After one term in office, Lakeland Mayor Mike Cunningham has decided not to seek a second term as the suburb’s top elected official.

Democratic state Rep. G.A. Hardaway reacted after some county commissioners said Monday they didn’t see any sense in filling the vacancy in a Memphis district because the Tennessee Legislature’s session has ended.

Stephanie Gatewood, who finished third in the clerk primary, says Janeen Gordon should never have been allowed to run on the ballot as “Janeen Fullilove Gordon” — using the name of her mother, outgoing clerk Janis Fullilove.

Maureen Fraser and Missy Marshall plan to seek four-year terms on the town’s board. 

Some Memphis Democrats in the Legislature say they want a replacement appointed even though the Legislature is out of session. The commission put off a decision on the matter until its May 23 meeting. 

Leaders of county government’s effort to bridge gaps in the local juvenile justice system and move children with non-violent offenses away from contact with the system talked about the approach on “Behind The Headlines.”

“My concern with (this bill) is that data does not support the basic premise of the legislation,” Lee wrote in a letter to General Assembly leadership.

U.S. Reps. Steve Cohen and Michael Kustoff commented at separate events Thursday in Shelby County, elaborating on earlier reaction to the leaked opinion draft on the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in the U.S. 

Related story:

Kustoff addresses national concerns, midterm elections

The congressman told local business leaders the midterms could be a “wave election.” He believes Republicans could gain control of the nation’s House and Senate.

The Daily Memphian’s On The Record podcast reviews the results from Tuesday’s county primaries with a look ahead to the August county general election.

Only one of the incumbent Democratic clerks from 2018’s Democratic sweep of the offices was without a challenge from within the party. Three of the incumbents didn’t survive to advance to the August county general election.

Incumbent Democratic County Mayor Lee Harris defeated challenger Ken Moody. Harris said he expects a hard-fought contest in the general election contest with Republican nominee Worth Morgan. 

“It’s quite simple, the Democrat primary voters have decided who they want as their candidate,” Folsom said. “It was a well-fought race despite the incredibly low turnout.”

Steve Mulroy will face incumbent District Attorney General Amy Weirich in the general elections in August. 

District 4 was the only contested Republican race on the May 3 ballot.

Election for mayor narrows to a race between the incumbent and a Memphis City Council member. 

For Republicans, there is only one contested race to be decided out of 23 on the primary ballot — the District 4 County Commission primary between incumbent Brandon Morrison and challenger Jordan Carpenter. 

The former County Commissioner died in January, his family disclosed this month. He is buried in a county cemetery, 50 years after his only win in a storied political career that saw him go to prison twice.

During the legislative session that ended last week, Tennessee lawmakers enacted laws limiting local control related to police, pipelines, voting and more.

A rundown on the fate of every bill we’ve covered since January, organized by subject.

Political candidates and Whitehaven community leaders met Wednesday night to discuss the area’s needs as the May 3 primaries approach. 

The Political Roundup has the details for last-minute early voting as well as a follow-up on Brandon Toney’s bid to get back on the August Republican primary ballot in state Senate District 31.

The only two contested Republican primaries in August for seats in the Tennessee General Assembly representing parts of Shelby County could change dramatically with new challenges that could remove one of the contenders from each of the two-man races.

Almost 16,000 Shelby Countians had voted early through Saturday. Early voting ends Thursday and the final four days of the two-week voting period usually record the heaviest turnout judging by past elections in the same cycle.

“I just feel like a weight has been lifted up off of me.”