Memphis Local, Sports, Business & Food News | Daily Memphian | Bill Dries

Mayor Young vetoes council rewrite of impasse ordinance

bdries@dailymemphian.com (Bill Dries) — Tue, 12 May 2026 20:00:03 -0500

In a three-page letter, Young writes that the ordinance “seeks to enlarge the Council’s authority in direct contravention of the charter.”

Pearson staying in 9th, plus a few Memphis surprises on first congressional candidates list

bdries@dailymemphian.com (Bill Dries) — Tue, 12 May 2026 18:28:35 -0500

Pearson declares ahead of a Friday filing deadline for the congressional seats with new district lines.

Election commission to seek $350K from state for district shake-up

bdries@dailymemphian.com (Bill Dries) — Tue, 12 May 2026 16:07:56 -0500

Redistricting plans mean an “aggressive timeline” and overtime costs for the Shelby County Election Commission, Linda Phillips told reporters Tuesday.

City Council to consider resolution opposing new congressional district lines

bdries@dailymemphian.com (Bill Dries) — Mon, 11 May 2026 15:48:58 -0500

The resolution is not binding on state lawmakers, who have already passed the controversial plan. Council members also take a look at affordable housing in Orange Mound.

A quick history of Tennessee redistricting and a closer look at unofficial vote totals

bdries@dailymemphian.com (Bill Dries) — Mon, 11 May 2026 09:44:23 -0500

This political roundup dives into the surprising number of write-ins in the Shelby County primary races, a short — and litigious — history of redistricting in Tennessee and more.

Tom Lee Day will move to October, but poetry honored today

bdries@dailymemphian.com (Bill Dries) — Sat, 9 May 2026 10:08:57 -0500

The Memphis River Parks Partnership announced the change Friday, May 8, as it honored recipients in the 5th annual Tom Lee Poetry and Spoken Word competition.

Affordable housing wins come a few lots at a time

bdries@dailymemphian.com (Bill Dries) — Sat, 9 May 2026 04:00:13 -0500

Habitat for Humanity recently hit a milestone in Uptown: Two homes it finished building in February had their appraisals match their costs, which isn’t a given when talking about affordable housing in Memphis.

Leaders react to Memphis redistricting

bdries@dailymemphian.com (Bill Dries) — Thu, 7 May 2026 16:24:28 -0500

“We have specific needs, and we need a representative in Congress that can speak to those needs,” Memphis Mayor Paul Young told The Daily Memphian Thursday.

G.A. Hardaway's son appointed to his state House seat

bdries@dailymemphian.com (Bill Dries) — Thu, 7 May 2026 05:18:05 -0500

TJ Hardaway heads to Nashville to take his seat in the state House for an anticipated Thursday vote on a Republican plan to redraw the boundaries of the state’s nine Congressional districts.

Primary voter turnout healthy — but not high

bdries@dailymemphian.com (Bill Dries) — Wed, 6 May 2026 16:29:49 -0500

Primary elections in Shelby County draw the lowest voter turnout. Considering that, overall turnout in Tuesday’s election was higher than expected.

Mickell Lowery wins Democratic county mayoral primary

bdries@dailymemphian.com (Bill Dries) — Wed, 6 May 2026 00:40:43 -0500

The winner of the Democratic primary will meet former state Rep. John DeBerry, the Republican nominee, in the August general election race to succeed outgoing Mayor Lee Harris.

Won at the primary: The 3 County Commission seats that stay in the Democratic column

bdries@dailymemphian.com (Bill Dries) — Tue, 5 May 2026 23:41:14 -0500

Shante Avant, Karen Streeter and Lashanta Rudd won seats on the County Commission with their win in Tuesday’s Democratic primaries.

LaSonya Hall will run to replace Wanda Halbert in August

bdries@dailymemphian.com (Bill Dries) — Tue, 5 May 2026 22:48:17 -0500

Most in the 11-candidate field talked about specific changes to the office that issues new vehicle tags, car titles and collects registration fees in addition to issuing marriage licenses and business permits.

Which County Commission races were set or decided before the first vote was cast?

bdries@dailymemphian.com (Bill Dries) — Tue, 5 May 2026 21:55:41 -0500

Six of the Shelby County Commission races were either decided or their general election match-ups were already set prior to Election Day.

Early vote results show Lowery leading Democratic primary for county mayor

bdries@dailymemphian.com (Bill Dries) — Tue, 5 May 2026 21:16:06 -0500

There were 57,164 early and absentee ballots in Shelby County prior to Tuesday’s Election Day. That batch of votes is the first counted by the election commission.

Polls close on Election Day

bdries@dailymemphian.com (Bill Dries) — Tue, 5 May 2026 19:05:02 -0500

Follow The Daily Memphian’s election coverage for regular updates throughout the evening.

County Commission approves $200K in funding for MSCS takeover lawsuit

bdries@dailymemphian.com (Bill Dries) — Tue, 5 May 2026 16:50:09 -0500

Shelby County commissioners voted to take money from county reserve funds to pay the possible cost of suing the state over a pending state takeover of Memphis-Shelby County Schools.

Primary election set stage for two more elections, bigger political questions

bdries@dailymemphian.com (Bill Dries) — Tue, 5 May 2026 06:43:41 -0500

Here’s what is at stake and what to look for in the vote totals Tuesday evening.

Missed early voting? Election Day awaits

bdries@dailymemphian.com (Bill Dries) — Mon, 4 May 2026 09:17:08 -0500

Here’s everything you need to know about voting in Shelby County on the May 5 election day and a look at what is at stake in this election along with some trends in voter turnout.

Lee greenlights special session for redistricting next week

bdries@dailymemphian.com (Bill Dries) — Sun, 3 May 2026 13:31:31 -0500

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has called a special session of the Tennessee Legislature to consider redrawing the lines of the state’s nine Congressional districts in a bid to turn the state’s largest and only blue district red in this year’s midterm elections.