“Memphis has very large parks, but those large parks are not dispersed in a way that they can benefit the majority of residents.”

If the last two city elections are any guide, the opening day total for qualifying petitions will be about a third of those who ultimately file for the 15 city offices by the July 20 deadline.

Five of the dozen candidates running for Memphis mayor came to the Overton Park Shell Saturday as the race for mayor enters its most public phase.

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He’s seen combat, worked to resolve the city’s sexual assault kit backlog and led the area’s COVID-19 vaccination efforts. Now, Doug McGowen is taking on Memphis’ publicly owned utility. 

The two mayoral candidates, neither of whom have lived in Memphis for two years, and the City Council argued that a 1996 referendum repealed residency requirements.

A city press release noted that under Alexis Pugh’s leadership, the save rate at Memphis Animal Services has “consistently improved” and finished 2022 at 86%.

City attorney Jennifer Sink says a settlement should be discussed during a private attorney-client meeting. 

The poll showed Van Turner and Floyd Bonner tied with about 15.9% of the vote. Willie Herenton trailed them at 13.9%, and Paul Young had 12%.

A year ago, council members spoke privately with their attorney about an issue in the city charter. The resulting step to change the clerk’s office only surfaced the day before Tuesday’s council session.

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City Council isn’t taking a stand on residency in mayoral race

A resolution to back a five-year requirement for those running for Memphis mayor and Memphis City Council was tabled Tuesday.

Shelby County Environmental Court wants to create a fund that would help indigent and elderly people remediate blight on their property. 

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The City of Memphis needs new development within the Liberty Park Tourism Development Zone to begin paying the debt on projects such as The Memphis Sports and Events Center. The problem: The city hasn’t collected a dime of the financing yet. 

“We have been dealing with tires for a very long time, and it is a major epidemic in our community,” said council member Rhonda Logan, who chaired the city’s Blight and Illegal Dumping Task Force. 

Council attorney Allan Wade says the council can put gun control measures on the ballot. He expects they’ll be “inundated” with challenges. He wouldn’t rule out a court fight over whether they could override state law.

The ordinance to eliminate the elected clerk’s office and take it off the October ballot could come up for the first of three votes tomorrow.

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Some council members claim they came to a “consensus” about entering the lawsuit at a closed May 2 meeting with their attorney without taking a formal vote on it.

The lawsuit over residency for Memphis mayoral candidates has broad ramifications. 

A city ordinance that could prompt a court fight with the state over gun control has morphed into a potential ballot question for voters. The sponsors of the measure talk about it on “Behind The Headlines.”

In February 2022, the LUCB rejected plans to build the Tournament Trails Center complex at 3581 Tournament Drive-South, but a decision in April 2022 from the Memphis City Council reversed that decision. 

A legal fight between the City of Memphis administration and Memphis City Council boiled down to a simple argument Wednesday — who gets to represent the city?

MLGW’s number of customer minutes without power has tripled since the 1990s; utility CEO Doug McGowen said Tuesday the question needs to change from how cheaply MLGW can purchase energy to how it can buy enough to meet demand. 

The Shelby County Election Commission is about to be dropped entirely from the lawsuits over how long mayoral candidates have to live in the city. 

A lawsuit filed on behalf of the Memphis City Council, though without explicit council approval, about residency requirements for those candidates running for mayor raises questions about the charter.

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City Council chair says body did not vote to file residency lawsuit

The City Council has two ongoing political potboilers: the residency requirement to seek a citywide office and moving City Council district lines.