From the intensity of both behind-the-scenes action and up-front newsmaking, it would almost seem that the 2023 city election — especially the mayoral-race component of it — is a matter of immediate import.
The fact is, however, that for all the present abundance of action, we are still four months from the first day that candidate petitions can be picked up at the Election Commission. That day will be Monday, May 22nd. The next key date in the city election process will be a filing deadline of Thursday, July 20th, at noon. Early voting will begin on Friday, September 15th, and election day will be Thursday, October 5th. Should a runoff be necessary in a district race for city council, that date will be Thursday, November 16th.
A key date of sorts just passed last week: The January 15th cutoff for financial receipts, which must be disclosed by the January 31st deadline. Sometime next week, as the results of this first round of disclosures get known, the actual pecking order of mayoral candidates should become clearer.
Early leaders in the money race are thought to be Sheriff Floyd Bonner and Downtown Memphis Commission CEO Paul Young, with former County Commissioner and NAACP head Van Turner also doing well.
• Meanwhile, in the wake of reports that former City Councilman John Bobango is considering running for mayor, another white candidate is letting his interest in a mayoral race be known. This is Rick White, a realtor and relative unknown, who says he intends to devote much of his time to the message that the citizens of Memphis are the responsible parties in any potential strategy for resolving the city’s crime issue.
In what sounds like a paradoxical sentiment, the mayoral aspirant says, “Whoever is mayor isn’t nearly as important as telling the citizens that it is they, and not an official, who can do something about crime.” Conveying that message would be an important element in his campaign should he run, White said.
• Add the name of Frankie Dakin, aide to Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris, to the list of those thinking of running for the key District 5 City Council seat.
• Though the outcome of Tuesday’s special Democratic primary in state House District 86 could not have been known by the deadline (Tuesday noon, roughly) for this week’s print edition, it will have been posted subsequently in the Flyer in the form of an online article.
Like us, the Shelby County Commission was up against a deadline on the matter. As commission chairman Mickell Lowery notified members at the tail end of Monday’s regular commission meeting, January 31st is the final date for submitting legislation in the General Assembly; whereas, the commission’s next regularly scheduled meeting would not come until February 6th.
Whoever ends up representing District 86 in the state House should have the opportunity to formally file bills by the appointed General Assembly deadline, Lowery said.
Accordingly, the chairman announced a special called meeting of the commission on Wednesday of this week, for the express purpose of making a formal appointment of the top vote-getter as the state representative-elect. As Lowery noted, Tuesday’s leader would be eligible for that status because there were no Republican primary entrants for the position, making the Democratic primary winner the de facto winner of the seat and a proposed March 14th general election date moot.
Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr. raised the issue that, depending on how close the election turned out to be, it might be difficult to designate a certifiable victor as soon as Wednesday. Nevertheless, the special called meeting date stands.
The District 86 seat was filled for 26 years by the late Barbara Cooper, who died last October after winning the Democratic primary for the seat in August. This week’s special election to name a successor was called after Cooper’s formal — and posthumous — reelection in November.
