MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Shelby County Commissioner Tami Sawyer announced Monday she will not seek re-election for a second term next year.
Sawyer’s first term as District 7 representative on the commission ends Aug. 31 of 2022 after her election in 2018. She is the first-ever chair of the Shelby County Black Caucus.
Sawyer said she plans to serve her marginalized communities in a different capacity.
She said she made her announcement a year early “to allow district 7 sufficient time to come to know and choose a successor who is equally committed and prepared to continue this work with us to address the inequities that persist in our communities.”
“I am immensely grateful to have the privilege to serve district 7 and humbled by the
opportunities that I have had to work alongside community residents to bring about real change
for families in an often-forgotten area of Shelby County,” Sawyer said in a prepared statement. “The work that I will continue following the end of my term as Commissioner will be focused on
the communities that need us to hear them the most in Memphis and across the South, but are too
often ignored by government leadership, collectively.”