Jake Files

Jake C. Files (born March 27, 1972) is a Republican member of the Arkansas State Senate from District 8.^[1] He is a resident of Fort Smith and represents a portion of Sebastian County in western Arkansas.^[2]

Background

A native of Norman, Oklahoma, Files graduated cum laude with a bachelor's degree in accounting from Arkansas State University in Jonesboro. Previously, he had attended Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia.^[1] He is the owner of FFH Construction, a general construction firm. From 1997 to 2004, he was the president and superintendent of the Fort Smith Christian School. Prior to that, he was hired to help start operations of the Baldor Electric Company plant in Ozark, Arkansas, as the accountant and materials manager. He and his wife, the former Michaela K. Mitchell (born 1977), have three daughters, Kate, Liz, and Bella, and are active members of Grand Avenue Baptist Church, a Southern Baptist congregation in Fort Smith. The senator coaches Little League baseball and basketball and assists with the children's choir.^[2]

Political life

Files was elected to the state Senate in 2010. He serves on these Senate committees: Revenue & Taxation, Transportation, Technology, Legislative Affairs, Joint Budget, and Senate Efficiency. He is also a member of the Joint (House and Senate) Legislative Committee on Auditing. He is currently the Chairman of the Revenue and Taxation Committee.

His district number was switched through redistricting from District 13 to District 8, effective January 2013, and his district boundaries changed to include most of the city of Greenwood and Hackett. Parts of north Fort Smith were moved into another Senate district in that process as well.

Files has earned several awards during his tenure in the Arkansas State Senate including the Legislative Leadership Award from the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce in 2011 and 2013. He was honored with the Advocate of Justice award in 2011 from the Arkansas Prosecuting Attorneys. He has also received national recognition as the 2013 State Legislator of the Year from the Journal of Tax Credits. He was the 2013 and 2014 recipient of the Champion of Small Business award from the National Coalition of Capital.

From 1999 to 2003, Files served in the Arkansas House of Representatives from District 12 in Fort Smith.^[2]

References