The COVID pandemic, Memphis-Shelby County Juvenile Court and a playground at a reproductive health center were the backdrop over two meetings last month for ideological differences that have come to define the current Shelby County Commission.

The votes at a special Jan. 19 meeting and the regular Jan. 24 session weren’t always along party lines — but close enough, allowing for some political practicalities like voting for a lot of COVID tests for the Health Department while still questioning pandemic strategies.

In split vote, Shelby County decides to distribute COVID test kits

The County Commission Scorecard tracks the commission votes on three items.

Here are bios of the 13 commissioners.

Resolution for the emergency purchase of 180,000 COVID testing kits for the Shelby County Health Department at a cost of $1.44 million.

The commission approved the resolution on a 9-3 vote.

Voting yes: Mark Billingsley, David Bradford, Chairman Willie Brooks, Edmund Ford Jr., Eddie Jones, Mickell Lowery, Tami Sawyer, Van Turner and Michael Whaley

Voting no: Amber Mills, Brandon Morrison and Mick Wright

Absent: Reginald Milton

Observations: The pandemic has been a dividing point for commissioners in many ways. And those don’t always cut along partisan lines, as evidenced by the two-to-three split on this vote among the five Republicans.

Even the three Republican “no” votes at the special Jan. 19 meeting were for different reasons.

Morrison cited a Fox News interview with former Trump cabinet member Ben Carson, who is a physician. Carson echoed the argument former President Donald Trump made against widespread testing during his presidency — that more testing means more confirmed cases of COVID.

She called the emphasis on testing a “lopsided approach” that is “holding us back from where we need to be as a community and opening up.”

Reported new COVID cases drop below 900

Later, Morrison was more general in her praise of Carson and said she also voted no because of the four-week time period it will take to deliver the tests from the date of the vote, as estimated by Shelby County Health Department Director Dr. Michelle Taylor.

Taylor argued the tests would be good for the economy since many employers are requiring workers to not only follow the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended five-day quarantine after testing positive but also requiring a negative test to return to work.

Taylor has called for employers to drop the negative test requirement, but she said it is so widespread in so many workplaces that more tests are necessary.

Sanford: Wearing a mask in Shelby County is a matter of black and white

Wright said the tests are a good thing but also cited an unscientific social media poll he did that showed most of those responding opposed the emergency purchase.

Ford replied that he could do a similar poll and come up with a majority favoring the purchase.

Nevertheless, Wright’s social media poll was enough for Mills to come off the fence on the matter and vote “no.”

Sawyer had another kind of online experience, seeing and acting on an offer from a state government website to take applications for free tests to those who had a distribution plan.

On a rainy weekend, Sawyer distributed all 300 of the kits she got in 45 minutes and still had lines of cars waiting.

Playground at women’s center puts abortion debate before commission

Resolution for a $25,000 grant for a playground at Choices — Memphis Center for Reproductive Health.

The commission approved the grant at its regular Jan. 24 meeting on an 8-5 vote.

Voting yes: Brooks, Ford, Jones, Lowery, Milton, Sawyer, Turner and Whaley

Voting no: Billingsley, Bradford, Mills, Morrison and Wright

Observations: Here the party line held with all eight Democrats voting “yes” and all five Republicans voting “no.”

The grant by Sawyer and Lowery is for a playground at the center.

Democrats pointed out the money, as is the case with all grants awarded by the commission, goes for a specific purpose or project and not for the organizations getting the grant to use in a general way.

In this case, the purpose is a playground for women with children who come to the center for a wide range of medical and health services.

The item brought a large group of citizens on both sides of the abortion issue. While they had a lot to say to the commission, there was no comment from commissioners.

The matter went straight to a vote that the group of 13, seven months from the end of their four-year term, knew would go the way it went.

This isn’t the first County Commission to split along partisan lines on this general issue.

Commission splits on call for return of federal oversight for Juvenile Court

The county’s legislative agenda for Congressional action in Washington D.C.

The commission approved the list of legislative objectives on a 7-4 vote.

Voting yes: Ford, Jones, Lowery, Milton, Sawyer, Turner and Whaley

Voting no: Billingsley, Bradford, Mills and Morrison

Recused: Wright

Not Voting: Brooks

Observations: Wright recused himself because he works for Youth Villages, which works with Memphis-Shelby County Juvenile Court.

This was all about one specific item for which the county’s lobbyist in Washington D.C. will be pushing — seeking a return of Justice Department oversight of Juvenile Court.

It also played a role in an acrimonious exchange of emails between Sawyer, the chairwoman of the commission’s legislative affairs committee, and Morrison over a change in the county’s lobbyist, whose job is to push for the priorities outlined in the legislative agendas for Congress and the Tennessee General Assembly.

The Alcorn Group has been the county’s long-time lobbying firm.

Morrison, Sawyer disagree on bipartisanship and county lobbying firm

Morrison’s email, which was copied by her to every other commissioner and commission staff, urged Sawyer to work toward getting Alcorn back and toward a “purple” path.

That is a mix of Republican red and Democratic blue moderation in pursuing compromise with the Republican supermajorities in the General Assembly.

Morrison was specifically reacting to Sawyer’s 20-point summary of Gov. Bill Lee’s State of the State address that was a just-the-facts summary.

It included Lee’s backing of restrictions on certain books days after the McMinn County school board banned the use of the “Maus” series of graphic novels in its schools to teach about the Holocaust.

Sawyer forcefully rejected any purple path and told Morrison to not bother saying anything to her for the rest of the term except “hello.”

Morrison wanted to bring up the lobbying contract in committee sessions this past week. Sawyer, as chairwoman of the committee, said she would only do that if the county attorneys office said she had to do so.