In 2011, she announced her campaign for the 2011 Henrico County Commonwealth's Attorney election, winning against Bill Janis and Matthew Geary, and subsequently being reelected in 2015, 2019, and 2023.
After leaving the U.S. Attorney's Office, Shannon served as Special Counsel for the Richmond Multi-Jurisdictional Grand Jury from 2004-2008.
She faced prosecutor Tony Pham, who won the Republican primary against Jeffrey Lee Everhart and Shannon Dillon.
[8] In 2013, Taylor released a statement that she had requested the judge to appoint a special prosecutor to the case involving Joe Morrissey and his sexual relationship with a minor.
[9] Taylor thought that in order for the public to have complete confidence and trust in the proceedings, it was appropriate for decisions to be made by someone outside of Henrico County and that had no prior relationships with the individuals potentially involved.
[12] She created it in response to the murder of George Floyd the previous month, and began looking for a deputy to fill the office.
She appointed attorney Misty Whitehead, a Black Lives Matter supporter, to fill the position, but had funding pulled by County Manager John Vithoulkas after taking issue with private defense attorney Misty Whitehead's social media posts, which included comments about the Breonna Taylor case; questioning her ability – and objectivity – to serve in the role.