MEMPHIS — Shelandra Ford is a Memphian.
Born and raised to be technical.
A proud product of North Memphis — the same historic district that has witnessed countless of inner city individuals savor sustained success — Ford attended Shannon Elementary, Cypress Jr. High, and Frayser Kingsbury High Schools before enrolling at nearby Bethel University.
“I have been here with the people of Shelby County throughout our struggle,” Ford, during a recent interview with Making Headline News, said while recalling her upbringing in her native establishment.
For what it’s worth, Ford had deemed it essential somewhere along the way to demonstrate to the citizens of Memphis that she is destined to become an even greater ambassador for a city that is in dire need of change, particularly from a political standpoint.
“It is time to make a change,” Ford has said with such authority time and again on her Facebook page in recent weeks.
It is, by all accounts, because the Memphis-metropolitan area is longing for an array of favorable changes that Ford has announced her quest to assume the Shelby County Register of Deeds seat in the upcoming election.
“Hey, friends and family, I need your support,” Ford said in social media post last week. “I’m the only minority candidate for the Register of Deeds Office.”
If Ford is fortunate enough to attract a majority of the African-American votes when all of the area precincts report their final figures on May 1 (the official election date) then, chances are, she will emerge victorious after vying for her very first political seat on this, the first attempt for the Shelby County Democratic candidate.
The early voting period is from April 11-26.
“Claiming my office,” Ford wrote in a Facebook post just after midday CST on Tuesday.
In her quest to claim Register of Deeds, she will undoubtedly need thousands of fellow Memphians to help steer her to victory by showing up in massive numbers at the polls in the coming weeks.
If nothing else, amongst the things on which Ford can surely hang her hat is that she’s armed with some much-needed home field advantage, of sorts, as Election Day 2018 looms.
For starters, Ford is currently a Principal Court Clerk for Shelby County Government Civil Court.
In addition, she’s responsible for allocating what is known as an even workflow, during which she customarily interacts with various department managers to ensure that work is completed efficiently and in a timely manner.
A Shelby County Government tenure that spans nearly two decades, Ford’s professional stint officially began on May 21, 1998, during which she served as a Clerical Specialist for the Shelby County Health Department.
To her credit, Ford advanced and worked diligently in several departments for the government, most notably when she was appointed by the Shelby County Board of Commissioners to the Shelby County Unified Personnel Policy Committee as Employee Representative.
DONATE TO SHELANDRA FORD’S CAMPAIGN HERE: https://www.gofundme.com/shelandra-ford-register-of-deeds
Interestingly, Ford is the owner and chief executive officer of the Mid-South-area Creative Graphic Designs, Inc.
As for her quest to assume the Register of Deeds Office, Ford provided the citizens of Shelby County with a strategic, effective synopsis of her notable policies that will include, among other things:
- Ensuring that any additional IT investments made by the taxpayers of Shelby County are well spent and that her Access for All initiative is her No. 1 priority.
- Forming a community-based engagement task force that will appropriately explain in great detail the paperwork processes for the Registers Office
- Working diligently with other Clerk Offices and community groups to ensure all fees are collected for the sole purposes of benefiting taxpayers and,
- Ensuring that the Register’s Office Staff will have an advocate before the Board of Commissioners, particularly when it comes to wage increases, as well as a strong advocate for ensuring every customer of the Register’s Office is met with respect and treated with dignity.
“Again, these are just a few things Ms. Shelandra Ford will implement upon being sworn in on Sept. 1,” a spokesperson for Ford’s campaign told Making Headline News.
Oh, and let’s not forget what Ford appropriately outlined as her assortment of “campaign goals,” which include, but aren’t limited to:
- Being an advocate for the Shelby County community.
- Building better communication between the Deeds Office and the people of Shelby County.
- Creating new, innovative ideas to help educate, empower, and enliven the Shelby County community and,
- Improving efficiency of database information and providing customer friendly options for filing private documents.
All things considered, if things go her way during what is shaping up to be an intense campaign for this proud and beloved Memphian, many of Ford’s supporters believe she could very well deny all odds, thus emerge as the next Shelby County Register of Deeds.
“She’s truly a public servant,” said a spokesperson for Ford’s campaign.
A repetitive catchphrase that, to her credit, has been uttered by Shelby County Government for nearly the past two decades.
Which, fortunately for Ford as she lobbies for her first political seat, is just the kind of unyielding support she needs as she enters this jam-packed race with some much-needed homefield advantage.
Talk about a change for the better for a city she’s pleading to work together.
MEMPHIAN SHELANDRA FORD AT A GLIMPSE:
- Principal Court Clerk with Shelby County General Sessions Civil Court
- Shelby County Unified Personnel Policy Committee Employee Representative
- Civil Service positions within Shelby County since 1998
- “JUST SAY YES” Youth Empowerment Program
- Owner of Creative Graphic Designs Inc.
- Kingsbury High School Graduate
- Bethel University (Class of Summer 2018)
- Member of Christ In You Faith Temple
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Andre Johnson is Founder and Publisher for Making Headline News. A 2000 graduate of the University of Memphis School of Journalism and a former staff reporter the Memphis Commercial Appeal newspaper, Johnson covers the NBA Southwest Division from Dallas, Texas. To reach Johnson, send email to [email protected] or to [email protected]. Also, follow him on Twitter @AJ_Journalist.