Editor’s Note: Incorrect background details were given for Telisa Franklin in a previous version of this story.

On Thursday, a dozen Bartlett alderman candidates will state their case to the city’s Board of Mayor and Aldermen to fill the Position 4 seat vacated with the recent resignation of Bobby Simmons.

Simmons announced his decision to resign in late June, citing ongoing health-related issues. His last day in the position was July 31.

The board will interview all 12 candidates during a special-called meeting on Aug. 17, and then vote the same night to determine who will fill the vacancy. The new alderman will be sworn in on Aug. 22.

Bartlett alderman vacancy attracts 12 applicants

Bartlett’s charter requires the board to fill the vacancy within 30 days from the effective date of the resignation, so they have until the end of this month to appoint someone.

The vacancy has attracted one of the most diverse pools of applicants for an open position, with a wide range of professional and volunteer experience and community involvement.

• Robert “Mitch” Arnold is an engineering supervisor for the Memphis-Shelby County Authority Airport. He ran for alderman Position 2 against Emily Elliott in 2018, earning 40% of the vote, and is a former member of the Bartlett Station Commission. He has lived in the Bartlett/Raleigh area his entire life, and his volunteer work includes time with the Bartlett Fire Department, the Bartlett BBQ & Fall Festival and 40-plus years as a campaign worker for Shelby County elections.
• Telisa Franklin works as community relations manager of Oak Street Health and as a radio and TV broadcaster and segment producer. She is a graduate of Leadership Memphis and currently serves as the president of the Memphis Juneteenth Festival. The self-described “serial entrepreneur” is a former floral shop owner and now owns the CEO Academy summer after-school camp. Her community involvement includes work as an ambassador of the Mid-South Transplant Foundation.
• Kelly Gilmer has worked for the Shelby County Trustee’s Office for the past 16 years. He is a past chairman of the Shelby County Young Republicans, has served as a member of the Shelby County Republican Party Steering Committee and was a campaign manager for Mike Carpenter when he ran for the county commission in 2005. As a father with a son in the Boy Scouts, over the past eight years, he has served in various leadership roles including cubmaster, scoutmaster and den leader.
• Samantha Hammonds is a licensed clinical social worker for Alliance Healthcare Services and part of their executive leadership team. She most recently served as campaign manager for her husband, Bartlett police officer Brent Hammonds, during his run for mayor last year. Her community involvement includes serving as the hospitality director for the Bartlett Historic Society, and she regularly participates in local 5K events to support various charities.
• Kenneth Hayes is a retired U.S. Army combat veteran with experience on three continents and in several countries. He last served as a sergeant from 1988 to 1996. He is a graduate of the most recent class of Leadership Bartlett.
• Paul Kaiser is a small business owner who has served on the Bartlett Planning Commission since 2006 and currently serves on the Board of Zoning Appeals. He is a member of Leadership Bartlett’s Class of 2023. His volunteer work over the years includes time spent on the Bartlett Historic Commission and the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board. Last year he ran unsuccessfully for Alderman Position 3.
• James Lammey began his professional career in the private sector oil industry in Louisiana before moving to Memphis in the late 1980s, ultimately landing in Bartlett in 1991. He worked as Shelby County assistant district attorney from 1990 to 2006 and then was elected as a Criminal Court trial judge for the 30th Judicial District He served in that capacity from 2006 until retiring last year.
• Dennis Lyon is a retired IT director for The Commercial Appeal and now works part-time in the medical records department for Semmes Murphey Clinic. He has lived in Bartlett for more than 40 years and has served on the Bartlett Parks and Recreation Advisory Board since 2013, the same year he graduated from Leadership Bartlett.
• Lacey Marise is a mortgage loan officer for Simmons Bank as well as a member of the Memphis Association of Realtors and the Women’s Council of Realtors - Memphis. She touts more than 20 years of volunteer work for her church and also volunteers at her two children’s schools: Altruria Elementary and Elmore Park Middle.
• Joshua McNeil works as a senior account executive for Noresco LLC and as an account exec for Energy Systems Group in Bartlett. One of his specialty areas is working with municipalities on large projects. His community involvement includes financial support and work for several non-profits and youth sports organizations. He is a former team captain and offensive lineman for the University of Tennessee.
• Monique “Chef Mo” Williams opened the Biscuits & Jams restaurant at 5806 Stage Road in Bartlett in 2021,. She is also a senior consultant and principal equity partner with Unison Consulting Group. Over the past several years she has worked in the pharmaceutical industry as a study manager for Blood Therapeutic Systems/Pfizer and Astra Zeneca and she logged two-plus years as regional clinical lead for Tesaro/Glaxo Smithkline.
• Warrie Williams is an assistant pastor with Fullview Baptist Missionary Church who currently serves on the Bartlett Industrial Development Board as well as the Code of Appeals Board. He was also appointed to the Bartlett Schools Charter Board in 2012. He led the city’s National Day of Prayer celebrations for several years and has been invited to offer prayers numerous times at Board of Mayor and Aldermen meetings.