MEMPHIS, TN — JB Smiley Jr. (Democratic Party) a member of the Memphis City Council in Tennessee, representing Super District 8 Position 1 is running for election for Governor of Tennessee. He declared candidacy for the Democratic primary scheduled on August 4, 2022.
JB Smiley Jr. earned his J.D. from the University of Arkansas – Little Rock Will H. Bowen School of Law. He passed both the Arkansas and the Tennessee Bar Exams. His professional experience includes working for the civil defense law firm Munson, Rowlett, Moore & Boone and starting his own law practice Smiley & Associates. Prior to earning his law degree, he played collegiate and semi-professional basketball.
Smiley previously served as judicial council for the Young Democrats of America, vice chairman of the Black Caucus of the Young Democrats of America, and vice president of the Shelby County Young Democrats. Smiley was appointed policy advisor to the Shelby County Clerk in 2018 and served in that capacity until his election to the Memphis City Council. He was named to Memphis Flyer’s Top 20-30 class in 2018, and he was a finalist in Memphis Business Journal’s Best of the Bar Private Firm Attorney small category in 2019.