Smith tabbed as new Madison County Deputy Mayor

Madison County Mayor A.J. Massey announced the hiring of a new deputy mayor last week.

Terica Smith, who was serving as assistant district attorney general under District Attorney General Jody Pickens, will move a few blocks away from the state government building in Downtown Jackson to the Madison County Courthouse to serve under Massey.

“Terica was a year ahead of me at Jackson-Central Merry, and we had a few classes together and then we were both part of the Leadership Jackson class of 2009 and reconnected then and have stayed in touch since then,” Massey said. “Terica is a very smart person who is detail-oriented and is good about taking care of things that I struggle with.

“And it was my plan when I ran last year to eventually have a deputy mayor to be able to complement me and my strengths and also represent the County.”

Massey said having a deputy mayor can be helpful logistically when his presence is needed or requested gives another person to fill that role or to be somewhere else to keep the day-to-day business of the County going.

“So far in the few months I’ve been in this position there have been times when the County needed to be represented somewhere and I’ve needed to reach out to a County Commissioner or two to help me out. Now hopefully that situation can be avoided because we have a deputy mayor again.”

Massey’s predecessor, Jimmy Harris, created the deputy mayor position when he wanted to give former county human resources director Tony White more responsibility. White left at the end of 2020 for the private sector.

Smith will begin working for the County on Feb. 1.

“Attorney General Pickens was very complimentary of Terica and didn’t want to see her leave his office, and I think that says a lot about how valuable of a person she is to have on our team,” Massey said. “So she’s staying with his office through the end of the month to tie up some loose ends for them before she comes over and joins us.”

“My entire career has been dedicated to public service and improving the lives of residents of this community. I am honored to serve the citizens of Madison County in this role and grateful to Mayor Massey for this opportunity,” Smith said in a press release from Massey’s office.

Before she was a part of the District Attorney’s office, Smith was a staff attorney with West Tennessee Legal Services and was appointed by Gov. Bill Lee to the Board of Judicial Conduct.

“The experience and knowledge and skillset Terica brings to this role will be invaluable to Madison County,” Massey said. “I’m glad to have her with us.”

Brandon Shields, brandon@jacksonpost.news