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← Back to Shelby County, Tennessee: Election on 2026-05-05

Contest for Assessor of Property

County Shelby County
primary - Partisan - Assessor of Property

About this office

The Shelby County Assessor of Property locates, identifies, classifies, and appraises all real and personal property in the county for tax purposes. The office runs the state-mandated quadrennial reappraisal (next cycle: 2029), appraises personal property annually, and maintains approximately 353,000 real-estate parcels. The Assessor does not set the tax rate, send tax bills, or collect taxes β€” those duties belong to the County Commission (rate), the Trustee (collection), and the Clerk (registration-linked functions).

Term length: 4 years.

This role calls for

  • Statutory duty to value all real and personal property in Shelby County uniformly and on schedule for the property-tax base β€” Tennessee Code Annotated Title 67, Chapter 5.
  • Working knowledge of mass-appraisal methods, the four-year reappraisal cycle, and the appeals process before the Board of Equalization and the State Board.
  • Management of a large professional staff of appraisers, GIS analysts, and customer-service personnel.
  • Public-facing communication: assessment is one of the most contested government functions, and clear explanations of methodology and appeal rights matter.
  • Independence from collection (the Trustee bills) and from spending (the Commission and Mayor) β€” the Assessor's role is valuation, period.

Derived from the office's statutory duties and operational reality. Candidate summaries below map each candidate's documented experience to these requirements.

Campaigns

Democratic Primary 4 candidates
Michael O. Harris

Michael O. Harris

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As President and CEO of the Memphis Metropolitan Land Bank Authority, the candidate manages real property assets, offering direct experience relevant to statutory valuation duties under Tennessee Code Annotated Title 67. Leadership roles at ProGeny Place and the Rotary Club demonstrate public-facing communication skills necessary for explaining assessment methodologies. Military service and civic board memberships suggest capacity for managing professional staff and maintaining independence from political spending pressures.
Daryl Lewis

Daryl Lewis

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Thirty years as a real estate broker and architectural engineering degree provide technical grounding for mass-appraisal methods and statutory valuation duties under Tennessee Code Title 67 Chapter 5. The candidate pledges to retire his license, addressing independence from collection interests. His platform emphasizes transparency and neighborhood engagement, mapping to public-facing communication needs by bridging complex valuations with citizen understanding. He cites PILOT accountability, reflecting a focus on uniformity and schedule adherence for the tax base.
Javier Bailey

Javier Bailey

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Bailey serves as Chief Administrative Officer for the Shelby County Assessor’s office, providing direct management experience over professional staff and operations. His twenty-year trial law practice supports statutory compliance and appeals process knowledge. He holds a real estate broker license and developer background, offering practical mass-appraisal context. Peer recognition as Deputy Assessor of the Year underscores industry standing. However, his biography lacks specific details on statutory valuation methodologies under Title 67 Chapter 5, independence from collection functions, or public-facing communication strategies.
Sonya N. Murphy

Sonya N. Murphy

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Murphy’s bankruptcy practice involved providing property valuations to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, offering direct experience with valuation methods relevant to statutory duties under Tennessee Code Annotated Title 67, Chapter 5. Her Juris Doctorate and legal publication work demonstrate a foundation for understanding complex appraisal methodologies and the appeals process before the Board of Equalization. As a licensed attorney, she possesses the analytical framework necessary for independent valuation separate from collection or spending functions.
Republican Primary 1 candidate
Thomas B. Lannan

Thomas B. Lannan

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Not enough public information found to evaluate.