Moody to announce decision on county mayor’s race
The assistant to Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland is expected to formally get into the race starting with the May Democratic primary.
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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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The assistant to Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland is expected to formally get into the race starting with the May Democratic primary.
The council also approved medical office space on Covington Pike, and delayed a vote on a controversial retail development with gas pumps at Broad and Tillman.
City Council members have delayed the first reading on a police residency referendum until April to see if the Tennessee General Assembly passes a law banning such residency requirements for public safety employees statewide.Related story:
Calvin Williams lost much of his support for the appointment when he told council members his 2007 conviction on federal bribery charges was about his refusal to implicate Black elected officials.
Between the vocal debate on police residency at its last meeting in 2021 and the Tuesday, Jan. 4, session, Police Chief C.J. Davis has come out in a Daily Memphian op-ed in favor of a broader residency requirement for police. Neighborhood leaders oppose proposed gas station in BinghamptonRelated story:
The plaintiffs, known collectively as “Tom Lee Park for All,” claim the park’s $61-million redesign violated a mediation agreement with Memphis in May.
The Shelby County Commission Scorecard tracks the votes at the final meeting of 2021 that approved pay raises for the commission, county mayor and sheriff. Also approved: Giving $6.7 million toward the redesign of Tom Lee Park.
The Anglican archbishop who died Sunday, Dec. 26, came to Memphis in 1992 to receive the National Civil Rights Museum’s Freedom Award.
So far, 43 contenders have pulled qualifying petitions to get on the May 3 county primary ballot. Three have also filed their petitions with the Shelby County Election Commission.
Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris expects numbers at six public COVID-19 testing locations to remain high going into New Year’s.
Local hospitals and fire departments are met with challenges due to the recent spike in COVID cases.
The last council scorecard of 2021 looks at two decisions that will likely be on the first scorecard tracking critical city council votes in 2022.
Those pulling petitions have until noon Feb. 17 to file their petitions with the Shelby County Election Commission and if certified go on the May 3, 2022, county primary ballot.
The latest contenders in the May county primaries to pull qualifying petitions include a Democratic challenger to County Mayor Lee Harris.
A leader of the Big River Park Conservancy and the CEO of Ducks Unlimited talk on Behind The Headlines about plans for the flood plain across the Mississippi River from Memphis that include restoring farm land to hardwood forests and native grasses.
The Memphis City Council approved the property transfer for a token $1 payment Tuesday, Dec. 21, on a unanimous vote.
The delay came after some council members opposed to the ballot question pushed for a separate vote on first reading Tuesday, Dec. 21.
The delay by the city council came after Calvin Williams said he’s paid for his mistakes but insisted he never “mismanaged anything in government.”
The first-reading vote to put the item on the August 2022 ballot comes at the last council meeting of 2021.
The votes at the last meeting of 2021 will determine if the commission itself should get a pay hike and whether the mayor and sheriff also get raises. If approved, the raises would take effect after next year’s county elections.Related article:
The commission being elected in August with at least six new members will get a 19.9% pay raise. The mayor and sheriff elected on the same August ballot will get 21% raises.
Shelby County Health Department director Dr. Michelle Taylor told Shelby County Commissioners Monday, Dec. 20, that caution is recommended for holiday gatherings.
Starting Monday, Dec 20, candidates in the May 3 Shelby County primaries can begin filing qualifying petitions to get on the ballot. And there are some changes in the partisan primaries this year.
Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris plans to offer bonuses to recruit corrections and homeland security officers in county government, he said on “Behind The Headlines.”