{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\n\nWillie Wilbert Herenton served as Memphis Mayor from 1991 to 2009. He returned to run for the office in 2023, finishing third with approximately 22% of the vote behind winner Paul Young and Floyd Bonner.\n\n## Background and education\n\nBorn in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1940, Herenton was raised by his mother and grandmother. An accomplished amateur boxer, he won the Tri-State Boxing Championship four times and held the Kentucky Golden Gloves title before attending LeMoyne College in Memphis for his undergraduate degree. He later earned a doctorate from Southern Illinois University and completed a national fellowship preparing minorities for urban school leadership.\n\n## Career\n\nHerenton became a teacher at 21 and by 28 was named principal of the Memphis elementary school he had attended as a child \u2014 the youngest principal in Memphis history at that time. In 1979, he became the first African American superintendent of Memphis City Schools, a position he held until 1991. That year, he defeated nine-term incumbent Mayor Richard Hackett by just 142 votes \u2014 the closest mayoral election in Memphis history \u2014 becoming the first African American elected mayor of Memphis. He won reelection four more times, serving until he abruptly resigned mid-way through his fifth term in 2009. During his nearly 18 years as mayor, Memphis secured its first major professional sports franchise (the Memphis Grizzlies) and saw significant downtown development.\n\n## Sources\n\n- [1] [W. W. Herenton \u2013 Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._W._Herenton)\n- [2] [Willie W. Herenton \u2013 BlackPast.org](https://blackpast.org/african-american-history/herenton-willie-w-1941/)\n- [3] [Willie W. Herenton \u2013 Horatio Alger Association](https://horatioalger.org/members/detail/willie-w-herenton/)","campaigns":[{"contest":"memphis_mayor","county":"Shelby","county_count":1,"electiondate":"Thu, 05 Oct 2023 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"TN","title":"Memphis Mayor"}],"cf_filings":[{"county":"shelby","displayname":"Herenton, Willie","documents":[{"datesubmitted":"03/19/24","documentid":"36F01086-CD0F-406E-A12D-9FD30075B065","documentname":"Herenton, WIllie - CFD 4th Quarter 2023.pdf","documentnameid":["36F01086-CD0F-406E-A12D-9FD30075B065","Herenton, WIllie - CFD 4th Quarter 2023.pdf"],"documenttype":"2023 CFD","electionname":null},{"datesubmitted":"11/27/23","documentid":"3B6DF687-2AC3-4284-96E2-37EEC5712D95","documentname":"Herenton, Willie W., CFD 3rd Quarter 2023","documentnameid":["3B6DF687-2AC3-4284-96E2-37EEC5712D95","Herenton, Willie W., CFD 3rd Quarter 2023"],"documenttype":"2023 CFD","electionname":null},{"datesubmitted":"09/28/23","documentid":"BAED8E15-A8F7-4B43-82B8-69005069D4A5","documentname":"Herenton, Willie W. - CFD 2nd Quarter 2023 - AMENDED","documentnameid":["BAED8E15-A8F7-4B43-82B8-69005069D4A5","Herenton, Willie W. - CFD 2nd Quarter 2023 - AMENDED"],"documenttype":"2023 CFD","electionname":null},{"datesubmitted":"09/28/23","documentid":"D2195BA3-33A8-4A33-993C-8EB7CF7DF0D7","documentname":"Herenton, Willie W. - CFD Pre-General 2023","documentnameid":["D2195BA3-33A8-4A33-993C-8EB7CF7DF0D7","Herenton, Willie W. - CFD Pre-General 2023"],"documenttype":"2023 CFD","electionname":null},{"datesubmitted":"07/10/23","documentid":"754FEF5E-EFED-44A4-A203-F9DC5D78BD2E","documentname":"Herenton, Willie - CFD 2nd Quarter 2023.pdf","documentnameid":["754FEF5E-EFED-44A4-A203-F9DC5D78BD2E","Herenton, Willie - CFD 2nd Quarter 2023.pdf"],"documenttype":"2023 CFD","electionname":null},{"datesubmitted":"02/27/23","documentid":"9D0D62C2-1F4D-440B-A221-940CBA904417","documentname":"Herenton, Willie - Appointment of Treasurer 2023.pdf","documentnameid":["9D0D62C2-1F4D-440B-A221-940CBA904417","Herenton, Willie - Appointment of Treasurer 2023.pdf"],"documenttype":"Appointment of Treasurer","electionname":null}],"filertype":"Candidate","officename":"Memphis Mayor","source_customer_id":"EE6EBC62-7B7C-432F-869E-4DE111271E07","source_filer_id":"EE64AD89-DBE5-4F34-8634-528A45B5C815","source_system":"easyvote","state":"TN","status":"Inactive"}],"firstname":"Willie","fullname":"Willie Wilbert Herenton","lastname":"Herenton","middlename":"Wilbert","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"memphis_mayor","contest_title":"Memphis Mayor","county":"Shelby","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2023-10-05","office_county":null,"office_key":"123","office_title":null,"party":"","pgr":"general","state":"TN"}],"county":null,"cycles":[{"general":{"contest":"memphis_mayor","contest_title":"Memphis Mayor","county":"Shelby","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2023-10-05","office_county":null,"office_key":"123","office_title":null,"party":"","pgr":"general","state":"TN"},"party":"","primary":null,"term":null,"year":2023}],"office_key":"123","office_title":"Memphis Mayor","state":"TN","terms":[]}],"summary":"Willie Wilbert Herenton is a public figure who is currently running for the position of Memphis Mayor in Shelby County, Tennessee. There is no information available about his education, work history, or community involvement. However, he has previously served as the mayor of Memphis. It is important to note that this evaluation is based on the limited information provided and does not provide a comprehensive assessment of Herenton's capabilities or qualifications.","terms":[],"token":"3nOYoRQykF"}