Reporter
Bill Dries covers city and county government and politics. He is a native Memphian and has been a reporter for more than 40 years.
There are 3663 articles by Bill Dries :
Council member JB Smiley Jr. proposed that Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland appoint his pick, Doug McGowen, as interim leader of MLGW while a national search is conducted. City Council sends curfew enforcement proposal goes back to committeeRelated story:
The commission’s unanimous vote covers staffing, a job study and the opening of the clerk’s new Riverdale Road location by Halloween. But Clerk Wanda Halbert and County HR director Gerald Thornton clashed on some of the basic details of what the office has and what it needs. County Commission delays final vote on how chief ethics officer is pickedRelated story:
Mayor Jim Strickland has nominated Doug McGowen to lead the city-owned utility. But council chair Martavius Jones wants the city to do a national search for the next president and CEO of MLGW.
Johnson won the appointment to the District 7 seat over rival contender Jason Sharif. He serves the remaining two years and three months of the term of office in the seat.
The council approved the original deal of what amounted to a $10 million advance on the city’s lease of convention meeting space in the Grand Hyatt — the third of three hotels at One Beale — in September on a 10-0 vote.
Several churches rallied in support of a proposed amendment that would ban slavery in all forms in the state. A coalition of political groups is also urging voters to choose a hand-marked paper ballot.
At the Monday, Oct. 17, session, commissioners will also take a final vote on a change — proposed by a commissioner who once ran afoul of an ethics investigation — to who appoints the county ethics officers.
A member of the Memphis Police Association leadership talks on “Behind The Headlines” about the long-term strategy to reverse a 2014 city council decision to cut city benefits.
Regional One responded to a resolution approved this week by the Memphis City Council that urges the Shelby County Commission to persuade the hospital to allow the intervention program’s counselors access to the hospital and victims of violent crime.
The change in agenda items for next week’s city council session reflects the ongoing tug-of-war over council chairman Martavius Jones’ demand for a national search to pick the new leader of the city-owned utility.
Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy talks about the “horrific first week” of his term as the county’s chief prosecutor on “Behind The Headlines” and the two violent crime cases still reverberating a month later in criminal justice reform discussions.
Price plans to run in Super District 8 after running four years ago in District 7. Meanwhile, other council races on the October 2023 ballot are also taking shape with a little less than a year to election day.
Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner, who currently lives in Bartlett, says he will decide this month on a bid for Memphis Mayor on the October 2023 city ballot.
The November ballot features four proposed amendments to the Tennessee Constitution, which will be presented by Shelby County’s new voting machines.
An outline for the working group that could suggest deeper changes in the boundaries of council districts ahead of the 2023 elections started to form Tuesday, Oct. 11.
The council has unusual back-to-back meetings this week and next week, which might have been a factor in delaying what could be a standoff over the appointment for another week.
A nonbinding resolution asks the Shelby County Commission, which funds the county-owned hospital, to pressure the hospital to allow counselors to approach crime victims. Group Violence Intervention Program updates City Council on progressRelated story:
Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland says he is ready for the council to act on his appointment to lead MLGW. But council chairman Martavius Jones says it’s not on the agenda Tuesday and he wants a national search.
The deadline to register to vote on Nov. 8 ballot is Tuesday. Shelby County Election Commission numbers from July show growth since 2020 in the numbers of voters ages 28-37 and 38-47.
The groundbreaking Friday, Oct. 7, for the renovation of the 84-year-old school building ends a 40-year debate about whether the Orange Mound landmark should be renovated or demolished.
The commission split along the same partisan lines that split a vote by the previous commission this past January on funding for the center for reproductive health that has nothing to do with abortions.
Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland reacted Friday to a call from City Council Chairman Martavius Jones to conduct a national search for the next president and CEO of Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division.
The appointment of Doug McGowen to head the utility and the appointment of Chandell Ryan to succeed McGowen as city chief operating officers are not on next week’s committee agenda for the council to consider.
A review of the 16 Memphis mayoral elections under the mayor-council form of city government before and after the city runoff provision was abolished.
Next year’s mayoral race will have historical implications, and there’s been quite a bit of maneuvering to get city charter amendments on the Nov. 8 ballot this year. What the past 16 Memphis mayoral elections tell us about the next oneRelated story: