Rep. G.A. Hardaway named chair of black caucus
Tennessee’s Black Caucus of State Legislators have elected new leaders for the 111th General Assembly, voting on Rep. G.A. Hardaway to lead the group of minority lawmakers.
Hardaway, D-memphis, was elected chairman, the caucus announced Friday.
“It is an honor to be chosen by my colleagues to lead the fight to produce and advance legislation that benefits not only African-americans, but all disenfranchised citizens across the entire state of Tennessee,” Hardaway said in a statement.
The caucus was most recently led by now-sen. Raumesh Akbari, D-memphis, who was previously in the House of Representatives. Akbari is now caucus chair of the Senate Democrats.
The caucus consists of 17 members of the House and Senate and is open to both parties, though there are no black Republicans in the legislature.
Hardaway said the caucus would soon release its list of goals and objectives for the session.
The following members were also elected to leadership roles in the black caucus:
❚ Vice chairman: Rep. Rick Staples, D-knoxville
❚ Treasurer: Rep. Vincent Dixie, Dnashville
❚ Secretary: Rep. London Lamar, Dmemphis
❚ Chaplain: Rep. John Deberry, Dmemphis
❚ Parliamentarian: Rep. Jesse Chism, D-memphis
❚ Sergeant at Arms: Rep. Antonio Parkinson, D-memphis
Reach Natalie Allison at nallison@ tennessean.com. Follow her on Twitter at @natalie_allison.