MEMPHIS, TN — The Shelby County Board of Commissioners on Wednesday approved the appointment of Willis Lincoln "T.J." Hardaway to temporarily fill the Tennessee House District 93 seat previously held by his late father. Hardaway was sworn in Thursday morning to represent the district, which covers south Memphis and Orange Mound.

The appointment will last until the next general election in November. Hardaway, a Democrat, is the son of the late state Rep. G.A. Hardaway, who died late last month at age 71 following a brief illness. The elder Hardaway represented District 93 and was first elected to the Tennessee House in 2007.

T.J. Hardaway choked back tears as he thanked the board and invoked the memory of his father. "Knowing how much this means to me, I'm overwhelmed with what I know it means to him," he said.

Hardaway told commissioners he would travel to Nashville immediately after the Wednesday appointment to cast a vote at the state capitol. "My priority is the vote at the state capitol tomorrow and promptly finish the race in both the grit my father instilled and in my own attempt to bring diversity in ideology and dignity to the remainder of this term," he said.

The board's approval of the appointment followed the death of G.A. Hardaway, who had represented the district since 2007. T.J. Hardaway said he planned to go to Nashville on Wednesday immediately after the appointment to cast a vote in the state legislature.