The Memphis City Council appointed J. Ford Canale Tuesday to temporarily fill the vacant council seat left after Philip Spinosa Jr. resigned earlier this month.
Canale was one of seven candidates vying to serve as interim Super District 9, Position 2. After a single round of voting, Canale received seven votes from the council, the number needed to be appointed.
Canale, an East Memphis resident who owns a funeral home business, volunteers as the head golf coach at Christian Brothers High School.
Before the vote, Canale told the council he owes a “big debt of gratitude to the city” and “one way to repay the debt is to serve the city and its citizens.”
Canale said he looks forward to “moving Memphis forward, making it a better place to live, bringing businesses here, and keeping residents here.”
Canale, who was sworn in by Judge Gina Higgins after the vote, will serve until a special election on Aug. 2nd.
The council seat was left open after Spinosa resigned earlier this month to join the Greater Memphis Chamber staff, as the senior vice president of the Chairman’s Circle.
