Javier Bailey back on the ballot. And the political life and times of Bill Morris.
Thirty-eight years after his first run for elected office, Javier Bailey is back running in the 2026 Democratic primary for Shelby County Assessor. (Bill Dries/The Daily Memphian)
After two runs for the old Memphis City Schools board in 1987 and 1993, Javier Bailey is returning to the ballot.
Bailey, the chief administrative officer in the Shelby County Assessor’s Office, is running in next year’s Democratic primary for assessor.
Incumbent Assessor Melvin Burgess Jr. is term-limited from seeking a third term in 2026 and is among those seeking the Democratic nomination for Shelby County mayor.
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Bill Dries
Bill Dries covers city and county government and politics. He is a native Memphian and has been a reporter for almost 50 years covering a wide variety of stories from the 1977 death of Elvis Presley and the 1978 police and fire strikes to numerous political campaigns, every county mayor and every Memphis Mayor starting with Wyeth Chandler.
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