Allan Creasy - Future901 Endorsed Candidate

Allan Creasy was born and raised in Shelby County. He grew up in Bartlett and graduated from Bolton High School. “Being able to ride my bike to W. J. Freeman park, where I broke my arm on playground equipment as a child, playing t-ball, baseball, and soccer, was part of a suburban upbringing that shaped me. Seeing how the neighborhood has grown and evolved has been amazing.” He went on to study History at the University of Memphis on full academic scholarship.

He was driven to improve himself through school, and worked full-time while also attending school full-time. Allan worked in the restaurant industry and became interested in different aspects of the work. He continued working as a bartender, and was voted “Best Bartender” by Memphis Flyer readers three times. “In the restaurant industry you have folks from all walks of life working shoulder to shoulder. You have to learn to work with and serve people and you have your eyes open to many different opinions and ways of life,” Allan says of his experiences. “When both coworkers and customers talk to me about their problems, I always want to help fix them. A kind word can go far, but a local government that is serving people’s needs more fully would go much farther.”

Allan is a homeowner in the Berclair neighborhood, and has enjoyed getting to know the multicultural community. “My neighborhood is diverse. I have neighbors who are born and bred Memphians, as well as from places around the world, and we still have a great sense of community.” However, he has also seen predatory lenders taking advantage of his neighbors and friends. “Seeing payday and title loan stores in my neighborhood upsets me. I’ve seen coworkers and friends tricked by those places. It makes me angry and fired up to want to do something to fix this problem that I see in my neighborhood, and all over Shelby County.”

Recognizing issues like this and others affecting Shelby County motivated Allan to get involved in politics. “I became passionate about local politics when I saw how the state legislature had mismanaged our tax dollars, and how that was directly affecting friends and neighbors.” He got involved in community groups and local campaigns, volunteering in his time off. Volunteering opened his eyes to many issues that spoke to him. “Knocking on doors from the most affluent areas of our county, to areas that I was taught to avoid growing up, and discovering how incredibly welcoming folks were everywhere was very eye opening for me. Two very different neighborhoods might want the same thing from local government which I may not have expected. While working on other campaigns I learned that most Shelby Countians, no matter where they live, are concerned about many of the same things: predatory lending, safety issues, police working to fight violent crime instead of recreational drug users, the opioid epidemic, treatment and rehabilitation for drug users and reentry programs, equitable education, and many other issues that impact people every single day.” He also recognized a need and felt he had a responsibility to step in and help out. “Not many people are willing to run for office. We need more progressive candidates. I’m ready to do the work. I started out as a volunteer that just wanted to knock on doors for candidates I believed in. I know it’s unusual for someone of my vocation to be running for office. While I respect the legal community, I think we need people from all walks of life representing voters in state government.” Real change can be made by progressive officials at the state level. “Whether it’s Nashville imposing their brand of charter school, what monuments we celebrate, thoughts about responsible gun control, or living wage. It comes down to our government being too big. The 901 should be governed by the 901.”