Kim McMillan

Kim McMillan (née Ambrester, born c. 1963) is a Democratic politician who is mayor of Clarksville, Tennessee, and was the first woman in Tennessee history to be elected Majority Leader of the Tennessee House of Representatives. She was a candidate in the 2010 Tennessee gubernatorial election, but dropped out to run for mayor of Clarksville.

Education

McMillan, the adopted daughter of two teachers, graduated as valedictorian of Knoxville’s South-Young High School and with honors from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. She received her J.D. degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law, where she served as executive editor of The Tennessee Law Review. She is a member of the Montgomery County, Nashville, and Tennessee bar associations.

Political career

McMillan served for 12 years in the Tennessee House of Representatives, where she sat on the Finance, Ways & Means Committee; the Budget Subcommittee; the Judiciary Committee; the Government Operations Committee; and the Calendar and Rules Committee, for which she served as Chairperson. She was twice elected to the position of House Majority Leader, in 2002 and 2004.

During her tenure in the House, McMillan was honored with numerous awards for excellence from various organizations, including the Tennessee Association of Chiefs of Police, the Tennessee Education Association, the Tennessee School Boards Association, the Tennessee Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Tennessee Press Association, the County Officials Association of Tennessee, and the Tennessee Hospital Association. She was also a recipient of the Athena Award, which recognizes women leaders for professional excellence, community service, and actively and generously assisting women in their attainment of professional excellence and leadership skills.

In 2006, McMillan did not seek re-election to the Tennessee House of Representatives and accepted an appointment by Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen to his Cabinet, where she served as Senior Advisor to the Governor. In 2008, she returned to her hometown of Clarksville, Tennessee to serve as Executive Director of Community and Business Relations for Austin Peay State University, where she is also a faculty member in the Political Science Department. She also serves on the President's Cabinet at Austin Peay, an advisory council created to address matters that affect the entire University.

McMillan entered the 2010 Tennessee gubernatorial election on March 1, 2009. On March 31, 2010 she dropped out of the race for governor, announcing that she would instead run for mayor of Clarksville, TN and support Mike McWherter's candidacy for governor.

Kim McMillan now serves as the Mayor of Clarksville, succeeding Johnny Piper.

Current activities

McMillan is a founding board member of Leadership Middle Tennessee and is the chairman of Cumberland Bank & Trust, a community bank in Clarksville. She also serves on the board of the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt. She has practiced law with Boult, Cummings, Conners & Berry, PLC in Nashville; Cunningham, Mitchell, Hicks & McMillan, in Clarksville; and with her husband in McMillan and McMillan, the Clarksville firm they founded. She is also now serving as Mayor of the City of Clarksville.

Family

McMillan's husband of more than 20 years, Judge Larry McMillan, is a native Clarksvillian and currently serves as Chancellor for the 19th Judicial District of Tennessee.