Mickell Lowery, Miska Clay Bibbs to lead Shelby County Commission

The Shelby County Commission will be led this year by two Democrats, with commissioners electing Mickell Lowery as chair and Miska Clay Bibbs as vice chair.

This is the second year that the commission has deviated from a “gentleman’s agreement” that had been in place for several years where the chairmanship alternates between Republican and Democratic leadership, with the vice chair held by the opposite party of the chairman.

Lowery is an employee with FedEx, where he has held roles in global product marketing, IT strategy management and U.S. sales. He is currently a managing director at the company.

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The son of former Memphis City Councilman and Mayor Pro Tem Myron Lowery, Lowery was elected to the county commission in 2018 and reelected this year. He represents district 8, which includes areas of Downtown, Frayser, South Memphis, and Central Gardens.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in business from LeMoyne-Owen College and a master’s degree in operations management from the University of Arkansas.

On Monday, he received unanimous support from the other commissioners.

"It's an honor to be chair of a body that's so diverse, that really depicts more of what the population of Shelby County looks like," Lowery said, mentioning that he is the father of three daughters who now see a commission that's majority women. "I look forward to us accomplishing all that we can for our citizens together."

Clay Bibbs is chief of staff at Teach for America in Memphis. Before her election to the Shelby County Commission, she was on the Memphis-Shelby County Board of Education from 2014.

She was elected this year to represent District 11 on the commission, which stretches from Airways Boulevard to Hickory Hill Road and encompasses sections of Fox Meadows, Hickory Hill, Oakhaven, Parkway Village and Whitehaven.

Her strong communications background is one thing she will bring to the role of vice chair, Clay Bibbs said Monday.

“I truly believe in bridging the gaps. I believe in order to be successful in this work you have to be successful in relationships," she said. “Most importantly, I just think that I’m a person you definitely get along with, a person you definitely can have conversations with, a person who even if we don’t agree we can get on the same page with.”

Although Republican David Bradford and Democrat Erika Sugarmon were initially also nominated for the position of vice chair, Clay Bibbs received the support of all nine Democrats in the final round of voting. All four Republicans on the commission cast their final votes for Bradford.

The terms of chair and vice chair last until August 31, 2023.

Commissioners also voted to reappoint Qur’an Folsom to the position of chief administrator and Clay Perry to the position of administrator for the commission. And, they elected Shep Wilbun Jr. as administrator of the Office of Equal Opportunity Compliance for Shelby County Government. Wilbun has previously served as a city councilman, a county commissioner and an election commissioner.

Katherine Burgess covers county government and religion. She can be reached at katherine.burgess@commercialappeal.com or followed on Twitter @kathsburgess.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Shelby County Commission: Mickell Lowery and Miska Clay Bibbs to lead