Reporter
Bill Dries covers city and county government and politics. He is a native Memphian and has been a reporter for almost 50 years covering a wide variety of stories from the 1977 death of Elvis Presley and the 1978 police and fire strikes to numerous political campaigns, every county mayor and every Memphis Mayor starting with Wyeth Chandler.
There are 4153 articles by Bill Dries :
Five of the dozen candidates running for Memphis mayor came to the Overton Park Shell Saturday as the race for mayor enters its most public phase. Memphis mayoral candidates react to The Greater 901 Initiative poll Memphis mayoral candidates react to the residency court rulingRelated content:
The political ground the Memphis City Council races will take place on is still moving. Here’s an early look at where all 13 races stand.
Here’s what some of the mayoral contenders had to say about The Greater 901 Initiative’s recent poll of the 2023 mayor’s race.
Here is what some of the Memphis mayoral contenders had to say about the Chancery Court ruling that there is no residency requirement for candidates in the October 2023 elections.
Scott Brockman, the airport’s president and CEO, talked on “Behind The Headines” about incentives for flights to and from certain cities and other adjustments a decade after Delta ‘de-hubbed’ Memphis International.
The two mayoral candidates, neither of whom have lived in Memphis for two years, and the City Council argued that a 1996 referendum repealed residency requirements.
Council attorney Allan Wade says the council can put gun control measures on the ballot. He expects they’ll be “inundated” with challenges. He wouldn’t rule out a court fight over whether they could override state law.
A year ago, council members spoke privately with their attorney about an issue in the city charter. The resulting step to change the clerk’s office only surfaced the day before Tuesday’s council session. City Council isn’t taking a stand on residency in mayoral raceRelated story:
A resolution to back a five-year requirement for those running for Memphis mayor and Memphis City Council was tabled Tuesday.
The ordinance to eliminate the elected clerk’s office and take it off the October ballot could come up for the first of three votes tomorrow.Related story:
The new state law requiring elected judges to make decisions about releasing defendants accused of violent felonies takes effect July 1. The County Commission is asking General Sessions judges to start doing that immediately.
The delay in the vote came after it became apparent the nine-vote two-thirds majority wasn’t there in the first of two votes. County Commission calls on judges to enact new release restrictions earlyRelated story:
Some council members claim they came to a “consensus” about entering the lawsuit at a closed May 2 meeting with their attorney without taking a formal vote on it.
A city ordinance that could prompt a court fight with the state over gun control has morphed into a potential ballot question for voters. The sponsors of the measure talk about it on “Behind The Headlines.”
The doubling of the $50 annual wheel tax is integral to County Mayor Lee Harris’ plan to expand the county’s capital budget from $75 million annually to $150 million.
The commission scorecard tracks critical votes so far to fill in the blanks on a resolution that could raise the county’s wheel tax and an ordinance that could drop the county’s property tax rate.
During Wednesday committee sessions, Shelby County commissioners set up later votes on a property rate that would remain the same while a commissioner’s resolution to do away with the wheel tax altogether waits in the wings.
Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris pushed for the wheel-tax hike to help rebuild Regional One during Memphis Rotary Tuesday. The Shelby County Commission will take its first look at the proposal today.
The Shelby County Election Commission is about to be dropped entirely from the lawsuits over how long mayoral candidates have to live in the city.
A lawsuit filed on behalf of the Memphis City Council, though without explicit council approval, about residency requirements for those candidates running for mayor raises questions about the charter. City Council chair says body did not vote to file residency lawsuitRelated story:
The Memphis City Council filed a lawsuit against the Shelby County Election Commission and Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland to stop a five-year residency requirement for elected officials from being enforced.
The City Council has two ongoing political potboilers: the residency requirement to seek a citywide office and moving City Council district lines.
The recipients of the second annual poetry and spoken word competition continued the theme set by last year’s winner of a broader interpretation of Tom Lee’s heroism.
County Commission Budget Committee Chairman Michael Whaley talks about the proposed doubling of the county’s capital budget on The Daily Memphian’s “On The Record” podcast.
The deadline for candidates to file in the special election was noon Thursday, May 4. Justin J. Pearson and David Page are in the June Democratic primary.