Lee Harris (politician)

Lee Harris
Harris in 2018
7th Mayor of Shelby County
Assumed office
September 1, 2018
Preceded byMark Luttrell
Minority Leader of the Tennessee Senate
In office
January 13, 2015 – August 31, 2018
Preceded byJim Kyle
Succeeded byJeff Yarbro
Member of the Tennessee Senate
from the 29th district
In office
January 13, 2015 – August 31, 2018
Preceded byOphelia Ford
Succeeded byRaumesh Akbari
Member of the Memphis City Council
from the 7th district
In office
2011–2015
Preceded byBerlin Boyd
Succeeded byBerlin Boyd
Personal details
Born (1978-08-10) August 10, 1978 (age 46)
Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
EducationMorehouse College (BA)
Yale University (JD)

Lee Ardrey Harris (born August 10, 1978) 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.[1]

In 2014, he was elected to the Tennessee Senate to replace Ophelia Ford. He was elected in November 2014 by the Democratic Senate Caucus of the Tennessee State Senate to the leadership position of Senate Minority Leader. He is the first black lawmaker of either party to hold a leadership position in the Tennessee State Senate.[2] In 2018, Harris was the Democratic nominee for Mayor of Shelby County, defeating Republican David Lenoir.[3][4] He was re-elected to a second term in 2022.[5]

  1. ^ "Lee Harris defeats Kemba Ford in Memphis City Council District 7 runoff" (November 10, 2011). commercialappeal.com/
  2. ^ Boucher, Dave (25 November 2015). "Senate Democrats choose freshmen as new leaders". The Tennessean. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  3. ^ Ryan Poe. "Democrat Lee Harris declares victory in the Shelby County mayor's race". The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
  4. ^ "Tennessee Dem Sen. Harris to resign, begin county mayor term". The Washington Times. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
  5. ^ Burgess, Katherine (August 5, 2022). "Four more years: Lee Harris reelected as mayor of Shelby County in extension of blue wave". The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved August 31, 2022.