Jon Woods

Jonathan Earl "Jon" Woods
Member of the Arkansas Senate from the 7th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 14, 2013
Preceded by	Bill Pritchard
Member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from the 93rd District
In office January 8, 2007 – January 14, 2013
Preceded by	Doug Matayo
Succeeded by	Jim Dotson
Personal details
Born	(1977-08-23) August 23, 1977 Charlotte, North Carolina
Political party	Republican
Residence	Springdale, Arkansas
Alma mater	University of Arkansas
Occupation	Legislator Musician
Religion	Roman Catholic[1]
Website	Legislative Bio

Jon Woods
Background information
Birth name	Jonathan Earl Woods
Born	(1977-08-23) August 23, 1977 Charlotte, North Carolina
Genres	Hard rock, Rock, Alternative
Instruments	Thunderbird Bass, vocals
Years active	2003–present
Associated acts	A Good Fight
Website	A Good Fight Website

Jonathan Earl Woods, known as Jon Woods (born August 23, 1977 in Charlotte, North Carolina), is an Arkansas State Senator record producer, and musician. He is most well known for being highly effective while in the Arkansas state legislature, passing over 80 bills, created several task forces and commissions, and 4 constitutional amendments limiting the size and scope of government during his ten years in the legislature, from 2007-2017.^[2] He also produced the popular geek rock band "The Plaid Jackets" first record, which featured the international hit "Adam West is Batman".^[3] This song is featured on Adam West's documentary, which was premiered at the Napa Valley Film Festival in 2013. He is the bassist for a regionally popular band, A Good Fight.

Biography

His family relocated to Blytheville, Arkansas in 1979. His home in Blytheville was 50 feet from 1,000 acres of cotton. He attended Gosnell public schools. Jon was student council vice president his freshman year of high school. Jon would begin his involvement in local and state government through the mentorship of Arkansas State Representative, Ann Bush. Ann and her husband Allen, recruited Jon to join the Boy Scouts where he earned the rank of Eagle Scout. Ann mentored Jon through his teens and taught him the importance of government’s role at the local, state and national level.

In 1993, the Woods family moved to Siloam Springs, Benton County Arkansas. While in high school Jon was one of only a handful of students selected by the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars to attend Arkansas Boys State. Upon graduation, Jon attended the Northwest Arkansas Community College in Bentonville, Arkansas. He obtained two degrees, an Associate of Arts and an Associate of Science in Business. He continued his education at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, and served in the Arkansas Associated Student Government (ASG) Senate. Jon was elected Chairman of the College Republicans and stayed involved with the Benton and Washington County Republican Committees. While at the University Jon completed an internship at the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center (ASBTDC) where he helped small businesses develop through market research and business development. He graduated with Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from the Sam Walton College of Business in 2002. Upon graduation, Jon began working in the commercial banking industry in Benton and Washington Counties.

Music career

Growing up in the Arkansas Delta, Jon was influences by the Memphis Music Scene and Mud Island. He early influences were Led Zeppelin, The Beach Boys, Brian Wilson, Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Chuck Berry, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, and Elvis Presley. When he became a teenager, he became very interested in the alternative rock movement where he became influenced by Green Day, The Smashing Pumpkins, and Soundgarden.

A Good Fight

Woods and his brother Dustin founded A Good Fight in 2004 with Sean Merriott. After 30 auditions the band agreed to add vocalist Eddie Love in 2006. Their first album, The City Could be Ours by Morning, was released in 2008. It was released at a sold out show at George's Majestic Lounge to critical acclaim. Within just months of their first concert, the band won a nationwide MTV contest in which 4000 bands competed to have their music played during an MTV reality show.^[5] Over a half a million votes were cast and A Good Fight received an overwhelming number of them for the music video for their debut single "The Drama". The video appeared during the season finale of A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila and several episodes of Made. Their music video for "The Drama" was also featured on MTV and an after party was held minutes after they were announced the winners of the contest. The band expanded their influence into the video game industry by landing on Sony PlayStation's MLB 13: The Show.^[4] They are currently working on their new album.

Political career

Woods is the Republican member of the Arkansas Senate from Springdale, Arkansas. In 2006, he ran for a seat in the Arkansas House of Representatives. He was the youngest legislator of Arkansas's 86th General Assembly in 2007. He was re-elected to this position twice. Restricted by term limits that allow only 3 terms in the House of Representatives, Woods decided to run for the Arkansas State Senate from District 7, which includes most of Springdale, Johnson, Tontitown, Goshen, Elkins, Durham and parts of Fayetteville and all of eastern Washington County.^[5] In 2012, Woods was elected to the Arkansas State Senate. In 2015, Woods received an award from the American Red Cross for performing life saving CPR on a visitor to the Arkansas Capitol Building.^[6][7]

Arkansas House of Representatives 2007-2012

2007-2008 86th General Assembly

During his first term he showed his ability to bring people of differing points of view together by making Arkansas’ first Umbilical Cord Blood Bank a reality. This institution harvests primitive stem cells from umbilical cords,^[8] helping advance stem cell research without abandoning his pro-life convictions. Along with Senator Johnny Key, Woods was awarded the Invest in Life award for his work on the project.^[9]

2009-2010 87th General Assembly

In his second term during the 87th General Assembly in 2009, he became the chair of the technology committee,^[10] an unheard of feat for a second term member from the minority party. He sponsored legislation that helped amend the Arkansas State Constitution granting the citizens of Arkansas the right to hunt, fish, trap, and harvest wildlife.^[11] It was referred to the voters in 2010 where it passed with 612,495 votes or 82.78% of the vote with 127,444 or 17.22% voting against.^[12]

2011-2012 88th General Assembly

In his third and final term in the Arkansas House of Representatives during the 88th General Assembly in 2011, Jon took on sex offenders, increasing the penalties for sex crimes^[13] and expanding notification to the public about sex offenders living in their neighborhoods.^[14] He also sponsored legislation to create the Office of Health Information Technology to implement electronic health records in Arkansas^[15] and cosponsored legislation to create a sales tax holiday weekend for families to buy school supplies for their school aged children.^[16]

Arkansas Senate 2013-present

2013-2014 89th General Assembly

Woods served on the Insurance and Commerce, Joint Performance Review, Public Retirement & Social Security Programs, and Judiciary Committees and the Arkansas Legislative Council.^[17] Woods sponsored Carter's Law in 2013, creating a comprehensive program of education regarding shaken baby syndrome.^[18]

Election history

External links

• Campaign website

References