Memphis Mayor Paul Young’s agenda could face its first significant turbulence Tuesday, Jan. 9; his reappointment of Memphis Police Department Chief Cerelyn “C.J.” Davis faces an uncertain reception at the Memphis City Council. 

Davis’ reappointment as police chief is among the slew of mayoral appointments that the City Council is slated to consider at its first meeting of 2024.

The meeting promises a first look into the new and evolving power dynamic at Memphis City Hall: A new mayor who has never held elected office is taking the reins after the council, which returns eight members, has had its fill of what it felt was rough treatment from the previous mayoral administration.

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That council, in recent months, has said it’s a co-equal branch of government with the mayor. 

The Daily Memphian surveyed a majority of the council members Thursday afternoon, Jan. 4. Two of the 10 members reached by The DM said they planned to vote for Davis next week.

None said they would vote against her, but several, including one new member, expressed apprehension about her reappointment and leadership. 

Young, in an interview Thursday, said he could not handicap whether Davis would be reappointed. 

“The City Council has their purview, and so I don’t want to place odds on decisions they’ll make,” Young said Thursday. “But she’s the person that I believe in to advance us in this space of the police department, and we’ll see what the City Council thinks.”

Here is what each member reached by The Daily Memphian had to say:

JB Smiley, Jr., the council’s chairman, said, “I will talk to the people in the community. Ultimately, my role as an elected official has been the will of the people. … My vote will be a reflection of the general sentiment of the community.”

Asked whether that is a yes or no vote on Davis, he said: “We have to figure out where has crime been in the last two and a half years. ... Has the police department improved?”

Jana Swearengen-Washington, a returning member:
“I’m on the fence, to be quite honest.”

“I did have a one-on-one conversation with her. ... I feel better about the conversation,” she said. “But the biggest concern that I have is that the constituents as a whole, as you call them, as you have conversations, the emails, the phone calls. ... She doesn’t have their trust as our chief of police, as a leader of our city, and that’s quite a concern.

“And I’m representing and advocating for those constituents, and I have to listen to their concerns. So I’m still having conversations. I’m still having meetings.”

Chase Carlisle, who is starting his second term, said, “I am not prepared to speak with the mayor about his appointments.” 

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Pearl Walker, one of the five newly elected council members, said, “I’m processing information and I want to make an informed choice.

“Seeing how we are currently under a (U.S. Department of Justice) investigation that makes this decision more important than ever. With that being said, this decision should take the data into consideration ... data that I will be reviewing over the next few days. My vote will be based on that.” 

Yolanda Cooper-Sutton, another new council member, said Thursday: “I am very prayerful about it, and I don’t have an answer for you today.” 

Jeff Warren: “I plan on voting to reappoint her. The mayor recommended her appointment, and I want to honor his initial recommendations.” 

Michalyn Easter-Thomas would not comment. 

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“I’m not going to comment on any other appointee if I am going to vote for them ... I have my votes on Tuesday,” Easter-Thomas said. 

Jerri Green, another incoming member, said, “I plan to listen to every appointee that comes before me to make their case that they’re the best person for this job at this moment. I think her appointment is probably one of the most critical in our city right now.

“When I was out knocking doors, crime was the No. 1 issue I heard, and most of the citizens, if not all that I spoke to, are very dissatisfied with the state of things. And so for me, I’m there to listen and to learn if she is able to take our city in a different direction. Because I think at this moment, people are hurting, people are scared and they don’t see a lot of hope.

And we’ve got to solve this issue and, frankly, the buck stops with her on public safety and crime.” 

Edmund Ford Sr. plans on voting for Davis. 

“I’m 100% behind the police director,” Ford said. 

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J. Ford Canale said, “I am in the undecided category.”

Three members of the council — Philip Spinosa, Janika White and Rhonda Logan — could not be reached by The Daily Memphian’s deadline Thursday evening. 

Delays for other appointments are possible 

If Davis or any of the other appointments for key positions in the Young administration clear the City Council on Tuesday, they still may not take office for some time. 

That’s because Smiley, the council chairman, has told Young and The Daily Memphian that the council is not going to approve the appointments with same-night minutes — a procedural step that makes decisions of the council final and binding and not subject to reconsideration. 

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“What happens is there is no opportunity for public discourse. Our job is to vet the nominations by the mayor. We can’t do that in one sitting. We can’t do that if we allow same night minutes. ... We need to hear from our constituents,” Smiley said. 

Young said: “The council chair has made it clear his perspective. ... We’ll have dialogues and whatever the will of the council is what we’ll do.”