There are 83 article(s) tagged Willie Herenton:

• August 2019

  • Vote to gain political power

    Memphis has seen its own types of gerrymandering and the political opportunism that undergirds those efforts.

    By Earle J. Fisher August 24, 2019

  • Sanford: Mayor mines campaign gold with Nickleberry endorsement

    An unassuming, 87-year-old, recently retired black sanitation worker provides a powerful and authentic endorsement of Jim Strickland.

    By Otis Sanford August 23, 2019

  • Herrington: A mayor’s race marked by vocabulary lessons and personal disdain

    As the confused reader response to “not … anti-racist” underscored, this is not a widely familiar term. Sawyer is seeking the mayor’s office, not tenure. That means persuading voters who haven’t sat in a college sociology or cultural studies class in a while, or ever. 

    By Chris Herrington August 20, 2019

  • Rally kicks off sales tax hike campaign

    The storefront opening Saturday in the Poplar Corridor begins a campaign to the Oct. 3 election day. It also featured more of the clash of priorities among the major candidates for mayor on the same ballot.

    By Bill Dries August 18, 2019

  • Herrington: Mayor’s race boys’ club, in defense of scooters and more

    Thoughts on Willie Herenton's attempt to make the Memphis mayor's race a two-man affair, the influx of scooters and the Memphis story at the National Museum of African American History and Culture. 

    By Chris Herrington August 06, 2019

  • Herenton vows to ‘Fight the Power’

    Tami Sawyer charges patriarchy. The Jim Strickland campaign says Willie Herenton left a "mess" with tax hikes and service cuts during his 17-year tenure at City Hall.

    By Bill Dries August 04, 2019

  • Sanford: Will Memphis voters sit this one out?

    Because of our toxic political climate, the two biggest motivators that drive voters to the polls are anger and excitement. The city election is nonpartisan and falls between the 2018 midterm and next year’s presidential contest, which may leave Memphis voters complacent.

    By Otis Sanford August 01, 2019

• July 2019

  • Strickland says first term as mayor has answered call for change

    Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland opened his reelection campaign headquarters Tuesday in Poplar Plaza, citing his record and setting a goal to "accelerate momentum" if elected to a second term.

    By Bill Dries July 31, 2019

  • Strickland, Herenton go after each other in mayor’s race

    Mayor Jim Strickland and former Mayor Willie Herenton have raised their rhetoric about each other in recent days after initially avoiding direct criticism of each other.

    By Bill Dries, Omer Yusuf July 30, 2019

  • AFSCME union leadership backs Herenton challenge of Strickland

    The local of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees made its city election endorsements Friday, including Willie Herenton for mayor.

    By Bill Dries July 27, 2019

  • Memphis candidates’ finance reports: Big money to no money

    The second quarter campaign finance reports show a big difference between Mayor Jim Strickland and his two closest challengers by the amount of money raised. But one of those challengers outspent him for the quarter. 

    By Bill Dries July 22, 2019

  • Herenton rips Tom Lee Park plan, says Strickland delaying decision until after election

    Memphis mayoral contender Willie Herenton says plans to change Tom Lee Park are “asinine” and he accused Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland of delaying a decision on the changes proposed by the Memphis River Parks Partnership until after the Oct. 3 race.

    By Bill Dries July 18, 2019

  • Mayoral candidate Tami Sawyer unveils criminal justice platform

    Mayoral contender Tami Sawyer and incumbent Mayor Jim Strickland differ greatly on how they believe the Memphis Police Department should be set up to fight the city's violent crime issues. 

    By Omer Yusuf July 13, 2019

  • Herenton raises out-of-state money in mayoral return bid

    Former Memphis mayor Willie Herenton has a campaign war chest of $62,037 as of July, according to his campaign finance report filed Wednesday.

    By Bill Dries July 11, 2019

  • Strickland plans to spend $1 million campaign war chest in ‘last race ever’

    Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland’s campaign war chest stands at more than $1 million in a second-quarter campaign finance report to be filed with the Shelby County Election Commission by Wednesday.

    By Bill Dries July 10, 2019

• June 2019

  • Sanford: Vote for a mayor who can handle a crisis

    As former Memphis mayors Dick Hackett and A C Wharton can attest, the top city job requires political skill in the face of bad news or calamity.

    By Otis Sanford June 27, 2019

  • Strickland, Herenton cross paths at political picnic

    The annual political picnic in southwest Memphis might be considered an enclave of old guard Memphis politics. But picnic host Sidney Chism warns veteran politicians have to make their case to win support from the new generation of activists and voters.

    By Bill Dries June 23, 2019

  • Nelson: Don’t sell Memphians short when it comes to cross-racial voting

    Our history of cross-racial voting calls into question whether Memphis might not be ripe for a redistricting of city council and county commission districts that intentionally makes them racially diverse instead of solidly black or solidly white.

    By Michael Nelson June 04, 2019

• May 2019

  • Opening day of filing period brings out 34 city office-seekers

    Monday was the first day for contenders on the October ballot to pull qualifying petitions, and 34 hopefuls began gathering signatures on opening day. They have until July 18 to get on the ballot, led by what promises to be a spirited race for Memphis mayor.

    By Bill Dries May 20, 2019

  • Herenton will appeal SCS board vote to close one of his charter schools

    The board voted to keep open three out of six Memphis charter schools that appeared on the state’s list of lowest-performing schools, and voted to close the three other charter schools on the list, all run by former superintendent and current Memphis mayoral candidate Willie Herenton.

    By Laura Faith Kebede May 03, 2019

  • Sanford: The People’s Convention – The political force awakens

    Sequels are seldom as good as the original, but if this year's version of the People’s Convention sparks an increase in voter turnout and civic engagement, it will be well worth it.

    By Otis Sanford May 02, 2019

• April 2019

  • Eleven school superintendents in 60-plus years chronicle changes

    As board members of Shelby County Schools consider making interim Superintendent Joris Ray permanent, here's a look at superintendents who have lead Memphis schools over the past half century and how their selections altered the process. 

    By Bill Dries April 29, 2019

  • Strickland posts campaign war chest of $757,000

    The first campaign finance filings of the 2019 Memphis election season show incumbent Mayor Jim Strickland with a sizable fundraising advantage. But for the first quarter, three City Council contenders each raised six figures on the way to the Oct. 3 elections.

    By Bill Dries April 15, 2019

  • Sanford: Where Memphis mayoral candidates stand on crime

    As the 2019 city mayoral election starts to gain steam, there is little discussion about fighting violent crime, particularly by former mayor Willie Herenton and Shelby County Commissioner Tami Sawyer, the two major opponents vying to unseat Jim Strickland.

    By Otis Sanford April 11, 2019

  • Herenton opens campaign for Memphis mayor with charges of ‘elitism’ in city’s prosperity

    The former mayor drew several hundred people to southwest Memphis as his opens his challenge of incumbent mayor Jim Strickland on the Oct. 3 city ballot.

    By Bill Dries April 08, 2019