By John DeBerry Jr.

The Illusion of Inevitability

I have sat in rooms where political operatives look at spreadsheets, analyze voter rolls, and confidently dictate the future of our communities before a single ballot is ever cast. They look at Shelby County, they look at the current establishment machine, and they whisper a word designed to paralyze you. They whisper that the status quo is inevitable. They tell you that the continuation of the current administration under Mickell Lowery is just the natural order of things, a foregone conclusion.

I came here tonight to look you in the eye and tell you that we are here to completely crush and crash that spirit of inevitability.

This isn't a night to tentatively ask ourselves, "Can we beat the machine?" This is a night where we stand up as men and women of conviction and declare: We will beat Mickell Lowery, we will win this election, and we will rewrite the story of Shelby County. We aren't fighting for some abstract partisan victory; we are fighting to save our home from a culture of managed decline. When people ask why I stepped out of retirement, why I left a comfortable advisory role to step back into the line of fire, I tell them it’s because the hour is too late for timid questions. Look around our neighborhoods. We have been lulled into a dangerous state of tolerance. What one generation tolerates, the next generation completely embraces. Because we tolerated mediocrity from leadership, our children have grown up embracing it as their baseline reality. They think crime, failing schools, and a disconnected county government are just "the way it is."

I refuse to accept that. We are going to change it. And it starts by shifting our language from the passive hope of can we to the absolute certainty of we will.

The Mandate of True Statesmanship

For twenty-six years, I had the immense honor of representing the people of Memphis on the floor of the Tennessee House General Assembly. I am no stranger to the down-and-dirty nature of political combat. We had monumental fights in Nashville. We had knock-down, drag-out debates over policy, education, and the future of our state that would make you think we were ready to take our coats off in the hallway and go at it.

But let me tell you about true statesmanship: once we walked back through those big, heavy chamber doors, the animosity stopped. Someone from across the aisle would look at me and say, "John, let’s go get something to eat." We would sit down together as brothers, break bread, and we would actually solve the problems facing the citizens of Tennessee.

Because we practiced adult governance instead of performing for cameras, we didn't just survive—we thrived. It is not an accident or a magic trick that the State of Tennessee balances its budget every single year under a constitutional mandate. It is not magic that we systematically put money into our rainy day fund so that when an emergency hits, our people are protected while other states sit on the verge of bankruptcy. It happens because real leaders sit down across party lines, put the games aside, and prioritize structural excellence over personal ambition.

When I look at the current administration in Shelby County, I do not see statesmanship. I see administrative isolationism. How can you claim to be the leader of this entire county when you do not meet on a regular, consistent basis with the mayors of Bartlett, Germantown, Collierville, Millington, and Lakeland? How can you steer a region forward when you fail to align with the local chambers of commerce, the police chiefs, and the neighborhood leaders?

Governance cannot be an island. I am running for County Mayor because we need a statesman who will bring everyone to the table, restore fiscal discipline, and ensure that Shelby County stops sending massive amounts of tax dollars east to Nashville without demanding our proper appropriation back. We will fully fund our health department so it isn't running solely on unpredictable grants, and we will ensure our Sheriff’s Department has the structural backing it needs without being forced to sue county leadership just to get their operational budget.

Betrayed by the Machine, Rooted in Conviction

My path to this moment has not been a straight or easy line, but it has been a path forged entirely by principle. In 2020, after serving thirteen straight terms as a Democrat representative, a small faction of radical party elites—many of whom weren't even from Shelby County—decided that my deeply held convictions were a threat to their control. Because I stood firmly for the right to life, for traditional marriage, and for a parent’s right to choose the best educational path for their child, they held a closed-door vote and threw me off the primary ballot. They thought they could erase twenty-six years of service with the click of a button.

At that moment, my family was navigating profound grief. I had not long buried my beloved wife, Georgia, and my daughters and granddaughters were going through immense trials. To have the party machine strike from behind during a time of personal trauma was a heavy, painful blow. But the machine forgot one crucial detail: my platform has never been built on a party label. It is built on my faith in Almighty God.

When the partisan doors slammed shut, Governor Bill Lee called me. He told me that Tennessee still needed voices of wisdom, and he appointed me as his senior advisor—making me the highest-ranking African American to ever hold that executive cabinet-level position in the state’s history. For five years, I worked to guide our state forward, advising on criminal justice reform, education, and faith-based initiatives. I watched how real executive power can uplift communities when it isn't shackled by local political vendettas.

That is the exact executive experience, maturity, and clarity I am bringing back to Shelby County. The establishment thinks they can rely on the same old playbook to defeat us. They think they can weaponize labels, create artificial division, and coast to victory on party inertia. But they do not understand that the people are tired of digging up the same old political bones, placing them back in power, and acting shocked when our communities remain trapped in decay.

Possessing the Promised Land

Look at the numbers that the political establishment relies upon to maintain their grip. They look at our historical voter data and they see a pattern they love: an abysmal 16% voter turnout in our local elections.

They count on that 84% gap. They count on you staying home, feeling discouraged, and assuming that your vote cannot alter the course of history. Mickell Lowery’s campaign depends entirely on the silence of the majority. But when we look at each other tonight, we realize we possess a secret weapon that no political machine can match: the power of unified faith, absolute clarity, and community action.

Think of the story of Gad and Reuben in the Book of Numbers. After crossing the Red Sea, when it was finally time to step forward and claim the Promised Land, the men of Gad and Reuben looked at the pastures on the outskirts. They saw that the land was good for their sheep and cattle, and they said to Moses, "We’re fine right here. We just want to stay on this side of the river."

Moses looked at them and asked a profound question that echoes down to us in Shelby County today: "Should your brothers go and fight, and you stay here?" Moses reminded them that you cannot inherit the promise by hiding on the sidelines while your brothers bleed, suffer, and fight the giants on the other side. God will provide the landscape, but we have to step forward and physically possess the victory. We cannot sit in our pews, look at the crime on our streets, look at our broken local systems, and say, "Well, my family is doing just fine, so I’ll stay right here." God has called us to action at this exact juncture in our history.

Moving From Victory, Not For It

We are not approaching this election with a spirit of fear or hesitation. We are not entering July and August wondering if we can somehow scrape together enough momentum to challenge the establishment.

As the Apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesians, we must be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand.

Paul reminded us of a truth that completely rewrites how we view political conflict: we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, and against spiritual wickedness in high places.

When you understand that, you realize that our opponents are not our enemies—they are simply operating within a broken system that has lost its way. The disputed territory has already been claimed by a higher authority. Therefore, we do not fight FOR victory; we fight FROM victory. The victory has already been provided; our job is simply to show up, do the work, and possess it at the ballot box.

We will fix the structural issues plaguing 201 Poplar. We will stop the predatory, constant over-assessment and over-taxation that is driving our elderly citizens out of their historic homes because they cannot afford the lawyers and accountants needed to fight county hall. We will restore pride, safety, and operational excellence to Memphis and the surrounding municipalities.

The Prophecy of Action

The political establishment wants to keep this community fractured. They want the inner city fighting the suburbs, they want Democrats fighting Republicans, and they want race weaponized to prevent real accountability. But look around this room tonight. Look at the pastors, the educators, the business owners, the lifelong Democrats like Dr. Kenneth Whalum, and the lifelong Republicans standing shoulder to shoulder. The machine cannot survive a community that refuses to be divided.

This is our time. This is our chance to make things right. Early voting begins July 17th, and the general election is August 6th. Do not wait until August. Do not let the dog days of summer lull you into inaction. We need to go back to our neighborhoods with our text messages, our emails, our social media, and our personal spheres of influence. We need to get our networks to the polls early. We break the 16% trap through compounding action—by multiplication, not just addition.

Stop letting the political class tell you what is inevitable. We are here to rewrite the script. Let us look forward to the coming weeks not with anxiety, but with the unshakeable certainty of leaders who know exactly where they are going.

Say it with me, believe it in your heart, and let it carry you to the polls: We will beat Mickell Lowery. We will possess this victory. We will win.