Jim Jeffords

Jeffords is the son of Olin Jeffords, who was formerly Chief Justice of the Vermont State Supreme Court. Jim Jeffords holds an undergraduate degree from Yale University, and a law degree from Harvard Law School. After three years of active duty in the United States Navy in the late 1950s, Jeffords served in the Naval Reserves for the following thirty years.

Jeffords entered politics in 1966, winning a seat in the Vermont State Senate: he followed that success in 1968 with a victory in the race for Vermont Attorney General. In 1974, he won Vermont's seat in the House of Representatives, where he served until 1988. In 1988, Jeffords left the House for the Senate, where he remains today.

Jeffords' work in Congress has focused on legislation involving education, job training, and individuals with disabilities. In recent years, his emphasis has shifted somewhat, as Jeffords has pushed several important pieces of environmental legislation through Congress.

He was one of the founders of the Congressional Solar Coalition and the Congressional Arts Caucus. Jeffords has been frequently recognized for his skills as a legislator, receiving Parenting Magazine's "Legislator of the Year" award in 1999, and the Sierra Club's highest commendation in 2002.

In spite of his long history of involvement in various causes, Jeffords is known by most Americans for one event in his career. In 2001, Jeffords chose to express his dissatisfaction with certain elements and trends in the Republican Party (with which he had always been affiliated) by abandoning his association with the party, and announcing his new status as an Independent. If Jeffords chooses to run for re-election in 2006, it is not yet known whether he will remain unaffiliated, or if (as some observers suspect) he will seek to be nominated by another national party.