Even after Shelby County Chancellor JoeDae Jenkins cleared the way with a May ruling for Floyd Bonner and Van Turner to participate in the Memphis mayoral race, the question of where the two candidates actually live remained.

Both Turner and Bonner had bought Memphis homes in the months before the residency fight, in which Jenkins said a five-year residency requirement prior to running for mayor didn’t apply.

Although candidates do not have to have lived in the city for five years under the ruling, a candidate for mayor still must be a resident voter at the time of the Oct. 5 election.

Bonner, Turner can run for Memphis mayor

Turner purchased a house in Binghampton last year. For months after the purchase, the utility bills were first not in his name, and then, when they were, he didn’t use any water. 

Throughout the summer, the electricity has been on at the house, but Turner has still used only a cubic foot of water, according to his Memphis Light, Gas and Water bills.

Earlier this year, Turner said he was staying at the home several nights a week while it was being renovated. On Monday, Aug. 7, a dumpster could be seen out front.

Jeremy Halbert-Harris, a campaign consultant for Turner’s campaign, said Friday, Aug. 11, that Turner and his family have been staying in an apartment in Binghampton throughout the summer and that renovations at the family’s home were underway. 

On “Behind The Headlines,” Turner said the family’s original home in Southeast Shelby County in his former Shelby County Commission district was supposed to be annexed into the City of Memphis but never was, which necessitated a move within city limits.

Mayoral residency lawsuit narrows to city council and administration

“I moved into the unincorporated county right outside of Memphis, less than 100 feet. We were supposed to be annexed, but the state stopped annexation. My intent was to always be in Memphis, and that never occurred again,” Turner said. 

That home is less than a mile from city limits. It was conveyed by Turner and his wife to a trust and then later sold in 2021. 

Meanwhile, Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner bought an East Memphis home earlier this year. Shortly afterward, his utility bills began to grow. 

On his February bill, Bonner had only used a bit of electricity. By his July bill in the heat of summer, Bonner used 1,126 kilowatt hours of electricity and paid $133.35 for electric consumption alone. He also used seven hundred cubic feet of water in July. 

When asked about his living arrangements, Bonner said he does not split time between the family’s Bartlett home and his East Memphis home. He said he stays at the East Memphis residence.

He said he and his wife are waiting on the correct timing to sell the Bartlett house, which they purchased when it was in unincorporated Shelby County in 1994. He said there is also some maintenance needed before putting it on the market.