Amber Lea Mills

Current office

• Shelby County Commissioner, District 1 (Republican). Assumed office August 2018; re-elected 2022; current term ends September 1, 2026. (Ballotpedia, Shelby County official bio)
• Committee roles: Chairwoman, Conservation; Vice Chairwoman, Public Works; Vice Chairwoman, Land Use Planning, Transportation & Codes Enforcement. Board member, Chickasaw Basin Authority.

2026 Candidacy

• Republican candidate for Tennessee House of Representatives, District 99, in the August 6, 2026 primary. Her opponent is the incumbent, Rep. Tom Leatherwood. (Ballotpedia, Ballotpedia: Tom Leatherwood)
• Campaign site: electambermills.com. Slogan: "Principled. Proven. Conservative."

Education and career

• A.A., Music Education, Wallace State College (piano scholarship, jazz band).
• B.S., Business Management, Auburn University.
• ~17–19 years as a Delta Air Lines flight attendant; later National Accounts Manager for an anti-terrorism consulting firm in the D.C. area (Highway Watch program); most recently Executive Director of the Republican Party of Shelby County. (Shelby County official bio, campaign site)

Background

• Born in Charlotte, NC; attended high schools in El Dorado, AR and Seaford, DE; graduated Austin High School in Decatur, AL. (Shelby County official bio)
• Resides in Arlington; worships at Bellevue Baptist Church.
• Husband Lee Mills, former Shelby County GOP chairman and former TN House D99 candidate (2020, 2022). Two sons, Grayson (UT Knoxville) and Tanner (Briarcrest).

Record (per her campaign)

• Voted against all proposed county tax increases (including wheel tax, property tax).
• Pushed for a forensic audit of Memphis-Shelby County Schools.
• Expanded Veterans Service Officers from 1 (2018) to 10 full-time.
• Secured ARPA funds for rural broadband.
• Secured streetlighting for the Northaven neighborhood. (campaign site)

Residency dispute

In a residency challenge centered on her husband's 2022 run (and implicating their shared Shane Hollow Drive address near the Shelby/Fayette county line), the Shelby County Election Commission directed the question to chancery court, which ruled them Shelby County residents. Amber Mills on the ruling: "Chancellor Kyle, Shelby County Assessor Melvin Burgess, the Fayette County Assessor, and Tennessee state law say we are residents of Shelby County." (Commercial Appeal via Yahoo, 2022)

In her words

• "The people of District 99 deserve a representative who shows up, does the work, and delivers real results. That is exactly what I have done, and exactly what I will continue to do in Nashville." (campaign site)

Compiled from publicly available web sources on 2026-04-18. The middle name "Lea" in the SCEC filing was not independently verified in online sources.

Public filings

Tennessee law requires candidates and officeholders to file campaign finance reports and a statement of interest. None of the state or county sites below supports direct links to an individual record — you'll need to search by last name on each.

Campaign finance

• State offices (Governor, US Senate, US Rep, TN Senate, TN House, State Executive Committee) — Tennessee Registry of Election Finance . Click Search for Candidates and PACs, enter last name “Mills”, and submit.
• Shelby County and municipal offices (County Mayor, Commissioner, Sheriff, School Board, court clerks, municipal alderman, etc.) — Shelby County Public Campaign Finance Portal . Select the election year and search by candidate name (“Mills”).

Statement of interest (conflict of interest)

• Required for state and local officials and candidates — Tennessee Ethics Commission Conflict of Interest Search . Enter last name “Mills”and, if needed, select the applicable position from the dropdown.