News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Cookeville City Councilman Jim Woodford has no plans to return to politics as his second-consecutive term comes to a close.
Woodford said he’s proud of the amount of growth within the city over the last few years.
“It’s hard to believe eight years have gone by so quickly,” Woodford said. “I’ve felt very privileged to have served on the city council. Cookeville’s a great place to live and we’ve had, particularly in the last eight years, a growth spurt and a lot of activity positive for the people of the Upper Cumberland and particularly the city of Cookeville.”
Woodford, now 68, said he is unsure what type of political future he may have.
“I’m not planning that far down the road whether to return to the city council or not,” Woodford said. “Time will tell on that. But I do plan to stay engaged with the city and the Cookeville community, just not as much as I have been in the past.”
Since being elected as a councilman in 2010, Woodford served as the council’s representative on the city’s planning department, something he said no other council member had done for that long.
“Even though some people might not want to serve on [the planning department], I thoroughly enjoyed it,” Woodford said. “We have a very professional planning department in the city. We hear people out and we try to respond. What is amazing is that there’s always been a quorum. No meeting for the planning committee has ever been postponed or cancelled because of not having a quorum.”
Following his time as a councilman, Woodford looks to spend more time with his children and grandchildren as well as continuing to volunteer with CityScape. His last council meeting will be this evening starting at 5:30 p.m.
