Two candidates vie for District 4 council seat that each sees as their own
Incumbent Jana Swearengen-Washington (left) is seeking reelection to the seat she won in a special election last year. Teri Dockery (right) — who was appointed and briefly held the seat when Swearengen-Washington’s sister, Jamita Swearengen, resigned last year — is also seeking a return to the City Council. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)
In the coming days, The Daily Memphian will be previewing each of the City Council races on the Oct. 5 ballot. The stories are being made available to all readers.
Two women, one a current member of the Memphis City Council and the other a former member, are vying for the District 4 seat.
Incumbent Jana Swearengen-Washington is seeking reelection to the seat she won in a special election last year. Teri Dockery — who was appointed and briefly held the seat when Swearengen-Washington’s sister, Jamita Swearengen, resigned last year — is also seeking a return to the City Council.
Neither Dockery nor Swearengen-Washington responded to attempts for comment about the race.
Since her election last year, Swearengen-Washington — an assistant principal in Forrest City, Arkansas — has been a quiet member of the body. She’s been particularly focused on Orange Mound, which composes much of her district.
Dockery, a corporate recruiter, was on the council for about two months before Swearengen-Washington replaced her. According to reports, she ruffled some feathers with her treatment of staff, which led Council Chairman Martavius Jones to reprimand her.
Earlier this year, a Dockery event at a Memphis police precinct was canceled when Memphis City Council Vice Chairman JB Smiley Jr. raised concerns that it would represent campaigning on city property.
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Jana Swearengen-Washington Teri Dockery Memphis City CouncilSamuel Hardiman
Samuel Hardiman is an enterprise and investigative reporter who focuses on local government and politics. He began his journalism career at the Tulsa World in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he covered business and, later, K-12 education. Hardiman came to Memphis in 2018 to join the Memphis Business Journal, covering government and economic development. He then served as the Memphis Commercial Appeal’s city hall reporter and later joined The Daily Memphian in 2023. His current work focuses on Elon Musk’s xAI, regional energy needs and how Memphis and Shelby County government spend taxpayer dollars.
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