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Melvin Burgess
Office history
County Mayor
— Shelby, TN
2026
D primary
Assessor of Property
— Shelby, TN
2018
held office
2018-09-01 → 2026-09-01
Current office
- Shelby County Assessor of Property since 2018; re-elected August 4, 2022. Current term ends September 1, 2026. (Ballotpedia, UT CTAS directory)
- Named 2021 Tennessee Assessor of the Year. (campaign site)
- Office: 1075 Mullins Station, Memphis, TN 38134.
2026 Campaign for Shelby County Mayor
- Candidate in the Democratic primary on May 5, 2026 — one of seven Democrats running for the open mayor's seat after incumbent Lee Harris was term-limited. General election August 6, 2026. (Wikipedia: 2026 Shelby County mayoral election, Fox 13 Memphis, 7 Dems field)
- Campaign site: burgessfor901.com
Prior office
- Shelby County Board of Commissioners, District 7, 2010–2018. Succeeded by Tami Sawyer. (Ballotpedia)
Education
- B.S. in Accounting, Grambling State University. Product of Memphis City Schools. (campaign site)
Earlier career
- Former Chief Internal Auditor, Memphis/Shelby County Schools.
- Founded the Shelby County Commission's Audit Committee; former Shelby County Board Chairman; founder of the Shelby County Appraisal Institute. (campaign site)
Stated accomplishments and platform
- Per his campaign, his office's work contributed to a reduction of the property tax rate from $3.39 to $2.69 per $100 assessed value before FY 2026, attributed in part to the assessor's "new growth" discovery. (campaign post, 2026)
- At candidate forums, has emphasized transit ("We've got to work together to fix that transportation issue"), blight ("All these properties that are out there like that, give them back to the CDCs"), and inclusive governance ("Everybody will have a seat at the table"). (campaign post, 2026)
Family
- Wife Sandra; two daughters; family resides in the Evergreen Historic District of Midtown Memphis.
- Father was Melvin Burgess, a former Memphis Police Director. (campaign site, Fox 13 Memphis)
Affiliations
- Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity; Delta Boule Chapter of Sigma Pi Phi. (campaign site)
Compiled from publicly available web sources on 2026-04-18. Several campaign accomplishments (backlog elimination, award recognition details) are sourced from the campaign's own site and were not independently confirmed in this pass.
Statement of interest (Tennessee Ethics Commission)
- 2026 — Property Assessor (SS-8005) — filed as a Shelby County official/candidate
- 2026 — County Mayor (SS-8005) — filed as a Shelby County official/candidate
- 2025 — Property Assessor (SS-8005) — filed as a Shelby County official/candidate
- 2024 — Property Assessor (SS-8005) — filed as a Shelby County official/candidate
Source: Tennessee Ethics Commission Statement of Interest Search. Scraped 2026-04-25.
Public filings
Candidates and officeholders are required by law to file campaign finance reports and statements of economic interest. The sites below don't support direct links to an individual record — search by last name on each.
Tennessee — Shelby County campaign finance (Shelby County Mayor)
- Burgess, Melvin - CFD - 1st Quarter 2026 — filed 04/10/26
- Burgess, Melvin - CFD Year-End 2025 (SCM).pdf — filed 02/02/26
- Burgess, Melvin - CFD Mid-Year 2025 (SCM).pdf — filed 07/18/25
- Burgess, Melvin - CFD Year-End 2024 (SCM).pdf — filed 07/18/25
- Burgess, Melvin - CFD Mid-Year 2024 (SCM).pdf — filed 07/18/25
- Burgess, Melvin - Appointment of Treasurer 2026.pdf — filed 04/23/24
Tennessee — campaign finance (search)
- State offices (Governor, US Senate, US Rep, TN Senate, TN House, State Executive Committee) — Tennessee Registry of Election Finance. Click Search for Candidates and PACs, enter last name “Burgess”, and submit.
Tennessee — statement of interest
- Required for state and local officials and candidates — Tennessee Ethics Commission Conflict of Interest Search. Enter last name “Burgess”and, if needed, select the applicable position.
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