Former state Rep. Page Walley eyes run for 7th Congressional District seat

News release from Page Walley

Bolivar, Tennessee—Dr. Page Walley, former State Representative and current Vice Mayor of Bolivar, is considering a run for the 7^th U.S. Congressional District.  Since Rep. Marsha Blackburn announced she will not be seeking reelection, voters from across the district have expressed to Walley their desire to see him run.

Walley served five terms in the Tennessee House of Representatives and six years in executive branch leadership under Republican governors as Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services and the Alabama Departments of Children’s Affairs and Human Services.  Under his leadership, Alabama became the first state to fundamentally reform its child and family protection system and exceed federal court expectations.

Currently, Walley-a clinical psychologist and licensed minister-works as a managing director at Casey Family Programs, the nation’s largest operating foundation focused on strengthening communities and families. In this role, Walley works with local, state, and federal officials to address these needs.

“Working with communities and families locally, nationally, and internationally, I see the insecurities and struggles that our people face in order to provide for their families.  I have been a part of collaborating with folks of all persuasions to find common sense solutions to these challenges.  In working with communities to develop economically, nothing is more foundational than the safety and well-being of our most vital resource, our children and families. Without educated, healthy, technologically-equipped communities, we cannot have the workforce and future we hope for.”

“This 19-county district is both blessed and challenged to achieve the hopes of our people.  The vast majority of our counties are considered ‘economically distressed,’ while a few have benefited from remarkable regional growth and development. We need someone who understands how to build on the strengths that we have while making sure we don’t leave others behind.”

As a popular state legislator who served on the Agriculture, Finance, and Health and Human Services committees, Walley was known as a problem-solving consensus builder who held more than 800 “Listening Meetings” throughout his district to hear from citizens so he could work better for them and address their individual and collective concerns.

Walley is a sought-after speaker both here and abroad on issues of faith, family, and community well-being. Recently, former Congressman, Homeland Security Undersecretary, and current Governor Asa Hutchinson (R-Arkansas) asked Walley to keynote his “Restoring Hope Summit” to equip business and faith leaders to meet the needs of citizens reentering society after prison or aging out of foster care.

Walley met with government and university officials in Yemen on human service delivery issues and also was invited to Ulyanovsk State Pedagogical University in Russia to lecture on how to transform their antiquated orphanage system.