There are 41 article(s) tagged Willie Herenton:

• September 2019

  • Sanford: Sawyer's hurtful words come back to hurt her

    Tami Sawyer’s already longshot quest for mayor has imploded. And the wounds were all self-inflicted.

    By Otis Sanford 1 minute ago

  • Sawyer apologizes for old tweets, says they don't reflect who she is

    The latest resurrected tweets, including one about outing a gay faculty member while in college, have become a major issue in Sawyer's campaign. Sawyer says there may be more. Meanwhile, the first day early-voting turnout from Friday was still tentative into Saturday afternoon, but it appeared to be several hundred lower than the opening day turnout in 2015. 

    By Bill Dries September 16, 2019

  • City campaigns move through last weekend before early voting

    Mayor Jim Strickland opens his Whitehaven campaign headquarters, challenger Willie Herenton readies the "Herenton Express" and fellow challenger Tami Sawyer focuses on millenial hopes and goals.

    By Bill Dries September 08, 2019

  • Sanford: A magazine cover inspires outrage, and a critical question

    Where was the racial diversity in the room that would have, and should have, said we cannot publish this cover?

    By Otis Sanford September 03, 2019

• August 2019

  • Strickland responds to Sawyer, saying mayor’s race ‘about results, not rhetoric’

    In a “Behind The Headlines” interview, Mayor Jim Strickland defended his record of racial equity. His comments were his most pointed about Shelby County Commissioner Tami Sawyer of the campaign, covering several issues.

    By Bill Dries August 29, 2019

  • Sanford: Herenton's refusal to debate is a 'grievous error'

    Willie Herenton still trails Mayor Jim Strickland in the mayor’s internal polls. A televised debate would be Herenton’s chance to convince skeptical voters that he’s still got it. 

    By Otis Sanford August 29, 2019

  • Herenton’s Long Legacy

    Former mayor Willie Herenton is the city's longest-serving mayor and its first elected African-American mayor, with a colorful legacy. His bid to return after a decade away is the next chapter in that legacy.

    By Bill Dries August 26, 2019

  • Herenton calls on supporters to win mayor's race with early vote dominance

    Former Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton told a women's rally that he wants to guard against election fraud. Meanwhile, contender Tami Sawyer rips Herenton and Mayor Jim Strickland for attending the local GOP's Lincoln Day Gala.

    By Bill Dries August 26, 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