JIM WHEELER

Current office and 2026 campaign

Jim Wheeler is the incumbent Washington County Commissioner for District 14, a seat he was elected to in 2018 ¹². He serves as the commission's Vice-Chairman, chairs its Public Safety Committee, and also serves as Vice Chair of the Rules Committee and as a member of the Budget Committee and Communications Task Force ¹. He is on the ballot as the Republican candidate for District 14 in the August 6, 2026 Washington County general election, having picked up his qualifying petition for the race in the county's 2026 petition-pickup cycle ⁵.

Background and education

Wheeler holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration (1989) and a Doctor of Jurisprudence (1992), both from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and was admitted to the Tennessee and federal bars after law school ².

Career

Wheeler has practiced law for more than 30 years. He began his career at one of the region's larger law firms, handling insurance defense, real estate matters, and civil litigation in General Sessions, Circuit, and Chancery courts, and later served as counsel for the Town of Jonesborough and for Washington County/Johnson City EMS ². He now practices at the Law Offices of James R. Wheeler ("First Town Law") in Jonesborough, focusing on estate planning, probate, guardianships, conservatorships, and mediation ². He served as president of the Washington County Bar Association in 1997, as Tennessee Bar Association Young Lawyers Division Governor from 1995 to 1999, and has served on the Tennessee Lawyers Fund for Client Protection — a Tennessee Supreme Court appointment — since 2015 ².

Office history

Wheeler was elected to the Washington County Commission in 2018, representing District 14, and serves as the commission's Vice-Chairman ¹².

Legislative record and accomplishments

Wheeler introduced a resolution — the "Resolution Supporting Local Decision-Making Authority with Respect to the Delivery of Learning Opportunities in Local Communities" — at a commission Health, Education and Welfare Committee meeting, stating: "I just felt like it was time for the commission to consider the opportunity to weigh in and ask our legislative delegation to support decisions regarding the schools being made at the local level" ³. He described his position as coming from being "a Republican that believes in smaller government and local decision-making" ³. The full commission subsequently approved the resulting resolution unanimously, 14-0, asking the local legislative delegation to preserve local control over school-related decisions ⁴.

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