Former mayor Willie Herenton is the city's longest-serving mayor and its first elected African-American mayor, with a colorful legacy. His bid to return after a decade away is the next chapter in that legacy.

Memphis Mayoral contender and Shelby County Commissioner Tami Sawyer is mounting a complex challenge of incumbent mayor Jim Strickland. The challenge combines promises of disruption with national issues as Sawyer seeks to fuse activism with electoral politics.