Shelby County is the westernmost county in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 929,744. It is the largest of the state's 95 counties, both in terms of population and geographic area. Its county seat is Memphis, a port on the Mississippi River and the second most populous city in the state. The county was named for Governor Isaac Shelby (1750–1826) of Kentucky. It is one of only two remaining counties in Tennessee with a majority African American population, along with Haywood County. Shelby County is part of the Memphis, TN–MS–AR Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is bordered on the west by the Mississippi River. Located within the Mississippi Delta, the county was developed as a center of cotton plantations in the antebellum era, and cotton continued as an important commodity crop well into the 20th century. The economy has become more diversified.
Edward Hull "Boss" Crump Jr. was an American politician from Memphis, Tennessee. Representing the Democratic Party, he was the dominant force in the city's politics for most of the first half of the 20th century, during which the city had a commission form of government. He also usually dominated Tennessee politics from the 1920s to the 1940s. He was elected and served as mayor of Memphis from 1910 to 1915 and again briefly in 1940. However, he effectively appointed every mayor who was elected from 1915 to 1954.
The Tennessee House of Representatives is the lower house of the Tennessee General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee.
Harold Eugene Ford Sr. is an American politician and Democratic former member of the United States House of Representatives representing the area of Memphis, Tennessee, for 11 terms—from 1975 until his retirement in 1997. He was the first African-American to represent Tennessee in the U.S. Congress. He is a member of the Ford political family from Memphis.
Dan Heflin Kuykendall was an American politician and businessman who served as a United States Representative from Tennessee's 8th and 9th congressional districts from 1967 until 1975. A member of the Republican Party, Kuykendall was the first Republican to be elected in the 8th district since 1920 and was the first to be elected in the 9th district since 1872.
Stephen Ira Cohen is an American attorney and politician serving as the U.S. representative from Tennessee's 9th congressional district since 2007. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district includes the western three-fourths of Memphis. Cohen is Tennessee's first Jewish congressman and since 2023 has been the dean of and only Democrat in the state's congressional delegation.
John Newton Ford, is a former Democratic member of the Tennessee State Senate and a member of Tennessee's most prominent African-American political family. He is the older brother of former U.S. Representative Harold Ford, Sr. and the uncle of former Tennessee U.S. Representative and 2006 United States Senate candidate Harold Ford, Jr.
Operation Tennessee Waltz was a sting operation set up by federal and state law enforcement agents, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI). The operation led to the arrest of seven Tennessee state lawmakers and two men identified as "bagmen" in the indictment on the morning of May 26, 2005, on bribery charges. The FBI and TBI followed these arrests with an additional arrest of two county commissioners, one from Hamilton County, and the other a member of the prominent Hooks family of Memphis. Investigators also arrested a former county administrator.
Tennessee's 9th congressional district is a congressional district in West Tennessee. It has been represented by Democrat Steve Cohen since 2007.
Memphis-Shelby County Schools(MSCS), previously known as Shelby County Schools (SCS), is a public school district that serves the city of Memphis, Tennessee, United States, as well as most of the unincorporated areas of Shelby County. MSCS is the 23rd largest school district in the United States and the largest in Tennessee.
The 2006 congressional elections in Tennessee was held on November 7, 2006, to determine who will represent the state of Tennessee in the United States House of Representatives.
Lois Marie DeBerry was an American politician who was a member of Tennessee House of Representatives and former Speaker Pro Tempore of the Tennessee House. She was elected to represent the 91st district, part of Shelby County, as a Democrat. She was first elected to the Tennessee General Assembly in 1972 and was at the time of her death the longest serving member of the House.
Memphis, Tennessee is governed by a mayor and thirteen city council members. Since 1995, as a result of a legal challenge, all council members are elected from nine geographic districts. Seven are single-member districts and two have three representatives each.
Harold Eugene Ford Jr. is an American financial managing director, pundit, author, and former U.S. Congressman who served from 1997 to 2007 in the United States House of Representatives as a member of the Democratic Party from Tennessee's 9th congressional district, centered in Memphis. He is a member of the Ford political family from Memphis, and is the son of former Congressman Harold Ford Sr., who held the same seat for 22 years. In 2006, Ford made an unsuccessful bid for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by the retiring Bill Frist. He was also the last chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC).
Lee Ardrey Harris is an American politician who currently serves as the Mayor of Shelby County, previously serving as a member of the Tennessee Senate, representing the 29th district. Harris is also a law professor. Prior to his election to the state senate, Harris represented District 7 on the Memphis City Council. He was born and raised in Memphis, and studied at Morehouse College, followed by Yale Law School.
Emmitt H. Ford was an American politician from Tennessee. He represented the 86th district encompassing Shelby County from 1975–1981. He was also an uncle of former United States Congressman Harold Ford Jr.
The 2015 Memphis mayoral election took place on October 8, 2015, to elect the next mayor of Memphis, Tennessee. Incumbent Democratic Mayor A C Wharton ran for re-election to a second full term in office. He was defeated by Memphis City Councilman Jim Strickland, a fellow Democrat, who earned a plurality of the vote and became the first White mayor of Memphis in more than two decades.
David H. Lillard Jr. is an American lawyer, politician and government official. A Republican, he serves as the state treasurer for the state of Tennessee.
London Lamar is an American politician. A Democratic Party member, she serves in the Tennessee Senate representing district 33 since 2022. She was previously a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives from 2018 to 2022 representing District 91. During her time there, she was the youngest Tennessee State Representative in office. She was appointed to the Tennessee Senate in March 2022 by the Shelby County Commission after fellow Democrat Katrina Robinson was expelled due to her indictment on charges of wire fraud. Lamar was sworn in on March 8, 2022, and effectively resigned her house seat.
The 2023 Memphis mayoral election took place on October 5, 2023, to elect the next mayor of Memphis, Tennessee. Incumbent Jim Strickland was term-limited and could not seek re-election to a third term in office. The election used the plurality vote system, with no possibility of a runoff. The election was officially non-partisan, but several candidates were affiliated with political parties.
