There are 10 article(s) tagged Willie Simon:

• March 2026

  • Blackburn, Rose and Green mix it up over hockey and power outages

    Also in the political roundup, Tim Burchett at Lincoln Day, xAI surfaces at Democratic mayor’s forum, Henri Brooks on reasons to run and the shape of the new County Commission.

    By Bill Dries March 02, 2026

• February 2026

  • Sorting the Feagins situation. Rose calls local leadership a ‘disaster.’ Buckner opens campaign HQ.

    Also in the political roundup, Rose says he has a plan for state control after the Task Force; Buckner says the Task Force has a secret; and Smiley says the county mayor has a role to play at the jail.

    By Bill Dries February 23, 2026

  • Update: Local Democratic party leaders question Feagins’ candidacy but state will not intervene

    State party leaders say there will be no hearing at a Saturday meeting on some concerns expressed by local Democrats about whether the former MSCS superintendent is a “bona-fide” Democrat.

    By Bill Dries February 20, 2026

• January 2026

  • Lee Harris makes a list. Marie Feagins makes Democrats nervous. A candidate makes reference to Wanda Halbert’s inspirational leadership.

    Also in the political roundup, Jerri Green gets a new job and stays on the campaign trail. And meet the first Republican contender for County Mayor.

    By Bill Dries January 11, 2026

• October 2025

  • 1968, 1978 and 2020: National Guard looms large in city’s history

    The 1968 deployment of troops to Memphis during the sanitation workers strike stands out in the city’s history. But there have been other guard deployments in the city since.

    By Bill Dries October 14, 2025

• September 2025

  • Mayor Young’s strategy for working with the National Guard

    The arrival of National Guard troops in Memphis is the most rigorous test yet of Mayor Paul Young’s strategy for working with Republicans at the state and federal levels in the Tennessee’s bluest city.

    By Bill Dries September 12, 2025

• May 2025

  • Shelby County Democratic Party elects leader

    A grassroots organizer emerged as the winner over a retired businessman and party activist.

    By Bill Dries May 31, 2025

• March 2025

  • County Democratic Party convention derails amid calls for unity

    The convention to elect a local party chairman went astray over the bylaws and the 300 attendees never got around to voting on a new leader. 

    By Bill Dries March 29, 2025

  • Political Roundup: The race for Democratic chair; Tesla and townhalls

    The political roundup focuses on a busy Saturday. Democrats discussed what has gone wrong in the party, and we look at some tumultuous Congressional townhall meetings of the past.

    By Bill Dries March 23, 2025

• February 2025

  • Local Democratic, Republican leaders talk pros, cons of deportation

    “... They are not committing any other crime,” Worth Morgan said. “But they are being exploited and they are taking a job away from somebody here in Memphis that would want that job.”

    By Bill Dries February 22, 2025