There are 164 article(s) tagged Edmund Ford Jr.:

• June 2025

  • County Commission re-mixes budget on eve of new fiscal year

    A special meeting of the Shelby County Commission Monday was delayed for two hours in a dramatic rewriting of a key budget provision.

    By Bill Dries June 30, 2025

  • The making of Shelby County’s budget and tax rate

    The Commission meets in special session Monday, June 30, to vote on a budget amendment that would undo some of the $23.4 million in amendments it made to Mayor Lee Harris’s budget proposal.

    Related content:

    County Commission Scorecard: Tracking budget and tax-rate votes

    By Bill Dries June 29, 2025

  • County Commission passes budget — with no property tax hike

    A majority of Shelby County commissioners favored some kind of small property tax hike in the new budget, but ultimately couldn’t get seven votes on how to split up the additional revenue. 

    By Bill Dries June 24, 2025

  • Property tax face-off will close out county budget season

    A potential property tax hike looms as the Shelby County Commission tackles its budget and the Sheriff’s Office fights for funding. 

    By Bill Dries June 23, 2025

  • After Mayor Harris vetoes grant, Ford moves to override

    County mayor accused Ford of “not taking seriously” the federal indictment against him. At stake, right now, is a nearly $180,000 grant for an entertainment industry nonprofit.

    By Bill Dries June 16, 2025

• May 2025

  • County budget proposal $9.5M short, according to trustee

    In an “apples and oranges” comparison, the Shelby County Trustee said her office and the mayor’s administration don’t project county revenue the same way. 

    By Bill Dries May 29, 2025

  • County Commission braces for another budget battle

    Shelby County commissioners drew battle lines at their Monday, May 19, session as they go into the home stretch of their budget season.

    By Bill Dries May 21, 2025

  • Political Roundup: ‘Some of these devils want me to be gone,’ Ford Jr. said

    Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr. calls out political rivals, campaigning for 2026 has already started and county budget hearings will be missing a lot of key people.

    By Bill Dries May 18, 2025

  • Southwest Twin Drive-In redevelopment breaks ground

    The old drive-in movie site in Southwest Memphis will have a police precinct and a public library with plans for private development modeled on the 5-year-old Raleigh Springs Town Centre.

    By Bill Dries May 16, 2025

  • County Ethics Commission reactivation dies quick, quiet death

    Commissioner Michael Whaley withdrew an ordinance that would have downsized the Ethics Commission in order to get the group to meet — something it hasn’t done in years.

    By Bill Dries May 15, 2025

  • ‘Let’s get this case moving:’ Judge pushes for Edmund Ford Jr. trial date

    A trial date is forthcoming in the federal criminal case against Shelby County Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr. 

    By Aarron Fleming May 13, 2025

  • Noisy debate doesn’t deter County Commission from ethics vote

    The vote brought to the surface deep differences the body has with Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris, and one commissioner brought a plastic bag filled with house shoes. 

    By Bill Dries May 06, 2025

  • County ethics proposals could face ‘can of Raid’ and ‘house shoes’

    Two ethics proposals return to the Shelby County Commission Monday. County Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr., who faces criminal charges himself, is accusing others of wrongdoing.

    By Bill Dries May 05, 2025

• April 2025

  • County Commission weighs changes to embattled grant program

    County Commissioner Britney Thornton said Wednesday the allegations against Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr. shouldn’t be considered in deciding what, if any, changes should be made to the body’s grant program.

    By Bill Dries April 20, 2025

  • County Commission takes final votes on pay raise for next commission

    The commission also takes a second reading vote Monday on a pay raise for the next Shelby County Sheriff. Final action on a pair of ethics ordinances has been delayed to next month.

    By Bill Dries April 13, 2025

• March 2025

  • School takeover terms still taking shape in Legislature

    The legislation and local reaction to it were among the topics discussed by a reporters’ roundtable on “Behind The Headlines.”

    By Bill Dries March 22, 2025

  • For years, Mayor has tried to appoint new members to ethics board. County Commission hasn’t taken a single vote

    Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris has produced six letters, going back to April 2021, in which he asked the County Commission to vote on new ethics board members. 

    By Bill Dries March 20, 2025

  • County Commission will continue giving grants, despite federal bribery case

    A proposed one-month moratorium on the Shelby County Board of Commissioners’ grant program was voted down, but the commission may change how grants are made. There could also changes to the ethics board. 

    Related content:

    County Commission has little appetite for giving itself a raise

    By Bill Dries March 18, 2025

  • After 17 years in elected office, Edmund Ford Jr. is at a crossroads

    The Shelby County commissioner faces federal bribery and tax-evasion charges as he nears the end of his second term on the Board of Commissioners and after 11 years on the Memphis City Council before that.

    By Bill Dries March 10, 2025

  • Edmund Ford Jr. appears in federal court Thursday

    David Pritchard, who is prosecuting the case, told Judge Thomas Parker he expects to hand over 80,000 pages of documents and 512 gigabytes of phone and computer records to Ford Jr.’s attorney Michael Scholl.

    By Aarron Fleming March 06, 2025

  • Commissioners weigh moratorium on program at heart of Ford indictment

    The grant program that allots each county commissioner $200,000 is at the heart of federal bribery and tax-evasion charges against Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr.

    By Bill Dries March 05, 2025

  • Edmund Ford Jr. placed on leave from city job

    Shelby County Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr., who was indicted last week, has been placed on leave without pay from his city job, the City of Memphis said Tuesday, March 4. 

    By Samuel Hardiman March 05, 2025

  • How much time is Edmund Ford Jr. facing?

    The Shelby County commissioner has pleaded not guilty to charges of alleged bribery and attempted tax evasion, and he faces a maximum of 40 years in federal prison. Though, if convicted, he likely would not see that much time behind bars.

    Related content:

    Edmund Ford Jr. placed on leave from city job

    Ford Jr. steered more money to nonprofits, documents show

    Inside proposed ethics changes for county government

    Harris wants to suspend Ford Jr. from making more county grants

    By Aarron Fleming March 05, 2025

  • Ford Jr. steered more money to nonprofits, documents show

    Shelby County Commissioner Mick Wright identified three additional instances where Ford steered county funds to nonprofits federal investigators associated with an alleged kickback scheme.

    By Laura Testino March 04, 2025

  • Harris wants to suspend Ford Jr. from making more county grants

    Mayor Lee Harris also said he wants to meet with attorneys and other elected officials to see if further steps need to be taken.

    By Bill Dries March 03, 2025