Jerri Green

Current office and 2026 campaign

Jerri Green currently serves as a member of the Memphis City Council for District 2, having assumed office on January 1, 2024 ¹. On January 6, 2026, Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris announced her appointment as Interim Chief Public Defender, succeeding the retiring Phyllis Aluko, with Green's transition into the role beginning January 12, 2026 ³⁴. Green is a candidate for Governor of Tennessee in the 2026 election, running as a member of the Democratic Party ¹. She officially announced her candidacy on July 14, 2025, stating that she plans to "win" the race and bring change to state politics ⁵.

Green's campaign platform emphasizes issues affecting working families, including education, wages, and public safety ⁶. She has highlighted her personal experience as a mother of three, noting that her youngest child is autistic, which motivates her push for special education reforms ⁷. Her stated policy priorities include strengthening special education programs and ending what she describes as "welfare for the wealthy" ⁷. Green also unveiled a "Day One Plan" aimed at providing immediate relief to Tennesseans, including using $10 million in TANF funds to waive security deposits for working families ⁸.

The candidate has conducted a statewide tour to meet with voters, including stops in Chattanooga ⁹⁶ and at Houston County's Irish Celebration in Erin, Tennessee ⁸. On her campaign website, Green self-describes as a lawyer, public servant, and educator who aims to lead with "common sense, compassion, and courage" ¹⁰. She is scheduled to appear on the ballot for the Democratic primary on August 6, 2026 ¹.

Background and education

Jerri Green was born in Memphis, Tennessee ¹. She is a lifelong Tennessean who has lived in Memphis, Nashville, and Knoxville ¹¹. Green graduated from White Station High School ¹². She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Political Science from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville ². Green subsequently obtained her Juris Doctorate from Georgetown University School of Law in Washington, D.C. ².

Career

Jerri Green is a licensed attorney in the state of Tennessee and holds memberships in the Memphis Bar Association, the Tennessee Bar Association, and the Association for Women Attorneys ². She previously worked with the Shelby County Public Defender's Office from 2009 to 2010 ⁴.

Green joined the Community Legal Center of Memphis, a Memphis legal-aid nonprofit, in 2016 as director of community engagement and was named the organization's interim executive director in March 2021, succeeding retiring executive director Anne Mathes ¹².

She joined Shelby County government in 2021 as a senior policy adviser to Mayor Lee Harris and was promoted to Deputy Chief of Staff in July 2024 ¹³¹⁴. On January 6, 2026, Mayor Harris appointed Green as Interim Shelby County Chief Public Defender, with her transition into the role beginning January 12, 2026 ³⁴. In this capacity, she oversees an office that handles more than 22,000 cases annually and has focused on improving client facilities and community resource visibility ¹⁵¹⁴.

Office history

Jerri Green served as an attorney with the Shelby County Public Defender's Office from 2009 to 2010 ⁴. She was the Democratic nominee for Tennessee House of Representatives District 83 in 2020, challenging five-term Republican incumbent Mark White; White won the November 3, 2020 general election, 54% to 46% ¹⁶¹⁷.

She later worked for Shelby County Government starting in 2021, initially as senior policy adviser and, beginning in July 2024, as Deputy Chief of Staff to Mayor Lee Harris ¹³¹⁴. In January 2026, Green was appointed by Mayor Harris as the Interim Shelby County Chief Public Defender, a role she began on January 12, 2026, following the retirement of Phyllis Aluko ³⁴.

Green was elected to the Memphis City Council representing District 2 on November 16, 2023, and assumed office on January 1, 2024 ¹². Her current term is scheduled to end on January 1, 2028 ¹.

In July 2025, Green announced her candidacy for Governor of Tennessee as a Democrat ⁵¹⁸. She is currently running in the Democratic primary scheduled for August 6, 2026 ¹.

Legislative record and accomplishments

As a member of the Memphis City Council representing District 2, Green has focused her legislative agenda on economic stability for working families and public safety reforms. She advocates for living wages and programs to reduce violent crime and gun theft ¹¹. During her tenure, she was one of four sponsors of a resolution opposing the deployment of the National Guard to Memphis, urging Governor Bill Lee to reject such proposals in favor of addressing poverty and strengthening families; the resolution failed on a 4-4 council vote on September 23, 2025 ¹⁹²⁰. Her campaign site credits her with championing healthcare access initiatives on the council, including pioneering an at-home HIV test program and securing funding for Black midwives ¹⁰.

Green's policy platform emphasizes expanding public education resources, particularly for special needs students. She supports strengthening special education services, a position influenced by her personal experience raising a child with autism ⁷. She asserts that every child in Tennessee deserves quality public education regardless of their ZIP code and argues against abandoning schools ²¹. Additionally, she has proposed using $10 million in TANF funds to provide immediate housing relief for working families as part of her Day One Plan ⁸.

Documented disputes and controversies

Green's 2026 gubernatorial campaign has been marked by a public challenge to U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn, who is running in the Republican primary for the same office. Green stated her intention to "shake things up" and told The Tennessee Journal, as reported by the Memphis Flyer, that she was "planning to challenge Marsha Blackburn in the fall" — a comment made before Blackburn had formally entered the race ²².

As a member of the Memphis City Council, Green was one of four sponsors of a resolution opposing the deployment of the National Guard to Memphis, arguing that "public safety comes from opportunity not occupation" and that sending troops would distract from tackling poverty ¹⁹. The resolution failed on a 4-4 council vote, with two members abstaining, on September 23, 2025 ²⁰.

Green has faced steep deficits in hypothetical general-election matchup polling against Blackburn, ahead of both parties' August 6, 2026 primaries. A Targoz survey of 1,157 registered voters conducted April 20-27, 2026 showed Blackburn leading Green 51% to 27%; this figure is sourced to a secondhand repost of the poll by the "Election Time" X/Twitter account, as no independent write-up of the underlying Targoz release could be confirmed ²³. A separate Beacon Poll survey of 1,200 Tennessee voters in May 2026 similarly found Blackburn leading Green by 24 points in a hypothetical matchup ²⁴.

Business interests and wealth source

Green's career has been in law and public service rather than private business; her financial disclosures and professional history reflect salaries as an attorney, nonprofit employee, and county/city official, with no reported ownership of significant private businesses ¹⁴. She attributes her policy focus on wages and cost of living to her own experience as a working mother, stating her goal is a government that serves "everyone, not just the powerful or ultra-wealthy" ¹⁰.

Family

Green self-describes as a "proud mom of three" ¹⁰. She has publicly identified her children by name as Beau, Vivienne, and Wilder ¹⁰. Green states that her youngest child is Autistic and relies on special education programs, a personal experience she cites as motivation for her platform's focus on special education reform ⁷.

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