The commission meets in special session Wednesday, Oct. 27, to advance a redistricting ordinance through the second of three votes.

County Commissioner Mark Billingsley has decided not to run for county mayor next year — another piece in a political puzzle still taking shape less than a year from May county primary elections.

The new district lines will reflect a drop of 16,000 Memphians by the U.S. Census count and populations gains in three of the seven single-member City Council districts as well as drops in the head count in the other four districts. 

The council tabled a move to put an ad hoc working group in place, similar to what the Shelby County Commission already has up and running. The delay came after a discussion about motives, snakes, the city’s method of redistricting and protecting incumbents.

Shelby County Commissioner Tami Sawyer was among 25 activists arrested Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 19, during a No More Excuses rally in front of the White House.

The second-term Memphis City Council member declared his candidacy Monday, Oct. 11. In his interview with The Daily Memphian, Morgan talked about what to expect from his campaign.

A veteran Public Defender is seeking to become the first Indian-American to serve as a judge in Shelby County. But Sanjeev Memula is considering which of the nine criminal divisions of General Sessions Court he will seek.

Former federal prosecutor Linda Harris said Memphians are becoming “desensitized” to violence and that current remedies aren’t working. Harris is one of several candidates who plan to challenge incumbents in the criminal justice system by calling for change.

Shelby County Democratic Party Chairwoman Gabby Salinas says a new political action committee approved for the local party is a start toward a better-organized Democratic effort in the state’s bluest county.

Sheriff Floyd Bonner says the COVID-19 pandemic has made his job more difficult but touted low crime rates in unincorporated Shelby County. 

The special assistant to Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland talked about his exploratory campaign for mayor Wednesday, Sept. 8, and sounded very much like he is in the race while taking a few jabs at incumbent Mayor Lee Harris.

The first-term City Council member claims the numbers are there to first win the August statewide primary and then the November general election. That’s despite no Democrat winning statewide office in Tennessee in 15 years.

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves talked about the pandemic Thursday, Aug. 26, at a re-election fundraiser in Shelby County held at a replica of the Mississippi governor’s mansion. 

Shelby County commissioner’s exploratory committee for Memphis mayor is another indication that county Mayor Lee Harris will seek re-election next year.

Dr. Jason Martin of Nashville, a likely contender in the Democratic primary for governor, campaigned in Memphis this past weekend.

County Commissioner Tami Sawyer announced Monday she will not seek a second term in the 2022 county elections. Her decision means six new faces on the commission in the next election.

Shelby County commissioners Monday voted down a new touch-screen voting system that includes a paper trail and moved to cut the Election Commission out of the process by taking new bids on a system that primarily uses hand-marked paper ballots.

Morgan is in his second term on the City Council, which has a limit of two consecutive terms. Contenders for county offices in the May Democratic and Republican primaries can’t begin pulling petitions to get on the ballot until Dec. 20.

A vote Monday by the Shelby County Commission on a new voting system could mean new voting machines by the May county primary elections. 

‘One of the greatest assets of ballot-marking devices is that ambiguous or indeterminate marks frequently made by voters when marking ballots by hand are completely eliminated,’ says Brent Taylor.

Incumbent Mayor Keith McDonald is not seeking another term and when asked Wednesday confirmed he is supporting Bartlett Alderman David Parsons in the race.

Meanwhile, both of the state’s Republican U.S. Senators have been critical of the Democratic bill that would change election laws. One of the few Tennessee Republicans dissenting on Cheney’s ouster, former Congressman Zach Wamp, says it represents a split in the Republican Party that could have implications in next year’s mid-term Congressional elections.