Chancellor JoeDae Jenkins holds the first court hearing Friday, March 30, on the issue that could shuffle the field in the race for Memphis mayor.

Jenkins is hearing two challenges to the Shelby County Election Commission’s decision to enforce a requirement that candidates for mayor must have lived in the city for at least five years before election day. In this case, election day is Oct. 5.

Mayoral contenders Floyd Bonner and Van Turner are contesting the requirement and seeking a court injunction to stop enforcement of the five-year requirement, and then rule on what the requirement should be.

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Depending on how the court rules, they are the two most recognizable names in the mayor’s race so far, with the most to lose or gain depending on how the court rules.

The Friday court date is expected to be a preliminary hearing that could consolidate the two cases into one, and might decide whether the city of Memphis should become a defendant in the matter.

The Election Commission posted on its website a Feb. 28 legal opinion from attorney and former Election Commission chairman Robert Meyers backing a five-year requirement. Meyers’ legal opinion was at the request of the city’s chief legal officer, Jennifer Sink.

Any ruling by Jenkins is likely to be appealed ahead of the May 22 date for candidates in the city elections to pull and file qualifying petitions to get on the ballot.

People’s Convention

The People’s Convention path to a July gathering began modestly Saturday, March 25, with about 30 people and four of the 11 contenders for mayor showing up for a “meet and greet” at LeMoyne-Owen College.

It is the first in a series of informal gatherings to give voters a chance to talk one-on-one with candidates.

“This is where the rubber meets the pavement. The people of Memphis are very relational,” Paul Young told The Daily Memphian at a table stocked with T-shirts, yard signs and campaign literature. “They want to feel their next leader. They want to understand where they are coming from — understand their motives.”

People’s Convention co-founder Rev. Earle Fisher also gave Young, James Harvey, Van Turner and J.W. Gibson a few minutes to speak to the crowd, describing the process as “very generic.”

Young, the president of the Downtown Memphis Commission and former director of the city’s Housing and Community Development division, described himself as part of the “next generation of leadership.”

“I am not a lifetime politician,” he said. “I’ve never been a politician. I’ve always been a doer.”

Darell Bryant came to see the candidates talk about infrastructure.

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“I think it’s one of the things Memphis has always needed in order to get some kind of economic justice. That’s a word that everybody likes to play with,” he said, as he got more specific. “A light-rail system would be great. … Why not have a light-rail system that runs on electric? It’s a no-brainer to me.”

Robert Bane said he is focused on a race that isn’t on any ballot.

“The most important race is the one for MSCS (Memphis-Shelby County Schools) superintendent,” he said.

Harvey is still tentative about his entry into the mayoral contest.

“I’m still waiting to let some things settle down that’s taken place that you might have seen in the papers recently,” said the former Shelby County commissioner, referring to the residency issue. “I probably will have a treasurer by the first of May.”

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Gibson has been emphasizing his Memphis roots, including a recent ad on social media that begins, “J.W. Gibson is a child of Memphis.”

At LeMoyne-Owen, Gibson touted his business experience and independence from ties to political factions.

“We’re excited about the opportunity to come as an independent individual that’s not devoted to any individual or organization,” he said. “You can count on our independence.”

Turner, meanwhile, made the best of his Whitehaven roots.

“I was born and raised in Whitehaven USA, and I actually grew up next door at Metropolitan Baptist Church,” he said of the church that borders the LOC campus and is used for some campus programs.

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Turner also reminded those at the gathering of his recent involvement in the Tyre Nichols case as president of the Memphis Branch NAACP.

“Many thought there would be no advocacy surrounding what happened with Mr. Nichols,” he said. “And that’s still ongoing. The NAACP is still there.”

Meggan Kiel, Council District 5

Meggan Kiel’s first fundraiser for Memphis City Council drew a crowd of 70 in East Memphis.

Kiel expects to run for the District 5 council seat Worth Morgan is leaving because of term limits.

Former council member Philip Spinosa has also appointed a treasurer for the District 5 seat. So has Nick Scott, owner of Alchemy and Salt Soy restaurants.

“The hard things that I want to do are because I have a deep faith. I have faith in Memphis,” she told the group. “I have faith that together we can get through and build a city that we want our children and grandchildren and their children to live in and want to move back to. And have opportunity that is spread evenly across the city for everyone so that we can all thrive.”

Kiel lives near the edge of the current boundaries for the district that takes in parts of Midtown, East Memphis and Binghampton. And she is watching the discussions of an ad hoc city council redistricting group closely.

“I’m watching it closely,” she said of the redistricting process after the fundraiser.

The ad hoc group hopes to make recommendations to the full council before the end of April.

City Council redistricting votes scheduled for April

The council takes the first of three votes on a redistricting ordinance at a special April 5 meeting. The first reading will be on a placeholder ordinance with a proposed redrawing of district lines expected by second reading.

The council’s goal is to finish redistricting by the end of April with either a new set or no changes to the current district lines.

Candidates in all 13 city council races on the October ballot can begin pulling and filing qualifying petitions May 22.

That is when Kiel expects to formally kick off her campaign with a petition-signing party.

Kiel is a co-founder of the social justice group MICAH — Memphis Interfaith Coalition for Action and Hope. She is a native Memphian and educator making her first bid for elected office.

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“What I saw was faith in Memphis,” Kiel said of her seven years with the coalition of religious congregations. “People want Memphis to do well. And we just don’t know what to do.”

She touted her ability to bring people together and get a consensus on the way forward.

Pearl Walker Council District 3

Activist Pearl Walker kicked off her campaign Tuesday, March 28, outside Fairley High School in Whitehaven for the District 3 seat council member Patrice Robinson is leaving because of term limits.

“I think I’m good,” she said when asked about redistricting. “And if there are any surprises, we are prepared to adjust accordingly, even if it boils down to me possibly pulling two petitions.”

Walker, the founder of the “I Love Whitehaven Business and Neighborhood Association,” said she expects a large field of candidates for one of the four seats on the council without an incumbent seeking reelection.

She told a group of 20 supporters that she wants to be on the council to address long-standing economic disparities in the city.

“Everyone in Memphis needs a piece of the pie. I’m not talking about every piece of the pie being the same exact size,” she said. “What we have is that some people don’t have a piece of the pie. I judge that there is enough pie if you cut it correctly, if you are skillful enough.”

She ran unsuccessfully in 2019 for the Super District 8 Position 1 seat won by JB Smiley Jr.

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The district includes not only Whitehaven but Hickory Hill, Parkway Village and part of Fox Meadows.

Walker wants to see Whitehaven’s dominance in the district spread to those other areas.

“They are just not as active. I want to forge a relationship with them and help them be more active,” she said. “There are town hall meetings out there and things like that. But the turnout is not as great as it is out here.”