There are 26 article(s) tagged Jamita Swearengen:

• March 2024

  • Circuit Court Clerk asks for audit before decisions are made about number of Shelby County judges

    The weighted caseload study could impact the amount of resources or number of judges Shelby County’s judicial district could have.

    By Julia Baker March 15, 2024

• November 2022

  • Jana Swearengen-Washington wins District 4 City Council seat, replaces sister

    For the second time since August, the Memphis City Council District 4 seat has a new representative.

    By Aarron Fleming November 08, 2022

• August 2022

  • City Council goes to the maps in redistricting for special race

    The council sets the district lines for the Nov. 8 ballot special election in council District 4. Meanwhile, the council plans to appoint someone to the seat in the interim to serve until the special election winner is certified. 

    By Bill Dries August 22, 2022

  • Four qualify for City Council District 4 special election at deadline

    At least some of those who qualified for the Nov. 8 ballot by the noon Thursday, Aug. 18, deadline are expected to seek the interim appointment the Memphis City Council makes at a special Sept. 1 meeting.

    Related story:

    Germantown, Lakeland mayoral candidates unopposed as ballots are set in suburban elections

    By Bill Dries August 18, 2022

  • City Council to make interim appointment to fill vacant District 4 seat

    Whoever gets the appointment would serve approximately two months until the winner of a special election on the Nov. 8 ballot is decided. Meanwhile, the deadline to file for the special election race on the November ballot is Thursday at noon. 

    By Bill Dries August 17, 2022

  • Swearengen resigns, Council debates district lines

    The resignation comes as the council debates whether or not to make changes to district lines ahead of the special election .

    By Bill Dries August 16, 2022

  • County election aftermath pushes urgency of city council redistricting process

    Council members talk about new district lines a week after council chairwoman Jamita Swearengen was elected Circuit Court Clerk. She has 90 days, under terms of the county charter, to resign from the council.

    By Bill Dries August 09, 2022

• July 2022

  • City Council to expand One Beale ‘backstop’ debate

    Among other topics, the discussion of the city’s capacity for bond debt will come into play during Tuesday morning committee sessions. 

    By Bill Dries July 26, 2022

• June 2022

  • City Council Scorecard: MATA’s long haul, death of a car lot and the fine print of term limits

    The latest edition of the Council Scorecard features a number of unanimous votes.

    By Bill Dries June 30, 2022

  • City Council rejects used-car lot on Elvis Presley Boulevard

    The council also discussed the riverfront’s Cobblestone Landing, a blight and illegal dumping task force and police escorts for Donald Trump’s Southaven speech.

    By Bill Dries June 21, 2022

• May 2022

  • Sanford: It’s time to end costly, divisive, disinterested county primaries

    Turnout for Tuesday’s primary was 10.7%, the lowest for a county primary since 2014.

    By Otis Sanford May 05, 2022

  • Three Democratic clerks fall to rival Democrats in Tuesday primaries

    Only one of the incumbent Democratic clerks from 2018’s Democratic sweep of the offices was without a challenge from within the party. Three of the incumbents didn’t survive to advance to the August county general election.

    By Bill Dries May 04, 2022

• January 2022

  • City Council Scorecard: How to lose an appointment

    The first Council Scorecard of the new year chronicles a rare defeat of an appointment from the city court clerk’s office and a few notes about the start of the second half of the current council’s four-year term.

    By Bill Dries January 11, 2022

• November 2021

  • Jamita Swearengen is new council chair

    The council elected Jamita Swearengen as leader, rejected a convenience store with gas pumps at Broad and Tillman, gave final approval to a downzoning and approved more money for a fix of City Hall’s crumbling marble.

    By Bill Dries November 16, 2021

• September 2021

  • Ware remembered for ability to put together council votes

    Barbara Swearengen Ware died Thursday, Sept. 30, 11 years after she resigned from the Memphis City Council after a plea deal on an official misconduct charge. She served 17 years on the council representing the North Memphis area that included the Douglass community.

    By Bill Dries September 30, 2021

• July 2021

  • Chief Davis takes a stroll to see neighborhood problems firsthand

    Memphis police chief goes for a walk with a city council member who says residents of her district can’t sleep at night for fear of being shot in their beds.

    By Rob Moore July 27, 2021

• January 2021

  • Rallings says police department numbers too low for community policing push

    In the discussion with Memphis City Council members Tuesday, Jan. 5, the police director said he can’t carry out plans of a city task force to reopen several community policing centers given the pandemic. He got immediate pushback from several council members.

    By Bill Dries January 05, 2021

• January 2020

  • Most of Strickland second-term team approved by council

    A slate of 15 city division directors and chiefs were approved Tuesday, Jan. 21, by the Memphis City Council after a two-week delay and several attempts by some on the council to further delay the vote Tuesday.

    By Bill Dries January 21, 2020

• December 2019

  • Board of Adjustment rejects Orange Mound crematorium

    Nearly 50 people submitted opposition letters to the proposed crematorium and more than 50 showed up in opposition at the meeting Dec. 18. 

    By Elle Perry December 18, 2019

• September 2019

  • City Council extends moratorium on new car-related businesses along Lamar Avenue

    After a year-long moratorium on car lots, tire shops and gas stations on Lamar Avenue, Memphis City Council members extended it Tuesday by an additional six months.

    By Bill Dries September 03, 2019

• August 2019

  • Dunbar Elementary begins first day as iZone school

    Students were welcomed back to Dunbar Elementary School by the principal, teachers and community groups. The school is now part of the Shelby County Schools Innovation Zone. 

    By Elle Perry August 12, 2019

• June 2019

  • Budget votes breeze through City Council, Beale Street cover charge extended

    The City Council stuck with a compromise 4% pay raise for police and firefighters and kept the city property tax rate at $3.19, but also extended a controversial cover charge for Beale Street on summer weekends. 

    By Bill Dries June 05, 2019

• May 2019

  • Bicentennial day marked on Mud Island and in Orange Mound

    Local leaders cut the ribbon Wednesday on a new social media icon on Mud Island, and Orange Mound celebrated Memphis' bicentennial day by marking 100 years since it was annexed by the city.

    By Bill Dries May 23, 2019

  • Beale Street $5 cover to return for rest of May

    A city council decision to return to a Beale Street cover charge for the remainder of May reignited a long-running debate. It follows two crowd "surges" and a shooting after two sold-out nights at the nearby Beale Street Music Festival last weekend.

    By Bill Dries May 08, 2019

  • City Council budget committee begins operating budget review with police spending

    Memphis City Council members begin scrutinizing the budget proposal for the coming fiscal year. 

    By Bill Dries May 06, 2019