Swearengen resigns, Memphis City Council debates district lines
The resignation comes as the council debates whether or not to make changes to district lines ahead of the special election .
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Bill Dries covers city and county government and politics. He is a native Memphian and has been a reporter for more than 40 years.
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The resignation comes as the council debates whether or not to make changes to district lines ahead of the special election .
The council vote Tuesday, Aug. 9, followed a Democratic sweep last week in county elections and a failed ballot question on extending city term limits.
Wanda Halbert says the office will be closed to the public during these periods.
The Shelby County Commission votes on the problems in the County Clerk’s office, a $350 million commitment to rebuilding Regional One Health and the return of pay raises and bonuses for a consecutive year in county government.
Developers would like a 30-year lease with plans to open with the debut of the renovated Tom Lee Park next spring. Chicago company proposes zip line adventure park for Mud IslandRelated story:
The new court is expected to hold full hearings on bail requests; its creation was prompted by threats of a lawsuit over the way bail is handled in Shelby County and the success of a similar lawsuit in another jurisdiction.
The capital initiative would entail replacing the aging hospital with a contemporary facility, but the financing for the project drew concerns from Shelby County Commissioners yesterday.
The resolution drew bipartisan support with four Democratic commissioners abstaining but none voting against the measure sponsored by two Republican commissioners.
Council members talk about new district lines a week after council chairwoman Jamita Swearengen was elected Circuit Court Clerk. She has 90 days, under terms of the county charter, to resign from the council.
The commission also approved Monday, Aug. 8, a resolution that urges local law enforcement make their lowest priority the enforcement of the state’s new abortion law that takes effect later this month.
The group is scheduled to make a presentation Tuesday, Aug. 9, to the Memphis City Council for a Mud Island version of the “adventure park.”
At the Monday, Aug. 8, commission meeting, the body also votes on a new bail courtroom. And it takes a final vote on a minority business contracting program as well as transferring Orgill Park and Golf Course to the city of Millington.
Jennifer Collins said the pandemic forced some changes in higher education and exacerbated the need for mental health services already surfacing on college campuses.
The unofficial voter turnout in Shelby County for the August 2022 election was the lowest for the election cycle since partisan county primaries began.
Several other judges, including two in General Sessions Criminal Court, were either upset in the incomplete results or were in danger of being upset. Meanwhile, voters filled eight court seats to which incumbents did not seek reelection this year, including four divisions of Criminal Court.
Harris, who campaigned as part of a “New Era” slate of Democratic candidates, led a Democratic sweep of countywide offices.
The idea of a three-term limit for city council members and the Memphis mayor went down hard for the second time in four years.
The new commission appeared to have a nine-vote Democratic majority with some votes still to be counted into Friday morning in one of the closest races on the entire big ballot.
Despite vocal complaints about her office’s delays in processing car tag and license plate renewals, County Clerk Wanda Halbert won re-election Thursday, Aug. 4. Here’s a rundown of the other clerk’s races on the ballot that saw a repeat of 2018’s Democratic sweep of the same offices.
Voting for one of the more heated local elections in recent history closed shortly after 7 p.m. and after a delay results were finally announced. Shelby County’s ‘big ballot’ Election Day arrives with theme of changeRelated stories:
The early and absentee votes are the first to be counted once the polls are closed. The numbers here are the early vote only with separate totals not posted yet on absentee votes.
Final early voting turnout numbers should be released Monday, and politicos on both sides of the partisan divide will study the numbers for hints at Thursday’s election results.
While most people will be watching who won and who lost the evening of Thursday, Aug. 4, politicos will be viewing the numbers as the first indication of what could happen in the next election and the elections to follow. Shelby County’s ‘big ballot’ Election Day arrives with theme of changeRelated stories:
Polls across Shelby County open Thursday, Aug. 4, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The major races on county general election ballot reflect calls for change in several areas — at times, competing calls for change.Related stories:
Here is everything you need to know about voting on Election Day in Shelby County. Shelby County’s ‘big ballot' Election Day arrives with theme of changeRelated stories: