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49 recent articles by Sam Stockard:
The Tennessee Black Caucus of State Legislators is putting together a legislative agenda that could fit with one of Gov.-elect Bill Lee’s priorities — keeping felons from going back to prison.
A president of the Tennessee Young Democrats and still not 30 years old, freshman Rep.-elect London Lamar is determined to make young people part of the political equation across the state.
State Sen. Brian Kelsey says closing Republican primaries could bolster the “integrity” of GOP elections and keep other groups from affecting them. But Tennessee’s governor-elect and sitting governor disagree with such a move.
Former state Rep. Johnnie Turner didn’t participate in Memphis sit-ins during the 1960s in search of glory. Nor did she hear the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. or ride the Memphis city buses fearing death during the 1960s thinking she would be recognized someday at a Nashville gala.
State Sen.-elect Raumesh Akbari is running for the Senate Democratic Caucus chairmanship, saying she wants to “tackle the role” of electing Democratic candidates across the red state of Tennessee.
Memphis attorney Lang Wiseman will serve as deputy to the governor and chief counsel for Gov.-elect Bill Lee. He is among the next governor’s staff appointments announced Tuesday and the only one from Shelby County so far.
Freshman state Rep. Jesse Chism is ready to ride a bit of a learning curve in his first year in the state House, yet he’s going in with strong convictions for more health care coverage and better backing of public schools.
Two Memphis state legislators are vying to become leader of the House Democratic Caucus in an effort to help the minority party regain stature in the Legislature. Reps. Karen Camper of District 87 and Joe Towns of District 84, both Memphis Democrats, are running for the top leadership position in the caucus along with Reps. Johnny Shaw of Bolivar and Bo Mitchell of Davidson County, a late entrant into the race.
University of Tennessee President Joe DiPietro is leaving the system on a high note – amid strong financial reports and growth of facilities – after surviving some bumps and bruises, mainly dealing with student diversity.
With finances in good shape, key positions filled and building projects reshaping the Memphis campus, the University of Tennessee Health Science Center is wrapping up a strong 2018 and looks toward long-term major improvements such as a Biotech Research Park.
With Amazon set to net nearly $77 million in state funds for a Nashville logistics headquarters, Shelby County state legislators say they’d like to see Tennessee spread the love to Memphis.
Tennessee Education Commissioner Candice McQueen will leave her post in January to take a job as CEO of a nonprofit organization that helps schools attract and keep top-notch teachers.
Seven Shelby County tracts with industrial development potential are being targeted as part of a state program to build the county’s portfolio of marketable property.
Covington businessman Paul Rose is joining the race for the 32nd District Senate seat vacated by Mark Norris, possibly making it a four-person battle for the job.
With an eye toward prepping the Memphis Regional Megasite for its next potential suitor, the State Building Commission has approved a $500,000 site consulting contract to ensure it doesn’t miss out on another jobs deal.
A day after narrowly winning re-election, state Sen. Brian Kelsey filed legislation designed to speed up searches for missing veterans and active service members who have mental or physical problems.
The day after Republican Bill Lee’s landslide win over Democrat Karl Dean, Gov. Bill Haslam said he is committed to making the switch to the governor-elect “the best transition in the history of Tennessee.”
Driving home their final points in the waning days of the U.S. Senate campaign, Republican Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn rallied with President Donald Trump while former Democratic governor Phil Bredesen spoke at an interfaith prayer lunch Sunday, Nov. 4.
With less than a week until the state election, the United Campus Workers union is endorsing Democratic candidate Gabby Salinas in the District 31 Senate race.
With less than a week left until the Nov. 6 election, Republican U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn is leading former Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen in three new polls released this week.
Upended by a blue wave in Shelby County’s Aug. 2 election, ex-Register of Deeds Tom Leatherwood is seeking a return to the Legislature, hoping to fill a void left by the late Ron Lollar.
The Tennessee Black Voter Project and NAACP Memphis branch are seeking a Chancery Court order directing the Shelby County Election Commission to resolve problems with thousands of voter registrations after the groups’ representatives say they witnessed violations of state law at the county’s voting operations center.
The Tennessee Black Voter Project – reviewing voter registration applications in Memphis – believes the Shelby County Election Commission is violating state and federal law and demands changes be made before Election Day Nov. 6.
Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris, after 15 months of waiting for confirmation to a U.S. District Court judgeship, is finding the move to a new position simultaneously “inspirational and motivational.”
The American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee is set to honor state Rep. Johnnie Turner of Memphis with its Lifetime Achievement Award at the organization’s 50th anniversary fundraiser, The Constitution Uncorked.
Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris, newly appointed to a U.S. District Court judgeship, confirmed Tuesday he won’t be able to resign his legislative seat before the Nov. 6 election, a situation that will lead to a special election for the District 32 seat and potential temporary replacement.
Shelby County’s elections administrator is guaranteeing her office will process some 33,000 new voter-registration applications before early voting starts Wednesday, after being queried by U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen.
Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn’s partisan attacks appear to be trumping former governor Phil Bredesen’s moderate politics as early voting approaches for the Nov. 6 election for an open U.S. Senate seat.
Set for their final gubernatorial debate Friday night in Nashville, Republican candidate Bill Lee and Democratic candidate Karl Dean released fundraising figures showing Lee with a major edge going into the final three weeks of the campaign.
The Shelby County Democratic Party is defending District 31 Senate candidate Gabby Salinas against an attack ad by the lieutenant governor’s PAC, calling it “false” and a “mischaracterization.”
U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn kept up her relentless attack on former Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen in their final debate Wednesday night, accusing him of running a governor’s office soft on sexual harassment.
Lt. Gov. Randy McNally’s PAC is pouring $300,000 into an ad campaign against Democratic Senate candidate Gabby Salinas, signaling a tight race for incumbent Republican Sen. Brian Kelsey in Memphis’ District 31.
A Memphis legislator is castigating Shelby County Schools Superintendent Dorsey Hopson’s decision to endorse Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Lee, saying it “confuses” a tough situation.
U.S. Senate Democratic candidate Phil Bredesen – in a long-awaited response – said Friday, Oct. 5, he would vote for Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court even amid sexual assault allegations against the judge.
Bartlett Mayor Keith McDonald is among Republican leaders balking at a nonpartisan West Tennessee Economic Development Caucus event for two Democratic statewide candidates in Jackson.
U.S. Senate Democratic candidate Phil Bredesen is backing an FBI investigation of the sexual assault accusations against U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh but still not saying how he would vote.
Shelby County school systems are steering millions of dollars in new safety and security funds into technology and officers as part of a state plan to protect students and staff.
Memphis plays host Tuesday to Tennessee’s first 2018 gubernatorial debate, a chance for voters to see Republican candidate Bill Lee and Democratic candidate Karl Dean together for a rare occasion answering questions about state issues.
Marsha Blackburn and Phil Bredesen didn’t waste any time getting after each other in their first U.S. Senate debate.
A Christian group pleading with Tennessee leaders to drop out of a lawsuit seeking to overturn the Affordable Care Act could be compared to a tree falling in the forest.
Pointing toward Tennessee’s failure to attract a major automotive plant to the Memphis Regional Megasite, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Karl Dean is backing better and more accessible workforce development statewide.
Shelby County Schools will receive nearly $4 million this year and smaller systems across the county will net tens of thousands of dollars as part of Tennessee’s Safe Schools Act.
The battle to fill Tennessee’s open U.S. Senate seat is turning into a free-for-all before the Nov. 6 election.
Less than two weeks before an Oct. 2 gubernatorial debate set for Memphis, Republican candidate Bill Lee missed an MTSU Gubernatorial Luncheon & Forum in Murfreesboro on Thursday, Sept. 20.
Danielle Schonbaum, Democratic candidate for House District 83, is looking to upset the status quo in the General Assembly.
When it comes to bipartisanship, Tennessee politicians talk a good game. But in the ballot-box battle, they’re all about party.
Open records advocates believe they’re on the verge of major victories in eliminating and changing exceptions to Tennessee laws to offer a more transparent look at how government runs.
Democratic state Senate candidate Gabby Salinas, a three-time cancer survivor, moved with her family to the United States from Bolivia as a child to seek treatment at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
State Rep. Johnnie Turner can hardly believe civil rights cold-case legislation worked so fast, leading to the reopening of an investigation into the 1940 death of NAACP leader Elbert Williams.
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