, upgrade to modern equipment, identify additional facilities, and implement advanced technology to provide excellent care to Nashville families during an emergency.

TRAFFIC

Nashville cannot wait another day to address our traffic challenges. Every minute in traffic is less time with our families or doing the things we love. John Ray Clemmons will invest in short-term innovative solutions and technologies to alleviate traffic and increase pedestrian safety. John Ray will also work to build consensus on a regional, long-term transit system that will prepare Nashville to take action and lead on this issue in the future.[7]

—John Clemmons[8]

Clemmons' campaign website highlighted the following issues:[9]

Staying in touch with your family and our community.

Excerpt: "As our state representative, John Ray remains actively engaged in our neighborhoods and community and communicates with us regularly."

A promising future requires courage, forward-thinking leadership and, at times, compromise.

Excerpt: "To facilitate a promising future for Nashville's families and workers, John Ray actively works with leaders in the public and private sector to build consensus and solve immediate and long-term problems that must be addressed like public and mass transit, workforce training, and access to affordable, quality healthcare."

A future where every child gets a quality education and an opportunity.

Excerpt: "The most productive way to ensure a promising future for our families, our city and generations to come is to invest our time and attention, our money and all possible resources into education at every level."

A future where everyone has access to affordable health care.

Excerpt: "[Clemmons] does not think it makes any sense to turn away our hard-earned tax dollars at the state border out of political stubbornness and a refusal to comply with the Affordable Care Act. We must stop playing politics with Tennesseans' health care."

A future with better paying jobs and an atmosphere conducive to innovation.

Excerpt: "John Ray wants to see well-paying companies competing for highly-skilled Tennessee workers, rather than the other way around."

Clemmons' campaign website highlighted the following issues:[10]

A promising future requires change, not more of the same

Excerpt: "John Ray will stand up to Tea Party legislators and fight to keep them from interfering in Nashville's progress. He believes that Nashville knows what is best for Nashville."

A future where every child gets a quality education and an opportunity

Excerpt: "John Ray supports providing public schools and teachers with the resources they need to succeed and modernizing our classrooms. He will work to expand pre-K and after-school programs to ensure that all children have an opportunity to succeed."

A future where everyone has access to affordable health care

Excerpt: "John Ray believes that we must protect and provide for our seniors, strengthen TennCare for struggling families, and make sure that all children, regardless of income, have access to quality, affordable health care."

A future with better paying jobs

Excerpt: "John Ray knows we must develop local talent, attract and support small businesses, recruit companies with well-paying jobs, and nurture existing businesses that have invested in and contributed to our community's success."

John Ray is on our side

Excerpt: "John Ray is strongly pro-choice and believes in income equality. He stands firmly against Amendment 1 and is actively campaigning against it. John Ray views Amendment 1 as a blatant attack by the state legislature on a woman's right to make her own health care decisions. Data shows that income inequality still exists in the workplace. John Ray will work to ensure income equality and shatter the glass ceiling."