New Members 2010 - Mississippi

House 01

House 04

REP.-ELECT ALAN NUNNELEE (R-MISS.-01)

Date of birth: Oct. 9, 1958
Birthplace: Tupelo, Miss.
Residence: Tupelo, Miss.
Occupation: Founder and president of Allied Funeral Associates; public official
Education: B.S., Mississippi State University
Previous office held: State senator
Family: Wife, Tori; three children

Alan Nunnelee replaced Roger Wicker in Mississippi’s state Senate, and now he holds Wicker’s old House seat. He won the seat from freshman Democrat Travis Childers, who took the seat in a special election after Wicker was appointed to the Senate. Nunnelee is a fiscal conservative who believes in tax cuts as long as they don’t bankrupt the government. He served as chairman of the state Senate’s Committee on Appropriations and had been rated as a business champion for his support of issues relating to the free enterprise system. Nunnelee was instrumental in bringing comprehensive tort reform. In addition, in 2001 Nunnelee passed legislation to place our national motto, “In God We Trust,” on the wall of every school classroom in Mississippi without spending any tax dollars to achieve this goal.

REP.-ELECT STEVEN PALAZZO (R-MISS.-04)

Date of birth:  Feb. 21, 1970
Birthplace: Gulfport, Miss.
Residence: Biloxi, Miss.
Occupation: State representative
Education: Bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Southern Mississippi; master’s degree, University of Southern Mississippi
Previous office held: State representative
Family: Wife, Lisa; three children

Steven Palazzo defeated Rep. Gene Taylor (D-Miss.) after Taylor tried hard to distance himself from his party. Palazzo has been a state representative since 2006 and is a member of the Mississippi National Guard. He was born in 1970 in Gulfport, Miss., and received a bachelor’s and master’s degree in accounting from the University of Southern Mississippi. Palazzo continued on to the Marine Corps Reserves, with which he served in the Persian Gulf War. Together, Palazzo and his wife, Lisa, started a company in 2001 to help U.S. citizens abroad. Palazzo and Co. has become an international firm specializing in individual income taxes in more than 25 countries.

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