Lee Ardrey Harris (born August 10, 1978) is an American politician who is currently the Mayor of Shelby County, previously serving as a member of the

Tennessee Senate The Tennessee Senate is the upper house of the U.S. state of Tennessee's state legislature, which is known formally as the Tennessee General Assembly. The Tennessee Senate has the power to pass resolutions concerning essentially any issue rega ...

, representing the 29th district. Harris is also a law professor. Prior to his election to the state senate, Harris served on the

Memphis City Council The Memphis City Council is the legislative branch of government for the city of Memphis, Tennessee. It is made up of 13 members: 7 single-district members and 6 "super district" members. Council members are elected to four-year terms with a two-te ...

, representing District 7. He was born and raised in

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

, and studied at Morehouse College, followed by

Yale Law School Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by '' U.S. News & Worl ...

."Lee Harris defeats Kemba Ford in Memphis City Council District 7 runoff"
(November 10, 2011). commercialappeal.com/ In 2014, he was elected to the

to replace

Ophelia Ford Ophelia Ford (born July 5, 1950) is a former member of the Tennessee Senate. She is the younger sister of former state senator John Ford and former Congressman Harold Ford, Sr., and the aunt of former Congressman Harold Ford, Jr. She represente ...

. He was elected in November 2014 by the Democratic Senate Caucus of the

Tennessee State Senate The Tennessee Senate is the upper house of the U.S. state of Tennessee's state legislature, which is known formally as the Tennessee General Assembly. The Tennessee Senate has the power to pass resolutions concerning essentially any issue rega ...

to the leadership position of

Senate Minority Leader The positions of majority leader and minority leader are held by two United States senators and members of the party leadership of the United States Senate. They serve as the chief spokespersons for their respective political parties holding ...

. He is the first black lawmaker of either party to hold a leadership position in the Tennessee State Senate. In 2018, Harris was the Democratic nominee for Mayor of Shelby County, defeating Republican David Lenoir. He was re-elected to a second term in 2022.

Early life and education

Harris was born and raised in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

. He is the son of a retired high school guidance counselor and a heating and air conditioning repairman. He attended Memphis city schools, including Alcy Elementary School, John P. Freeman Middle School, and Overton High School."Harris Legal Career Leans on Desire to Help Community"
Richard Alley (Oct 25, 2012). http://www.memphisdailynews.org/ Harris attended Morehouse College on a full scholarship, graduating in 2000. While at Morehouse, Harris completed a one-year course of study at the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

. He graduated from

in 2003.

Career

Harris began his legal career as an associate at Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, a Memphis law firm. In 2003, Harris began teaching at the

University of Memphis, School of Law The University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law is an American Bar Association accredited law school and is the only law school in Memphis, Tennessee. The school has been associated with the University of Memphis since the law school's ...

, attaining tenure in 2009. Harris teaches and publishes in the fields of corporate law. In 2006, Harris unsuccessfully ran for the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

for

Tennessee's 9th congressional district Tennessee's 9th congressional district is a congressional district in West Tennessee. It has been represented by Democrat Steve Cohen since 2007. The district was re-created as a result of the redistricting cycle after the 1980 Census. Curr ...

. In 2011, Harris faced Kemba Ford in a runoff election for Memphis City Council. He won the race with more than 60% of the vote. On April 3, 2014, Harris announced his intention to contest a

District 29 seat currently held by state Senator

. Harris was elected to the seat and was sworn in in January 2015. He was elected by his colleagues in the Democratic Caucus of the

to be Senate Minority Leader for the session. He is the first black lawmaker of either party to hold a leadership position in the Tennessee State Senate. In 2018, Harris was the Democratic nominee for Shelby County Mayor. He won the general election, defeating Republican Shelby County Trustee David Lenoir 55-45%. Harris' campaign emphasized reducing poverty and expanding education, including access to jobs training and apprenticeships. During his first term, Harris raised the minimum wage for Shelby County employees and oversaw the county's response to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. He also increased funding for early childhood education and created a paid parental leave program for county employees. Harris ran for re-election in 2022. He faced Republican Worth Morgan, a member of the Memphis City Council. The campaign centered around the county's crime rate and health care infrastructure. Harris defeated Morgan 58-42%

Policy positions

Harris was a proponent of an October 16, 2012, amendment to Memphis' anti-discrimination ordinance, which prohibits the City of Memphis from discriminating on the basis of age, disability, national origin, ethnicity, gender identity, and sexual orientation.http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2012/oct/28/a-controversial-mainstream-city-ordinance/ A Controversial, Mainstream City Ordinance (October 28, 2012)

Books

* ''Corporations and Other Business Entities: a Practical Approach'' (2011) * ''Mastering Corporations and Other Business Entities'' (1997)

Personal

Harris is married to Alena Allen, a law professor at the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Lee 1978 births 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American politicians 21st-century American politicians African-American state legislators in Tennessee Living people Mayors of places in Tennessee Morehouse College alumni Politicians from Memphis, Tennessee Democratic Party Tennessee state senators University of Memphis faculty Yale Law School alumni