← Back to Shelby County, Tennessee: Election on 2026-08-06
Contest for County Commissioner District 8
County Commission District 8
general - Partisan - County Commissioner District 8
About this office
Shelby County Commissioners are the 13 members of the county's legislative body. Each represents a single-member district, and together they pass resolutions and ordinances, approve the annual county budget, set the property-tax rate, and set countywide policy. They attend regular Monday commission meetings and Wednesday committee meetings and must complete at least seven hours of continuing education each year through the UT County Technical Assistance Service (CTAS).
Salary: $34,900/year (Action News 5, Dec 2021).
Term length: 4 years.
This role calls for
- Policy judgment on countywide matters — budget, taxes, land use, services, intergovernmental — within Tennessee county-government law and the Shelby County Charter.
- Budget literacy: the 13-member commission approves the county budget, sets the property-tax rate, and authorizes bond issues that span decades.
- Legislative process: drafting, amending, and voting on resolutions and ordinances; chairing or sitting on committees that pre-screen items.
- Constituent relations in a single-member district of roughly 70,000 residents — case-work and community issues flow through the commissioner's office.
- Willingness to complete the state-required seven hours of annual continuing education through UT CTAS.
Derived from the office's statutory duties and operational reality. Candidate summaries below map each candidate's documented experience to these requirements.
Campaigns
Keeley Greer's twenty-year tenure as a Memphis Police Department officer and status as a Shelby County native provide evidence of local community familiarity relevant to constituent relations for District 8. The biography contains no documented controversies or disciplinary records regarding her professional conduct. Bio does not indicate experience in county budgeting, legislative drafting, or land use policy judgment required by the office.
Will Richardson's biography shows decades of business ownership, including a home healthcare firm, and veteran leadership in the Marine Corps, alongside community mentoring through Men of Impact. He previously ran for county commissioner in 2019 and state representative in 2023. Bio does not indicate experience with county budget approval or legislative drafting within Shelby County government law.
E. J. Murphy's biography shows no prior elected office or specific experience with Shelby County budgeting, land use policy, or legislative drafting required for District 8. The record includes a 2026 ethics filing as a candidate but documents no controversies or disciplinary actions. Bio does not indicate experience in constituent case work or state-mandated continuing education through UT CTAS.
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