There are 117 article(s) tagged JB Smiley Jr.:

• November 2020

  • Differences emerge in police reform

    Two conversations about police reform show the more detailed the proposed reforms become, the more differences they reveal.

    By Bill Dries November 16, 2020

• July 2020

  • Smiley says look for more City Council moves on police reform

    On “Behind The Headlines,” the first-term council member said the proposals to come will push further on changing the Memphis Police Department beyond nonbinding resolutions approved last month. 

    By Bill Dries July 01, 2020

• June 2020

  • George Floyd’s death leaves police and fire residency ballot question in new light

    A city task force on public safety started its work this week with several calls for hiring local in the police and fire ranks. Meanwhile, an effort to remove from the Nov. 3 election ballot a proposal for allowing the city to hire police and firefighters who live outside the county may be picking up momentum.

    By Bill Dries June 19, 2020

  • Council asks Strickland to hold up valet parking contract with Flight

    The action came with word that owners of the restaurant were buying out their partner in the business venture. The council also passed three resolutions on law enforcement that are the first acts by the group in the discussion about the role of police and use of force policies.

    By Bill Dries June 16, 2020

  • Police reforms on City Council agenda Tuesday

    The Memphis City Council has three resolutions on its Tuesday, June 16, agenda dealing with law enforcement.

    By Bill Dries June 15, 2020

  • Daily Memphian records request inspires resolution to improve MPD transparency

    Memphis City Council member JB Smiley is pushing a resolution to urge Mayor Jim Strickland’s administration to put data, complaints and other information regarding police misconduct and use of force on the city’s website.

    By Marc Perrusquia June 11, 2020

  • Introduction of police reforms encounters little resistance

    The first reception to the council resolutions presented Tuesday comes with a record of past resistance that indicates it probably won't be as easy as a council vote. The resolutions are advisory.

    By Bill Dries June 09, 2020

• March 2020

  • Maybe easing grooming standards would help police recruitment

    Three of the six new Memphis City Council members talked about the larger issues on "Behind The Headlines." They are the latest council members in more than a decade to take up the topic of residency.

    By Bill Dries March 02, 2020

  • Behind the Headlines Podcast: Trio of new Memphis City Council members

    Memphis City Council members Rhonda Logan, Chase Carlisle and JB Smiley Jr. discuss their first impressions after four city council meetings and the residency referendum with host Eric Barnes and Bill Dries of The Daily Memphian.

    By Eric Barnes March 01, 2020

• January 2020

  • Council moves on MLGW reflect skepticism utility is moving fast enough

    The city council voted last week to seek a legal opinion key to the question of Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division cutting ties with the Tennessee Valley Authority. 

    By Bill Dries January 27, 2020

  • ‘A new day dawning’ with a diverse, younger City Council

    'We must be a unified and united body. If we are not, we run the risks of watering down our legislative authority and allowing outside entities comprised of individuals not elected by the citizens of Memphis, essentially, to make legislative and budgetary decisions.' 

    By JB Smiley Jr. January 19, 2020

• November 2019

  • Smiley emerges from campaign to new role as one of 13 on new City Council

    On The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast, incoming City Council member J.B. Smiley Jr. said he would like to have a voice in the current council's decision about residency requirements. But he said he accepts if the referendum on the matter is approved by the current council before members leave office. He also said concerns about reliability if MLGW breaks ties with TVA might be a "scare tactic."

    By Bill Dries November 22, 2019

• October 2019

  • Campaigns move to city election day as voters decide

    As Memphis voters put to rest another season of campaigns for a place at City Hall, there are several last-minute dramas unfolding in a city where election night is the same night as Memphis Madness.

    By Bill Dries October 03, 2019

• September 2019

  • Early voting in city elections picks up pace

    The numbers for early voting in the Oct. 3 Memphis elections show Friday's total was the first this year that exceeded the same day four years ago.

    By Bill Dries September 23, 2019

• August 2019

  • Calvo and Smiley council campaigns reflect unique setting for council races

    Mauricio Calvo, on the Daily Memphian Politics Podcast, said last year's council deadlock on filling a council vacancy prompted him to run on the Oct. 3 ballot. J.B. Smiley Jr. is making his bid for a different council seat after a bid last year for the Shelby County Commission.

    By Bill Dries August 23, 2019

• April 2019

  • Politics Podcast: Memphis City Council contender J.B. Smiley Jr.

    Memphis City Council candidate J.B. Smiley Jr. talks about his bid for a council seat a year after his inaugural run for County Commission.

    By Natalie Van Gundy April 25, 2019

  • Smiley comes to quest for council with lessons learned from 2018 run

    Making his second bid for elected office in a year, J.B. Smiley Jr. says his city council campaign this year is a mix of millennials and local political veterans.

    By Bill Dries April 25, 2019