Chuck Espy facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Chuck Espy
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| Mayor of Clarksdale, Mississippi | |
| Assumed office July 1, 2017 |
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| Preceded by | Bill Luckett |
| Member of the Mississippi House of Representatives from the 26th district |
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| In office January 4, 2000 – January 5, 2016 |
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| Preceded by | Leonard Henderson |
| Succeeded by | Orlando Paden |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Henry William Espy III
April 24, 1975 Clarksdale, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Lynn |
| Residences | Clarksdale, Mississippi |
| Alma mater | Southern University (BS) Bethel University (MBA) |
Henry William "Chuck" Espy III (born April 24, 1975) is an American politician serving since 2017 as mayor of Clarksdale, Mississippi. He was a member of the Mississippi House of Representatives from 2000 to 2016.
Biography
Espy served in the Mississippi House of Representatives for 16 years. He was elected from District 26 in 1999.
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.
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.
Espy is president of Century Funeral Home and Burial Association.
To address economic inequities for families in crisis in his legislative district, Espy founded The Chuck Espy Foundation. This endowment was supported by his legislative salary and matching donor contributions. Espy is a devout Christian who was baptized into the United Methodist Church as an infant. He is a member of the NAACP, Omega Psi Phi fraternity. and a Prince Hall Mason. As a member of the state legislature, he chaired the Philanthropic Development Committee, the Investigation of State Offices, and the Foundation for Education and Economic Development (FEED), a charity organization founded by the Mississippi Legislative Black Caucus.
His father is former Clarksdale mayor Henry Espy and his uncle is former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Espy.
