Bailey: Arlington kicks off suburban races in August; the rest are later this year
Arlington Mayor Mike Wissman is unchallenged and will serve a fourth term. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)
Clay Bailey
Clay Bailey, a lifelong Memphian, has worked as a reporter in the city four decades. He concentrated on suburban coverage for the bulk of his career, except for a stint as sports editor of The Daily Memphian when it launched in September 2018. He now is suburban editor and also serves as a freelance sports writer for The Associated Press.
So, Arlington is first among the suburbs alphabetically and first among the six to hold its municipal election.
While other people were watching who was running for primary offices like state representatives and senators, the Arlington faithful were seeing what choices they have on Aug. 1 for their town leadership. There are a couple of municipal judges’ races on the ballot for other suburbs, but the rest of the candidate list for August is comprised of offices for state legislators, federal legislators and Memphis-Shelby County school board hopefuls.
The question of who qualified to run seemed a bit dicey Thursday. You see, noon was the deadline for filing petitions. But the Shelby County Election Commission was closed Thursday for the day of remembrance for Martin Luther King Jr.’s death. But the office was open for those who wanted to file a petition at the last minute.
Based on the Arlington list posted on the commission’s website Thursday, several town office holders already have won their races, waltzing into office unimpeded by an opponent. The main one is Mayor Mike Wissman, who is unchallenged and will oversee the city and the Arlington aldermen for a fourth term.
Of the three alderman positions on the Aug. 1 ballot, two of them — Larry Harmon and Jeff McKee — are taking the same route as Wissman to their next term. They also are unopposed for their office.
The outlier among the alderman races is in Position 2, where incumbent and former Arlington Mayor Russell Wiseman decided not to seek another term. That leaves Dwight Baker and Jordan Hinders vying for that office.
Only one of the two Arlington School Board races on the ballot is contested. Betsy McEntire is challenging incumbent Lyle Conley for Position 2, while Courtney Barnes is unopposed in Position 4. McEntire pulled a petition for Position 2 and 4 but only filed to run against Conley.
As for the suburban judges offices — even the one in Bartlett is a clear path for incumbent Dan Brown, who is unopposed for his seat on the bench. Germantown has two candidates running for judge in Division 1 — Rhea Clift and Justin Gee. That is an unexpired term once held by Judge Ray Clift. Yes, that is Rhea Clift’s father.
All of this is just an appetizer for the November general election, when a bunch of the suburban offices will be on the ballot.
Topics
2024 elections Arlington Mayor Mike Wissman Alderman Jeff McKee Alderman Larry Harmon Subscriber OnlyAre you enjoying your subscription?
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