Former Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton announces bid to return to office

Former Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton announced his bid for another term in the role Monday afternoon, entering an increasingly crowded field of candidates.

Herenton, 82, made his announcement in a video uploaded to Facebook, flanked by a sign that read "A Proven Leader," which was the basis of his pitch to the Memphis electorate.

"First of all, I love Memphis. I'm a lifelong Memphian," Herenton said in the announcement. "As you know, my public service career spans over 30 years in Memphis. I served 12 years as superintendent and then citizens of Memphis elected me five consecutive times as the mayor of this great city...We need proven leadership. This is not the time for on-the-job training."

With the announcement, Herenton throws himself into an already crowded field of candidates that includes Downtown Memphis Commission CEO Paul Young, former Shelby County Commissioner Van Turner, Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner, State Rep. Karen Camper, Businessman J.W. Gibson II, Memphis-Shelby County School Board member Michelle McKissack, and Memphis City Councilman Frank Colvett.

Herenton served as Memphis mayor from 1992 until 2009 for a total of five terms. He ran in 2019, but ultimately conceded to Mayor Jim Strickland.

In 1979, Herenton became the first Black superintendent of Memphis City Schools, now Memphis-Shelby County Schools, and served for 12 years.

He was born in Memphis and is a graduate of LeMoyne-Owen College and University of Memphis.

It does not appear Herenton has filed a campaign financial disclosure form for the race or appoint a treasurer for this year's campaign, according to a review of such documents Monday afternoon. He last filed such documents in September 2022 related to his 2019 campaign.

Lucas Finton is a news reporter with The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at Lucas.Finton@commercialappeal.com and followed on Twitter @LucasFinton.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Former Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton announces new bid for mayor