Chuck Espy

{{Short description|American politician}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2017}} {{infobox officeholder | name = Chuck Espy | image = Chuck Espy.jpg | office = Mayor of Clarksdale, Mississippi | term_start = July 1, 2017 | term_end = June 30, 2025 | preceded = Bill Luckett | succeeded = Orlando Paden | state_house2 = Mississippi | district2 = 26th | term_start2 = January 4, 2000 | term_end2 = January 5, 2016 | preceded2 = Leonard Henderson | succeeded2 = Orlando Paden | birth_name = Henry William Espy III | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1975|04|24}} | birth_place = {{nowrap|Clarksdale, Mississippi, U.S.}} | party = Democratic | spouse = Lynn | alma_mater = Southern University (BS)<br>Bethel University (MBA) }} '''Henry William "Chuck" Espy III''' (born April 24, 1975) is an American politician who served as mayor of Clarksdale, Mississippi from 2017 to 2025. He was a member of the Mississippi House of Representatives from 2000 to 2016.<ref>{{Cite web|title=2012-2016 Mississippi Blue Book {{!}} Michael Watson Secretary of state|url=https://www.sos.ms.gov/communications-publications/2012-2016-mississippi-blue-book|access-date=2021-05-26|website=www.sos.ms.gov}}</ref>

== Biography == {{BLP unreferenced section|date=February 2025}} Espy served in the Mississippi House of Representatives for 16 years. He was elected from District 26 in 1999.{{citation needed|date=February 2025}} Espy spoke on the House floor against a voter ID bill. He voted to protect retired teachers' 13th check and to fully fund the Mississippi Adequate Education Program (MAEP). The legislation Espy is most proud of is the bill he co-authored in 2010, the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which gave health insurance to thousands of Mississippi children.{{citation needed|date=February 2025}} Espy received his Bachelor of Science degree in business management from Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and his master's degree in business administration from Bethel University in McKenzie, Tennessee.{{citation needed|date=February 2025}}

Espy is president of Century Funeral Home and Burial Association.{{When|date=May 2021}} His father is former Clarksdale mayor Henry Espy and his uncle is former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Espy.{{citation needed|date=February 2025}}

Espy served two terms as mayor of Clarksdale from 2017 to 2025. He did not seek re-election as mayor of Clarksdale in 2025, and was succeeded as mayor by Democratic Mississippi state representative Orlando Paden.<ref>{{Cite web |title=New Leadership Ushers in Historic Change in Greenwood and Clarksdale |publisher=Delta Daily News |url=https://www.deltadailynews.com/local/new-leadership-ushers-in-historic-change-in-greenwood-and-clarksdale/ |access-date=2025-07-01 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.pressregister.com/paden-elected-mayor-clarksdale-russell-wins-jonestown-fair-wins-friars-point-monroe-wins-lula|title=Paden Elected Mayor of Clarksdale, Russell Wins Jonestown, Fair Wins Friars Point, Monroe Wins Lula|publisher=The Clarksdale Press Reader|date=June 3, 2025|accessdate=June 5, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://magnoliatribune.com/2025/06/03/democrats-have-good-night-in-mississippi-mayor-elections/|title=Democrats have good night in Mississippi mayor elections|first=Frank|last=Corder|publisher=Magnolia Tribune|date=June 3, 2025|accessdate=June 5, 2025}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Espy, Chuck}} Category:1975 births Category:Living people Category:African-American mayors in Mississippi Category:21st-century mayors of places in Mississippi Category:Democratic Party members of the Mississippi House of Representatives Category:21st-century members of the Mississippi Legislature Category:21st-century African-American politicians