MEMPHIS, TN — Willis Lincoln “T.J.” Hardaway, son of the late Tennessee Rep. G.A. Hardaway, will temporarily assume his father’s seat until the next general election in November after the Shelby County Board of Commissioners approved his appointment Wednesday.
G.A. Hardaway died late last month at age 71 following a brief illness, bringing a sudden end to a career representing Memphis that began in 2007, when he was first elected to represent Tennessee House District 92. The senior Hardaway was elected to House District 93, representing south Memphis and Orange Mound.
It is this district that T.J. Hardway will now represent.
An emotional Hardaway choked back tears as he thanked the board for his appointment while invoking the memory of his father, who left behind a legacy of fighting for civil rights and his Memphis constituents.
“Knowing how much this means to me, I’m overwhelmed with what I know it means to him,” T.J. Hardaway said.
Hardway’s appointment comes as the Tennessee Legislature this week barrels forward to redraw the Memphis-area Congressional district, currently the only one of Tennessee’s nine House districts that is majority Democrat. The GOP-backed plan has drawn fierce criticism from Democrats for diluting the voting power of Memphis, a majority-Black city.
Hardaway, a Democrat like his father, told commissioners he would be heading to Nashville Wednesday immediately after the conclusion of his appointment in order to be able to cast a vote.
“This is a critical moment for Memphis, and I believe I can do it,” he said.
“My priority is the vote at the state capitol tomorrow and promptly finish the race in both the grit my father instilled and in my own attempt to bring diversity in ideology and dignity to the remainder of this term.”
Hardaway was sworn in last Thursday morning.
