Two incumbents win in Shelby County Commission primaries marked by tight races

Throughout Shelby County, residents headed to local polling stations to cast their votes in primary elections. Eight primaries for Shelby County Commission districts were on the ballot this year, seven Democrats and one Republican.

The two incumbents running in the primary both won, with Republican Brandon Morrison beating newcomer Jordan Carpenter in a tight District 4 race and Democrat Edmund Ford Jr. delivering a commanding victory in District 9 seat.

Overall, most races were close, with half of the eight races being decided by less than 500 votes. Only Ford in District 9 and Charlie A. Caswell in District 6 won by a sizable margin.

Only two of the eight contested races are expected to face opponents in the Aug. 4 general election.

District 4 Republican primary -- Incumbent Brandon Morrison, a Republican beat newcomer Jordan Carpenter in a tight race. Morrison will face Democrat Britney Chauncey in the general election. Chauncey faced no challenger the primary.

Morrison has been on the Commission representing East Memphis since 2018. She is the family office president of MBA Corporation, dealing with family investments.

District 4 is a newly created commission district that includes parts of East Memphis and Germantown.

District 5 -- Shante Avant has been announced the winner of the District 5 Democratic primary. Avant ran against two other Democrats, Reginald French and Quran Folsom, and will face Republican Todd Payne, who ran unchallenged in his primary.

Avant is a former school board member who represented South Memphis for eight years. She is vice president of the Women's Foundation for a Greater Memphis, where she has worked for 15 years. Her interest in the county commission stems from the resources that are generated at the county level, Avant said.

District 5 is a newly created commission district, drawn to encompass the rapid growth of the Cordova community. The district stretches from Summer Ave. in the west to N. Pisgah Rd. in the East.

District 6 Democratic Primary - Charlie A. Caswell Jr. won the District 6 primary. Caswell ran against Alex Boulton, a former legislative aide for then-State Sen. Lee Harris, now the County mayor, and Sen. Sara Kyle in 2015. Commissioner Willie Brooks, who has held the position since 2014, ran for Shelby County Register of Deeds.

Caswell is the executive director of Legacy of Legends Community Development Corporation, which serves children ages 5 to 17 in the Frayser-Raleigh area, focusing on addressing "adverse childhood experience and trauma" and connecting them to counseling and mental health services. As commissioner, he hopes to focus on youth by prioritizing education, mental health and job skills for economic development.

District 6 encompasses northwest Shelby County, including Egypt, Raleigh and parts of North Memphis. It encompasses more than 69,000 people.

District 7 Democratic Primary - Henri E. Brooks has been announced the winner of the District 7 primary in her return to politics after retiring from the commission in 2014. Brooks beat out five other Democrats in the primary. Current District 7 Commissioner Tami Sawyer, who has held the position since 2018, is not running for reelection and was not on the ballot. Brooks will face Shirelle-Dakota Brown, an independent candidate in the general election in August.

Brooks served as a Tennessee House Representative for 14 years. In 2006, Brooks was elected to the Shelby County Board of Commissioners to represent District 2 and served for eight years.

District 7 encompasses Midtown, Frayser, Overton and North Memphis and is home to more than 69,000 people.

District 9 Democratic Primary - Incumbent Edmund Ford Jr. won the District 9 primary, beating out challengers Sean Harris and Sam Echols. Ford will keep his seat, as there are no Republican or Independent candidates in the race.

Ford has been on the Commission since 2018 and before that was on the Memphis City Council from 2008-2018. He is a senior financial literacy coordinator for the City of Memphis and a former mathematics instructor for Shelby County Schools. He is also the owner of E&J Computer Services and Repair and holds licenses in the funeral services industry.

District 9 covers Southwest Memphis, Westwood, West Junction/Walker Holmes and Whitehaven.

District 10 Democratic Primary - Britney Thornton has been announced the winner of the District 10 Democratic primary. Thornton ran against Kathy Kirk and Teri Dockery. Thornton will face independent Oakley Jordan in the general election.

Thornton is the executive director of JUICE Orange Mound, a local nonprofit focused on community organizing and fundraising in Orange Mound. A lifelong Memphis resident, Thornton previously ran for Memphis City Council in 2019.

The district, which now contains 27,448 people, stretches from just past Lathan St. to Getwell Rd. It contains parts of Central Gardens, Chickasaw Gardens, Cooper-Young, Midtown, Orange Mound and South Memphis.

District 11 Democratic Primary - Miska Clay Bibbs is announced the winner of the District 11 Democratic primary with a narrow lead over her opponent Eric Winston.

District 11 stretches from Airways Boulevard to Hickory Hill Road and encompasses sections of Fox Meadows, Hickory Hill, Oakhaven, Parkway Village and Whitehaven. It is home to slightly more than 70,000 people.

District 12 Democratic Primary - Erika Sugarmon has been announced the winner of the District 12 Democratic primary. Sugarmon ran against three other candidates. An Independent candidate, Clyde Jamison, was issued a petition but did not have it returned and approved, meaning Sugarmon is expected to win the seat.

Sugarmon is a teacher and activist who's taught at White Station High School for 23 years. She's known in Shelby County, especially for her advocacy for ranked-choice voting and for hand-marked paper ballots, and comes from a family of civil rights leaders. In 2019, she sought election the Memphis City Council, losing to Chase Carlisle.

District 12 includes some parts of Hickory Hill as well as some parts of southeast Shelby County south of Germantown.

This story will be updated.

Katherine Burgess contributed to this report.

Gina Butkovich covers DeSoto County, storytelling and general news. She can be reached at 901-232-6714 or on Twitter @gigibutko.

Astrid Kayembe covers South Memphis, Whitehaven and Westwood. She can be reached at astrid.kayembe@commercialappeal.com, (901) 304-7929 or on Twitter @astridkayembe_.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Shelby County Commission primary results