Shelby County Commissioners again delayed Monday, May 23, setting a date for filling the vacant state House seat for District 91.

Commissioner Van Turner delayed setting dates for applicants, interviews of applicants and the selection by the commission until the June 6 commission meeting as he left Monday’s session early to speak at a graduation.

With the school year ending and family vacations starting, the commission as well as the city council have struggled at times to keep a quorum of seven members this month.

Hardaway urges Shelby County Commission to fill State House vacancy

The seat in the Memphis delegation to the Tennessee Legislature has been vacant since March when Democratic state Rep. London Lamar was appointed by the commission to fill a vacant state Senate seat in the Shelby County delegation.

The Legislature has ended its session since then. But some state legislators in the Shelby County delegation have told commissioners they want the vacancy filled because it affects the time allotted in committee sessions over the summer for the Democratic minority to speak on matters.

In other action Monday, the commission also delayed a vote on $2.1 million in stipend payments to around 400 Shelby County Health Department employees working in a COVID unit that disbands at the end of June — which is also the end of the current fiscal year.

The commission had a minimum quorum to vote on the item when commissioner Mick Wright noted that of the seven voting members present, “one of them will not vote for this item.”

Partners MERI and Genesis push past COVID impact to continue medical training

Earlier, Health Department director Dr. Michelle Taylor said the county’s seven-day rolling average of active COVID cases now stands at 291 cases compared to 132 in the update she gave commissioners at their May 9 meeting.

But Taylor also said the rate of cases requiring hospitalization has not been rising at a rate that would cause alarm locally.