Memphis mayor’s field grows to 19 at filing deadline
Voters exit the polling location at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church after castiing ballots Nov. 8, 2022. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
The race for Memphis mayor had 19 candidates at the noon Thursday, July 20, filing deadline to get on the October Memphis ballot.
And Memphis City Council members Jeff Warren and JB Smiley Jr. appeared to be unopposed for another four-year term.
The mayoral field increased by four new contenders who filed in the last two days including:
- Carnita Atwater, who ran unsuccessfully in 2022 for the Democratic nomination for Governor
- Kendra C. Calico
- Reggie Hall, a motivational speaker who runs a mentorship program.
- Tekeva “Keva” Shaw
Those who made Thursday’s deadline can choose to withdraw by July 27; the Shelby County Election Commission will set the ballot after the withdrawal deadline.
Here is the full list of petitions issued and filed by Thursday’s deadline. The Daily Memphian has compiled a full list of candidates who filed petitions by the deadline.
Warren and Smiley were the only two of the eight council members seeking reelection who didn’t draw any challengers.
Warren drew opposition from former Memphis City Schools board member Kenneth Whalum Jr. at the deadline. But the election commission ruled he didn’t have the required 25 signatures of voters who live within the council super district needed to get on the ballot.
Whalum could appeal that decision to the five-member election commission.
Two council races drew fields of seven contenders each making them the largest council races on the ballot.
Incumbent Michalyn Easter-Thomas faces six challengers in the race for District 7.
In Super District 8 Position 3, seven contenders are vying for the council seat currently held by council chairman Martavius Jones who is term-limited from seeking a third term.
Jerred Price and Paul Randolph Jr. joined the field at the deadline.
Voters will elect at least five new council members in October based on council races without an incumbent. Four of the five departing incumbents are term-limited. The fifth — Cheyenne Johnson — decided not to run for a second term after being issued a qualifying petition but not filing it.
The race for Johnson’s Super District 8 Position 2 seat has a smaller field of three with perennial candidate Marion LaTroy A-Williams Jr. filing at Thursday’s deadline. He joins attorney Janika White and retired Memphis Police officer Davin Clemons.
The 45 council candidates compares to 53 in 2019, when six new council members were elected.
Candidates in the seven single-member council districts must win a majority of the votes cast to claim the seat. If no one gets a simple majority in October, the top two contenders advance to Nov. 16 runoff elections.
There are no runoffs for the six super district council seats and in the mayor’s race.
The 2009 special election for Memphis mayor drew a field of 25 contenders, a record for mayoral elections under the mayor-council form of government that began in 1968.
Here is who has filed for what on the October Memphis ballot.
All candidates who made the Thursday noon deadline have until noon July 27 to withdraw if they wish.
I = incumbent
City Council District 1
- Kymberly Kelley
- Rhonda Logan (I)
City Council District 2
- Keith L Burks
- Will Frazier
- Jerri Green
- Scott McCormick
- Rodanial Ray Ransom
- Marvin White
City Council District 3
- Ricky Dixon
- James Kirkwood
- Kawanias “Kaye” McNeary
- Towanna C. Murphy
- Pearl Eva Walker
City Council District 4
- Teri Dockery
- Jana Swearengen-Washington (I)
City Council District 5
- Luke Hatler
- Meggan Wurzburg Kiel
- Philip Spinosa
City Council District 6
- Keith D. Austin II
- Edmund H. Ford Sr. (I)
- Larry Hunter
City Council District 7
- Edward Douglas
- Michalyn Easter-Thomas (I)
- Jimmy Hassan
- Jarrett “JP” Parks
- Dee Reed
- Austin Rowe
- Larry Springfield
City Council Super District 8 Position 1
- JB Smiley Jr.
City Council Super District 8 Position 2
- Marion LaTroy Alexandria-Williams Jr.
- Davin D. Clemons
- Janika White
City Council Super District 8 Position 3
- Berlin F. Boyd
- Yolanda Cooper-Sutton
- Brian Harris
- Lucille Catron
- Damon Curry Morris
- Jerred Price
- Paul Randolph Jr.
City Council Super District 9 Position 1
- Chase Carlisle (I)
- Benji Smith
City Council Super District 9 Position 2
- Ford Canale (I)
- Brandon D. Washington
City Council Super District 9 Position 3
- Jeff Warren (I)
Memphis Mayor
- Carnita Atwater
- Jennings Bernard
- Floyd Bonner Jr.
- Joe Brown
- Kendra C. Calico
- Karen Camper
- Frank Colvett
- George Shea Flinn Jr.
- J.W. Gibson
- Reggie Hall
- James Harvey
- Willie Herenton
- Michelle McKissack
- Brandon A. Price
- Justina Ragland
- Tekeva “Keva” Shaw
- Van Turner
- Derek Winn
- Paul A. Young
Topics
2023 Memphis elections 2023 Memphis Mayor's race Memphis City Council Shelby County Election CommissionBill Dries on demand
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Bill Dries
Bill Dries covers city and county government and politics. He is a native Memphian and has been a reporter for almost 50 years covering a wide variety of stories from the 1977 death of Elvis Presley and the 1978 police and fire strikes to numerous political campaigns, every county mayor and every Memphis Mayor starting with Wyeth Chandler.
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