Carlson characterized Lee as soft on crime in a monologue against criminal justice reform, which, he claimed, “means letting violent people out of prison early.”

Gov. Bill Lee was in Memphis Friday, Sept. 9, touting stricter laws targeting violent repeat offenders passed during his tenure. 

Teri Dockery was appointed to the vacant District 4 council seat last month. She isn’t a candidate in the Nov. 8 special election for the council seat but is eyeing a full four-year term on the October 2023 ballot.

The Shelby County Commission that took office this month has three judicial commissioners to appoint. It’s part of a chain reaction from the dozens of judicial races decided on the August ballot.

Though it includes 10 judges and 10 divisions, Shelby County’s criminal court system had only tried 32 cases by August of this year — and there’s a backlog of 465 pending trials. 

Germantown Alderwoman Mary Anne Gibson is seeking reelection to the suburb’s Board of Mayor and Aldermen. She is unopposed for her third, four-year term.

Long lines formed outside the Shelby County Clerk’s Mullins Station office Thursday, Sept. 1, despite a policy instituted in July that was intended to eliminate such scenes. 

The item would have required the winner of the 2023 Memphis mayor’s race to get a majority of the votes either on election day or in a runoff.

Teri Dockery, a counselor at the YMCA, is the newest Memphis City Council member.

Mulroy, a Democrat, defeated incumbent Republican Dist. Atty. Gen. Amy Weirich in the Aug. 4 general election.

Native Memphian Aftan Strong will lead the group of judges that will hear cases on a daily basis in the court.

Casper Briggs believes his experience on Bartlett commissions gives him a better understanding of the suburb than his opponents in the Position 1 race for alderman in November.

Germantown Mayor Mike Palazzolo is uncontested for his third term as mayor, a stark contrast from the challenge he faced four years ago.

With little fanfare, the council pulled its Aug. 9 vote defeating a ballot question on partisan city primaries. The reconsideration could amend that plan to a proposal to restore the runoff provision in the race for Memphis mayor.

An Arlington teacher is running for school board in Germantown. He will face a local pediatrician for the seat held by Betsy Landers. Landers is not seeking reelection. 

For the third time, William Boone, a lifelong resident of Collierville, is seeking a position on the Collierville Board of Mayor and Aldermen. He is challenging an incumbent he’s faced previously.

Mulroy is looking to fill 12 vacancies in the District Attorney’s office as he expects some employees and prosecutors to leave, including a few resignations that had already been planned. 

One Germantown mother is challenging Angela Griffith, the current school board chair. The race is one of two contested school board races on the Germantown ballot.

The Daily Memphian’s “On The Record” podcast takes a closer look at the numbers in the certified vote totals from August, previews the nearly complete November ballot and features a few political notes.

With a desire to help with personnel, employee pay and infrastructure, Thomas Stephen Jr. is part of a four-candidate race seeking Bartlett’s Position 2 alderman office.

The results show 23.6% of Shelby County’s registered voters cast ballots.

The Shelby County Election Commission meets Monday, Aug. 22, to certify the August election results, including winners of the state and federal primaries from that ballot.

“Our school board — even though it’s fairly new — is in desperate need of a refresh,” Chelsea Glass said. She attended Collierville schools, and is the mother of two school-age children.