One of two competing redistricting plans for the Memphis City Council cleared the first of three votes Tuesday, May 2, by the council.

A first vote on the other plan was delayed for two more weeks.

The plan approved on first reading would change the district lines substantially for the coming October city elections — creating a Cordova district in what is now predominantly East Memphis District 2, and centering District 1 into a Raleigh-centric district in the process. It would also put all of Downtown in District 7 instead of splitting it with District 6.

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Council member Jeff Warren attempted to add the rival plan to Tuesday’s agenda for a first reading vote as well. But two council members objected. By council rules that means the item automatically goes on the next council agenda for first reading.

That plan would move a single precinct in the northeast corner of District 5 into District 2. Otherwise it would leave in place the district lines council members approved in 2022 just ahead of a special election to fill a vacancy in council district 4.

The single precinct in the plan by Council attorney Allan Wade was moved to account for areas formerly in the city that were de-annexed since the 2020 U.S. Census.

Wade came up with the plan. The plan with more changes was sent to the council by a council-appointed ad hoc group that met for several months.

District 1 council member Rhonda Logan says she’s heard a lot from Cordova residents now in her district who want all of the city parts of Cordova in a single district instead of split between two.

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“I can’t look at it based on me as a politician,” she said. “I hear loud and clear in Cordova that it would work better with one district as opposed to being split.”

Council member Chase Carlisle, whose represents the super district that covers the area, says however the change would have a ripple effect.

“It is moving Countrywood into Cordova and splitting up other neighborhoods,” he said of Kirby Woods, Berclair and The Heights.

Carlisle also said the ad hoc group’s meeting and public hearings were poorly attended — so poorly attended that the group didn’t have a quorum and couldn’t formally recommend a plan to the council as a result.

He described those pushing for the larger changes in an election year as “a bunch of political operators termed as community members.”

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“We continually talk about this community involvement,” Carlisle said. “There was none.”

Warren said the council should call off any attempt to significantly redraw the seven single-member council districts until after the October elections.

All 13 council seats — the 7 single-member seats and the six seats divided between two super districts — are on the October ballot. A majority of the 13 council members are expected to seek reelection this year with four leaving because of term limits.

“If you are looking for a goal of not confusing people and letting them vote where they have voted for a long time, this is your plan,” Warren said of the plan that moves a single precinct. “Instead of changing people whole hog.”

Council chairman Martavius Jones says that plan was made without public input or participation.

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“It is my assertion that if we approve this, we are approving a map that did not include public input,” he said. “We are leaving in place for this upcoming election … a districting map that has zero public input — zero.”

The plan Jones backs was approved on an 8-0-2 vote as part of the consent agenda.

Carlisle and council member Worth Morgan abstained.

Voting yes on the entire consent agenda including the plan were: Ford Canale, Edmund Ford Sr., Cheyenne Johnson, Logan, Patrice Robinson, Jana Swearengen-Washington, Warren and Jones.

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Council members Frank Colvett, Michalyn Easter-Thomas and JB Smiley did not vote.

The council delayed final votes Tuesday on the following:

• A 30-year ground lease with Capstone Development LLC for mixed-use development along Central Avenue as part of the larger Liberty Park redevelopment of the Fairgrounds. The delay was to hear more from Cooper-Young merchants who have concerns about the impact of the retail in that development on their nearby businesses.
• A new ordinance governing animals and horse-drawn carriages. The ordinance changes the rounding up of stray animals by animal-control officers to give them discretion to try to find the owner without first taking them to the city’s animal shelter. The change has drawn criticism from some citizens who say packs of stray dogs in their neighborhoods are a chronic problem.
• The renaming of Second Street between Beale Street and G.E. Patterson Avenue for the late state Representative Barbara Cooper, which has been delayed four previous times. Ford, who is the sponsor, says the ordinance may change to a resolution for an honorary street renaming. Some businesses along Second Street have objected to the change in their street addresses.

A resolution by Jones asking the city attorney to provide an opinion on the residency requirement for those running for Memphis Mayor in the upcoming election was withdrawn by Jones. City chief legal officer Jennifer Sink has since said her opinion is that candidates for mayor are required to live in the city for no less than five years before election day.

The issue is still being litigated in a pending court case in Chancery Court. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for May 18.