One of the best-known lines in American literature was written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, who famously opined, “There are no second acts in American lives.”
Well, there are. And one of those lives belongs to former City Councilman Philip Spinosa, who — after a stint with the Chairman’s Circle of the Greater Memphis Chamber and another spell with Prestigious Logistics, a company he founded — intends to run again for the council, presumably in District 5.
As a council member representing District 9-2 from 2015 to 2019, Spinosa concerned himself with issues of economic growth and crime and sponsored such legislation as the Neighborhood Sentinel Program, which established surveillance cameras in various neighborhoods and proved so crucial in the ongoing case involving the death of Tyre Nichols at the hands of a police unit.
In addition to his prior service, Spinosa has the kind of economic connections that would ensure more than adequate financing for his campaign — a fact which will not be lost on potential opponents, who at the moment include well-known activist Meggan Wurzburg Kiel and restaurateur Nick Scott. Others known to be considering a race in District 5 include Anna Vergos Blair, daughter of former councilman and restaurateur John Vergos, and activist/entrepreneur John Marek.
Marek, who is also considering a race for Position 1 in Super-District 9, professes exasperation with the city council’s continuing delay in determining district lines for the forthcoming city election. Some of that hesitation apparently has to do with the view of some members that a 1990s judicial consent decree requires a charter amendment for certain outcomes, including one calling for single-member districts exclusively.
(At present, seven council positions are elected by a single district, and another six are elected in Memphis’ two “super districts,” each comprising approximately half the city’s population. Runoffs are permitted in the single districts, but not in the super districts.)
Two other former council members are apparently going to attempt returns to the city’s legislative body. Berlin Boyd, who served in District 7 and lost a runoff in 2019 to current seat-holder Michalyn Easter-Thomas, is considering a run for the Super District 8-3 seat being vacated by the term-limited Martavius Jones. And Scott McCormick, who represented Super District 9-1 in the first decade of this century, contemplates a race for District 2, now represented by mayoral contender Frank Colvett.
• Developer Chance Carlisle, whose brother Chase represents Council District 9-1, had strongly considered a race for mayor before deciding against it, but he still intends to have a major influence on public policy. His instrument for doing so will be via the medium of a soon-to-be-created political action committee (PAC).
Still to be named, the PAC will have a strong pro-business slant, said Carlisle, who recently was at loggerheads with city government over Mayor Jim Strickland’s reluctance to support further public financing for a proposed grand hotel on the riverfront.
The new PAC will support candidates in this year’s city election and will avoid any kind of partisan inflection, said Carlisle, who acknowledged that the recent announcement for mayor by Councilman Colvett, a well-known Republican, was a factor in his own decision not to run for mayor. That, plus another candidacy by former Mayor Willie Herenton, also recently announced, had the effect of creating possible cleavages in the electorate, said Carlisle.
“This election shouldn’t be about either political party or race,” said Carlisle, who stressed that affordable housing and better mass transit were two of the city’s most important unmet needs.
