Tag: Rhonda Logan

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“I Want You To Stay and I Want You To Fight” — Officials React to “Evil Actions” of Rampage Killer

Joyce Peterson spoke for much of Memphis.

Editor’s note: After receiving numerous complaints from readers for displaying a photo of Wednesday night’s assailant in this space, we have decided that its news value as an identifier of a dangerous person at-large is no longer applicable, so we’ve removed the picture.

Here is Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland’s statement in full:

“I want to first, express my deepest sympathy and condolences to the victims and their families who are suffering from this senseless murder rampage. I’m angry  for them, and I’m angry that our citizens had to shelter in place for their own safety until the suspect was caught. This is no way for us to live and it is not acceptable.

The people of our city were confronted with the type of violence no one should have to face. Ezekiel Kelly was charged with criminal attempted first degree murder but pled guilty in April of 2021 to the lesser charge of aggravated assault. He was sentenced to three years, but only served 11 months and was released on March 16th, 2022 — less than six months ago.

These evil actions show why truth in sentencing is a must, and we should do all we can to make our city safe. We should not be terrorized by anyone who wants to strike fear in our hearts and take away what we love about Memphis. We must unite around this principle and stand up to the challenge of violent crime in our city. 

If Mr. Kelly served his full three-year sentence, he would still be in prison today and four of our fellow citizens would still be alive.

Thank you state legislature, led by [state House Speaker Rep. Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville) and [Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge), for passing truth in sentencing. From now on, three years for aggravated assault means three years.

Our judicial system is too often a revolving door.  A citizen emailed me today — ‘until/unless there are real consequences for criminal behavior, it will continue.’

I agree 100 percent. We need the courts and additional state laws to stop this revolving door and I need the public to make their voices heard by those decision makers.

I want to thank the men and women of our Memphis Police Department, and all the supporting law enforcement agencies who supported in capturing the suspect tonight, and aided in the search for Liza Fletcher earlier this week.

This has been a painful week in our city, but I have hope for Memphis, I have love for Memphis, I know that united …..we will endure.”

Camper

State House Minority Leader Rep. Karen Camper (D-Memphis):

“Our city is hurting. My heart goes out to the families of those killed and injured tonight. It was an unspeakable horror and it occurred just days after our city was devastated by another tragedy: the terrible murder of elementary school teacher Eliza Fletcher.

“It’s been a sad few months for Memphis. There is a long road ahead and much work ahead for us to do in order to begin to heal our city and we will have those policy discussions. But now we have to lock arms and pray for all of the victims of this week and the past few months and not let these tragic circumstances tear our hearts away from the city we all love.”

Greater Memphis Chamber President and CEO Beverly Robertson:

“The Greater Memphis Chamber and our entire business community are deeply saddened by the tragic events our city has lived through in recent days. We extend our condolences to the families and friends of those lost to these senseless acts of inhumanity.

“The Chamber remains committed to working with our business leaders, elected officials, and residents to thoughtfully identify real solutions that lead to real results. I have already reached out to the mayor and police chief of Memphis to ensure the business community will be at the table as we move forward.

“We all must play a role in driving positive change in our community, and this journey is just starting. Working together, we will make a difference.” 

State Rep. London Lamar:

Lamar

“The book of Psalms says ‘I rise before dawn and cry for help; I hope in your words.’

This morning, our families in Memphis are crying out for accountability and justice. We are hoping that, together, we can summon the courage to take real action against gun violence.

No community should have to live with the trauma of mass shootings and terrorism. But this isn’t the first senseless tragedy and it won’t be the last if we are unwilling to turn our prayers into action.

I have consistently fought for evidence-based reforms that prevent violent crime. We will continue our work to expand access to mental healthcare. And our mission to end generational poverty never ceases.

But our work is being crippled by policies that make it easier for dangerous people to access deadly weapons. I am a gun owner, but I understand the right to carry must come with meaningful rules and responsibilities.

Again, I am asking anyone at the Capitol who will listen: Please acknowledge the deadly consequences of guns falling into the wrong hands and work with me to end gun violence against our families.”

Taylor

Shelby County Health Department Director Dr. Michelle Taylor:

“The shootings last night in Memphis that left four people dead and three injured, and the kidnapping and death of Eliza Fletcher are a wake-up call for our community.

Shelby County Health Department (SCHD) extends its deepest sympathies to all the victims, their friends and families, and everyone in our community impacted by this past week’s violent events. We also thank the many law enforcement personnel and first responders who risk their lives every day to bring an end to violent crime in our community and make Memphis a “place of good abode,” as it was called when it was founded.

The principles of public health practice are well suited to implement a violence prevention framework that addresses the root causes of violent crime. The key to addressing the endless cycle of shootings and imprisonment in our community is to heal the generational trauma that makes violence appear to be the only option. Adverse childhood experiences and adverse community experiences have increased over time, due to the structural and institutional failures to address the issues leading to inequality and conflict in our community.

Shelby County Health Department is committed to expanding access to behavioral health resources for everyone throughout their lifespan as a first step to addressing the generational traumas that can lead to community violence. SCHD provides a wide range of prevention and screening services. We are expanding our reach by convening behavioral health resources and acting on our analysis of gun violence as a public health crisis in our community. As a part of that work, SCHD has begun a Cure Violence Global pilot program using a local subcontractor (Heal 901) to replicate Cure Violence’s data-driven, evidence-based approach to crime prevention here in Shelby County.

Please join the Shelby County Health Department in our meaningful and collaborative action to bring an end to the senseless violence that harms everyone in our community. To learn more about how to get involved, please visit our website: shelbytnhealth.com.”

U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Memphis):

Cohen

“What has been happening in my hometown is harrowing and disturbing. I have been concerned for some time about the crime situation and have spoken with the relevant public officials about addressing the issue.

I have suggested convening a summit with the two mayors, the District Attorney General, the Police Director, the Shelby County Sheriff, the school board president, and the juvenile court judge. We need a comprehensive approach involving the schools and the juvenile justice system to help reverse these disturbing trends.

“Today I wrote to Attorney General Merrick Garland to explain the situation in Memphis, noting the high-profile killings in recent days and weeks, and asking him to look favorably on discretionary grants from the Edward Byrne Memorial Grants Assistance and COPS programs and to provide any and all other assistance available from the Department of Justice. I also asked to speak with him at his earliest convenience.”

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City Council Supports Tougher Measures on COVID Restrictions

The Memphis City Council met virtually today to discuss the recent mandates on local business owners. The Shelby County Health Department has been vigilant about making businesses safer through health directives, and has cracked down on those who refuse to comply with the social distancing mandates.

As it stands, all non-essential businesses are strongly encouraged to stay closed from Dec 26th, 2020 – Jan 22nd, 2021. Retail business are to operate at 50 percent, and food businesses should operate at 25 percent capacity.

Council members seriously considered the issue of leaving many of the city’s restaurant and small business owners out of work, versus creating safer business environments through enforcing stricter mandates.

Shelby County Health Director Alisa Haushalter was an integral part of the conversation. “In an ideal world, given the amount of transmission nationwide, a national strategy is what’s needed. If there isn’t a national strategy, we need a state strategy,” said Haushalter. “And unfortunately we don’t have a state strategy and that’s in part because of a fundamental belief that local municipalities should make their own decisions,” she said.

City of Memphis/Facebook

Shelby County Health Department director Dr. Alisa Haushalter at COVID-19 Task Force briefing.


“If we put down a 25 percent on the restaurant, people are going to gather in their homes, and the odds of them not masking and socially distancing increases dramatically,” said Council Chair Frank Colvet. “Why can’t we consider 50 percent, if for no other reason that if people are still going to party, at least they will do it in a fairly safer environment.”

“Honestly, we’ve got people in the community that aren’t doing what they’re supposed to do,” said Councilman Worth Morgan. “They’re not asymptomatic; they’re having symptoms and continuing to go about their normal lives.”

“It’s not just where we are today, it’s where we anticipate being in January and February if we don’t reduce transmission,” continued Haushalter. She recommends sheltering in place for two incubation cycles, with fears that opening businesses where people can continue to socialize with their masks off will further delay the city’s progress. She said that the health department will take a look at the numbers in two weeks to see if the rate of exposure has decreased. If so, they will consider opening restaurants back up at 50 percent capacity.

The council weighed all of the options available, and when it came down to it, Councilmember Martavious Jones reiterated the severity of what could happen if the city doesn’t act. “Based on the information that [infectious disease specialist] Dr. Jain has presented us, we could have 100 percent more deaths. I’m going to ask you: which one of your loved ones do you want to sacrifice? There’s not a damn one that I want to sacrifice,” he said.

CDC

While many businesses have complied with the mandates, Morgan stated that the orders are simply an act of solidarity, and that the Council has no real say in what actually gets enforced.

“We’ve been getting a lot of emails, calls about the issues and because we’re voting on it, I think a lot of the public think we have a direct say in what’s in this directive. Whatever action we take this day is a support measure. It means absolutely nothing, to be perfectly honest in terms of what gets enacted and what doesn’t,” he said.

“As legislators as elected officials, we have to turn our attention to how we can help,” said Councilmember Rhonda Logan. “What can we do? What funds are available? What agencies are in place to help these business owners who may have to close or may have to pivot?”

As a show of solidarity and to support the restaurant industry, The Memphis City Council agreed to forego 75 percent of their council pay for the duration of this mandate, potentially as a gift to charity, or back to the city as grants to the restaurants. Their salary is about $30,000 a year, so one month of that is $2,500. 75 percent of that that would be $1,800, totaling to a little over $24,000 from all 13 members. They are prepared to continue giving for months if they must.



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Politics Politics Beat Blog

Challengers Logan, Easter-Thomas Win Council Runoffs

Logan; Easter-Thomas

The 2019 Memphis city election finally concluded Thursday with the ouster of the incumbents in two runoff elections. In District 1  (Frayser,  Raleigh) challenger Rhonda Logan, president of the Raleigh Community Development Corporation, edged interim incumbent Sherman Greer. And, in District 7 (North Memphis, Downtown, riverfront) newcomer Michalyn Easter-Thomas handily defeated longtime incumbent Berlin Boyd.

Final vote totals were: Logan, 1034; Greer, 802; in District 1, and Easter-Thomas, 2036; Boyd, 665 in District 7.

For Logan, who was backed by state Representative Antonio Parkinson, former City Councilman Rickey Peete, and other northside figures, the outcome amounted to delayed gratification, in that she had failed by a single vote to garner enough votes of then-Council incumbents to fill the vacancy left by departing incumbent Bill Morrison in 2018.

Ironically, Boyd was one of the holdouts in that fill-in election, which was ultimately won by Greer, a longtime aide for two 9th District Congressmen, Harold Ford Jr. and Steve Cohen.

Boyd’s own case for retention by the voters was undermined by an imperious personal attitude and by publicity regarding his own apparent involvement in projects he was advancing, several of which seemed commendable in their own right. Beginning with her endorsement last summer by the resurgent People’s Convention, Easter-Thomas successfully knit together a supportive network of several civic groups.

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Politics Politics Feature

Democrats Gear Up for Suburban Races in 2020

CREDIT: Jackson Baker

Now that the “nonpartisan” city election is over and done with — as presumably it will be after two runoff elections for Memphis City Council seats, in District 1 (incumbent Sherman Greer vs. Rhonda Logan) and District 7 (incumbent Berlin Boyd vs. Michalyn Easter-Thomas), are completed this week — it is high time for local Republicans and Democrats to resume their more or less nonstop competition for influence in public affairs.

Jackson Baker

Michalyn Easter-Thomas

Not that this rivalry really ceased for the city election. Although no candidate in the city general election was listed on the ballot under a party label, there were numerous races that were understood to be cases in which the two parties vied against each other.

One such was the race for Position 1 in Super District 9, between public school teacher Erika Sugarmon, a Democrat supported by Democrats, and developer Chase Carlisle, whose Republican sponsorship was equally obvious. There is a certain overlap between the white/black dichotomy and the partisan one, inasmuch as Shelby County’s whites, by and large, gravitate to the GOP, while African Americans constitute the vital core of the Democratic Party.

That fact makes the neck-and-neck race between Sugarmon and ultimate winner Carlisle all the more revealing. That contest was decided by a mere 531 votes out of 46,311 cast. Given the fact that Super District 9, roughly the eastern half of Memphis, is predominantly white, the obvious message is that of a potential racial and political parity there.

Underscoring the point is the legal matter of the bogus ballots — sample ballots in which endorsement space is sold to candidates on a pay-to-play basis. Carlisle and several other candidates who bore the official endorsement of the Shelby County Republican Party got themselves listed as well on two pay-to-play ballots put out under the auspices, respectively, of the Greater Memphis Democratic Club and the Shelby County Democratic Club, two shell enterprises which had no relationship to the actual Shelby County Democratic Party. Both ballots got heavy distribution, right up to the end of voting on Election Day itself, when, before the polls closed, a judge issued a restraining order on their further circulation.

It takes no great leap of logic to see that in an ostensibly nonpartisan race, the two sample ballots could have confused Democratic voters and accounted for the difference in the Sugarmon-Carlisle contest. (Interestingly, Special Judge William B. Acree of Jackson, who issued the restraining order on October 3rd, has scheduled a hearing in Memphis on Wednesday of this week — one day before the runoffs in District 1 and District 7 — to determine the future legality of pay-to-play ballots.)

In any case, next year, local voters will see overtly partisan contests — for legislative seats, one U.S. Senate seat, and presidential preference primaries. The last time the two parties took on each other directly, there was a much-vaunted “blue wave” nationally that favored Democrats. It didn’t help the party’s statewide candidates: Democrats Phil Bredesen and Karl Dean lost to Republicans Marsha Blackburn and Bill Lee for U.S. senator and governor, respectively. And while Democrats held their own in Memphis and came unexpectedly close in several suburban legislative contests, they failed to unseat Republican incumbents. 

One exception was Democratic State Representative Dwayne Thompson, who was an upset winner in 2016 of the suburban District 96 seat and was re-elected in 2018. Party cadres expect Thompson to prevail again, as they made clear in a strategy session held on Tuesday night of last week in the Great Hall of Germantown and billed under the title, “How Liberal Are You? Winning in 2020 by Unifying the Left, the Far Left, and the Radical Left.”

Three seats in the state House of Representatives received special attention — Thompson’s in District 96 and those in two adjoining districts now held by Republicans. At least one Democrat, Jerri Green, has declared herself as an opponent of GOP incumbent Mark White in District 83. And Allan Creasy, who got 45 percent of the vote in District 97 last year, will try again for that seat, which is being vacated by Republican incumbent Jim Coley. Another possible Democratic contender for the District 97 seat is rumored to be Gabby Salinas, who gave Republican State Senator Brian Kelsey a close race in his 2018 re-election bid.

It would surprise no one to see tight races again.

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Politics Politics Beat Blog

Is Berlin Boyd Using a 2015 Robocall?

With a week left in the runoff elections for the two remaining undecided Memphis City Council seats, the incumbent in the District 1 race, Berlin Boyd, who is opposed by Michalyn Easter-Thomas, is pursuing an unusual and all-out advertising campaign.

One deviation from the norm is the fact that the Boyd campaign has purchased some large billboards on major thoroughfares in the city’s far eastern precincts. Billboards are an uncommon medium for a district race, and these are many miles away from Boyd’s District 7 bailiwick. Perhaps Boyd, one of the financially better endowed council candidates, figures he can afford it, and he — or his advisers at Caissa Public Strategies — believe in using all the means at one’s disposal. Another Caissa runoff candidate, District 1 incumbent Sherman Greer, who is opposed by Rhonda Logan, is also using large billboard signs.

But what’s the idea behind another, odder advertising stratagem that’s been linked to Boyd? Here’s how it was described in a Facebook post on last Friday by Jeffrey Lichtenstein of the AFL-CIO:

I was just got a really concerning automated phone call.

It first seemed like a live poll, but eventually it was clear I was talking to a sophisticated recording. This is the number that called: (901) 245-4604.

It said “Hi this is Becky Spray, calling from Memphis Brighter Future Political Action Committee. Can I ask you about the city council election? This will take 90 seconds.
Do you plan on voting in the upcoming city council election?

If the election was today, would you vote for Anthony Anderson, Berlin Boyd, or unsure?
Do you need a ride to the polls?”

This is push polling. It seems clearly designed to confuse people and discourage us from voting for Michalyn Easter-Thomas. This kind of shady political game is shocking.
When I called back, it said “extension 370 is not available. Leave a message.”

Moments later, the same number called my friend Thomas Wayne Walker, and it was the same call. We were able to record it. I’ll try and figure out how to post that….

As a reminder, Anthony Anderson was Boyd’s runoff opponent in the 2015 City Council race, but was not a candidate for the District 7 position this year. Lichtenstein seems convinced that the robocall is intended to “confuse” and “discourage” potential voters for Michalyn Easter-Thomas, the runoff opponent to incumbent Councilman Berlin Boyd in District 7.

The robocall is obviously confusing and it definitely does Easter-Thomas no favor by leaving her out of the question.

But, on the discouragement front, the robocall — and publicity given it — could have a boomerang effect. Anderson, for example, has responded to the robocall and its use of his name by posting an online endorsement of Easter-Thomas.

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Politics Politics Feature

City Election’s Final Races Head Into the Stretch

Thursday, November 14th, two weeks from now, will see the final voting for the 2019 Memphis city election. The remaining races to be decided, via runoff, are the Memphis City Council seats in District 1 (Frayser, Raleigh), where incumbent Sherman Greer hopes to do a turnaround on the tally of October 3rd, when challenger Rhonda Logan missed an outright majority win by a hair’s-breadth, and in District 7, where Michalyn Easter-Thomas, runner-up to incumbent Berlin Boyd, is attempting to consolidate a potential anti-Boyd majority with the support of several other former candidates in that race.

Early voting for the runoff elections began on Friday, October 25th, and will end on Saturday, November 9th.

Ordinarily, challengers Logan and Easter-Thomas would seem to own the momentum, in light of the failure of Greer and Boyd to exploit the presumed natural advantage of their incumbency on the first go-around. But no one is making any firm and fast predictions. The notorious reality about runoffs — and one of the compelling arguments in favor of substituting Ranked Choice Voting as an alternative to dependence on them — is the precipitate fallout in general voter turnout that accompanies them.

Photographs by Jackson Baker

Michalyn Easter-Thomas with supporters

Victory in a runoff often depends on which side is more successful in getting their people out to the polls. And one seasoned consultant, asked about prospects for the runoff election, conjectured that the total vote in each of the runoff districts could easily run to no more than 1,600 voters each.

That fact co-exists with another reality, that the incumbents have a second chance to activate the donor sources that, as office-holders, they have presumably been able to develop a working relationship with. But the financial factor may not be weighted as much for the runoff cycle as it was for the general election.

In any case, all four candidates seem to be trying hard — each according to their fashion. 

Councilman Sherman Greer campaigning in district coin-op laundry

Logan is busy on social media and working with her political allies in the district. Greer is pressing the flesh in locations like the coin-op on Highway 64, in the Countrywood sector of his district. Boyd is being touted by at least one large billboard on a major thoroughfare. And Easter-Thomas is networking big-time with organization Democrats and fellow District 7 candidates from the first round.

Further points: Boyd’s wheeler-dealer image is both a help and a hindrance. He may enjoy some credit for his efforts, say, in landing a dog park on Mud Island and arranging a FedEx presence in the vacated Gibson’s building Downtown, but he incurred conflict-of-interest allegations for his previously undisclosed contractual relationship with FedEx.

Easter-Thomas’ opportunity is the high-water mark for the 2019 version of the People’s Convention, and it was buttressed by her well-attended support rally last week from former District 7 candidates, political veterans (like the Rev. Bill Adkins), activists (e.g., AFL-CIO representative Jeffrey Lichtenstein), along with a huge turnout from the media on a rainy day.

Though Greer finished well behind Logan in the regular general election, his previous service with Congressmen Harold Ford Jr. and Steve Cohen makes for both a helpful and a practical association, and he has crossover support from the likes of GOP icon John Ryder.

Logan, president of the Raleigh Community Development Corporation, is a bona fide grassroots product, heavily boosted now as before by influential indigenous political figures, notably state Representative Antonio Parkinson.

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Politics Politics Feature

Sugarmon, Carlisle, Greer, and Logan Battle for Council Seats

Erika Sugarmon resembles her father, the late political and legal eminence Russell Sugarmon, in her determination to set aside initial setbacks as a candidate. The elder Sugarmon ran for a seat on the old Memphis City Commission back in the last days of Jim Crow. He didn’t make it, but persisted until, years later, he won elections for the state legislature and General Sessions Court.

His daughter is 0-for-1 as a candidate, having been a runner-up to Ford Canale last year in a special election for the Super District 9, Position 2, City Council seat. But that loss was a close one, and Erika Sugarmon’s second-place finish in a race where she was having to share an anti-establishment constituency with several other challengers was strong enough to encourage her to make a second try for the council.

This year, instead of taking another shot at Position 2 incumbent Canale, Sugarmon is going for the Position 1 seat in District 9. That’s an open seat, and, instead of six opponents, she has one — developer Chase Carlisle, whom she sees as one more specimen of an elitist constituency that is already over-represented on the council.

Photographs by Jackson Baker

Rhonda Logan (l), Sherman Greer

As she explained to a group of supporters at a fund-raising event at Halle Plantation in Collierville Saturday night, Sugarmon sees herself as a people’s candidate, proud to have several endorsements from labor groups. And, with a nod to her family tradition, she said, “I’m a fighter. I’m for Memphis first.”

She professes to be alarmed at the number of city contracts that go “outside our state” and wants to “keep the money in Memphis.” She talks up affordable housing, a more equitable awarding of city contracts, and the rights of citizens to have a greater say in matters of neighborhood development. These and other issues have a familiar ring in a council race. But Sugarmon has some specialty issues as well. She promises to pay specific heed to the needs of foster parents, the repurposing of the Mid-South Coliseum, and the plight of the hard of hearing, whom she sees as an underserved population.

Her concern for the latter was dramatized at the event Saturday night by a trio of young women who illustrated a musical number, “The Song of Peace,” with choreographed signing gestures, as well as by the fact that the remarks of Sugarmon, a social studies and government teacher at White Station High School, were “interpreted” for the audience in sign language by a White Station colleague Sherry McCrory at her side.

Sugarmon with signer McCrory

The attendees were treated also to offerings from a saxophonist and a ballet dancer and to a formal dinner. The settings may have seemed a bit elaborate, even eccentric, as did the venue, in a relatively remote section of suburban Collierville. But, as Sugarmon explained, “You go where you can.” She is somewhat at the mercy, as was the case on Saturday, of venues offered up as in-kind donations.

That was one reason for the location. Another was, quite simply, that she says she intends to carry her message to all corners of her sprawling super-district — from Idlewild to Raleigh to East Memphis to Hickory Hill. It remains to be seen if opponent Carlisle can match her visibility or chooses instead to run like various other well-funded candidates represented in the past by the Caissa consulting firm — via thickets of yard signs and heavy advertising.

• The council race in District 1, which is based in north Memphis, Frayser, and Raleigh, isn’t exactly a pure one-on-one like that between Sugarmon and Carlisle. There’s a “but” clause to that reality, though.

There are three candidates of record in District 1: Dawn Bonner, Rhonda Logan, and Sherman Greer, and the latter two are considered to be in a de facto one-on-one situation, with the greatest likelihood of ending up in a matchup against each other if the October 3rd vote totals require a runoff.

When it came time last year for the remaining council members to appoint replacements for colleagues who vacated their seats to assume other offices, Logan, it will be remembered, was the preferred candidate for the District 1 seat of various long-term activists in the city’s northern tier — notably state Representative Antonio Parkinson.

There were other applicants, though, and something of a stalemate set in among council members. In the final analysis, after weeks of indecision, the appointment went to Greer, who had a lengthy record of service as an aide to 9th District Congressman Harold Ford Jr., and later to Ford’s successor Steve Cohen.

Both Logan and Greer were on hand Monday for a ceremonial announcement by Parkinson and Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland of plans for a new Raleigh Farmers Market on a former storage site for the Tennessee Department of Transportation. The site may also include facilities for organized athletics and other community needs, said Parkinson, who emceed the ceremony and had largely brokered the project.

Logan was there as director of the Raleigh Community Development Corporation, as was Greer as councilman for the affected area. Both spoke at the event, and both were introduced by Parkinson, who noticeably stumbled over Greer’s name and made a point of profusely apologizing.

No harm, no foul — except that later, when Parkinson posted a video of the event on his Facebook page, he did so over the following text: “State Representative Antonio Parkinson, Rhonda Logan for Memphis City Council District 1, Willie Brooks For County Commission, Announce Plans for New Raleigh Farmers Market.”

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News News Blog

Boyd Says Not Voting for District 1 Seat Was Nonpartisan Move

Council chairman Berlin Boyd

Some members of the public have questioned Memphis City Council Chairman Berlin Boyd’s leadership during the council’s November 20th

attempt to fill the vacant District 1 seat, but Boyd said Thursday his decision not to vote was a measure to keep the decision nonpartisan.

A little over week after the council stood deadlocked on two candidates — Rhonda Logan and Lonnie Treadaway — Boyd released a statement saying he decided not to vote after the process “quickly became noticeably partisan in a nonpartisan body.”

“I decided early on that it was not prudent or appropriate for the chair to assert any influence on the process or vote on a matter that had the obvious potential to fall upon partisan lines,” Boyd said.

Boyd did vote for Treadaway a handful of times throughout the 100 rounds of voting, joining Council members Worth Morgan, Frank Colvett Jr., J. Ford Canale, Reid Hedgepeth, who were strong Tredaway supporters.

While, Logan was supported by Jamita Swearengen, Martavious Jones, Patrice Robinson, Joe Brown, Edmund Ford Jr., and Janis Fullilove.

Logan repeatedly received six votes — one shy of winning. While Treadaway averaged about three votes.

Boyd said when the meeting appeared to be getting out of hand and “there was no way we would get to seven votes for either candidate, he made efforts to adjourn the meeting so that “emotions could settle down and cooler heads could prevail at another meeting.”

The residents of District 1 deserve representation and a fair, nonpartisan process as set forth by the Charter of the city of Memphis, Boyd said.

“Again, I will be calling upon my fellow council members to allow their wisdom to supersede their emotions so that we can facilitate a smooth election process to fill these seats,” he said.

The chairman said he has not decided if he will be voting when the council picks up the process at its December 4th meeting.

“Leadership requires hard choices at times, and leading is exactly what I intend to do,” Boyd said.


The District 1 seat became vacant earlier this month after Bill Morrison resigned to serve as the Shelby County Probate Clerk.

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Letter From The Editor Opinion

End-Running the Voters on IRV

In 2008, Memphis voters overwhelmingly passed a referendum that limited city office-holders — including city council and the mayor — to two four-year terms. In that same election, voters also overwhelmingly passed a measure to institute instant runoff (ranked choice) voting in future elections.

Earlier this year, the current council, some of them looking at looming term limits, decided to try and end-run the voters’ will by putting three confusingly worded referenda on the November ballot that would have, if passed, extended term limits and eliminated instant runoff voting.

Thankfully, in the November election, voters saw through the power grab and overwhelmingly crushed the council’s attempt to deceive the public, reaffirming that they wanted to keep two-term limits and instant runoff voting.

But the council wasn’t through with its shenanigans. In the August county elections, three term-limited council members — Janis Fullilove, Edmund Ford Jr., and Bill Morrison — ran for county offices and won, leaving three seats on the 13-member council to be filled. The ethical thing for them to have done at that point would have been to resign their council seats, giving voters in those three districts a chance to select their new council representatives in the then-forthcoming November election.

But noooooo. All three councilmembers chose to take the full 90-day period allowed by law for them to resign. This meant two things: All three office-holders would draw two salaries for 90 days (Sweet!); and their replacements would be selected by the remaining council members, rather than by the voters in their districts.

Morrison, of District 1, was the first to resign, and last Tuesday, the council tried to fill his seat, needing votes from seven of the 12 remaining members in order to do it. After several hours and dozens of votes, they gave up and decided to try again next Tuesday, December 4th. The six black council members, minus council Chairman Berlin Boyd, supported Rhonda Logan, a Raleigh community activist. The white male country club caucus favored a fellow named Lonnie Treadaway — and therein lies a bit of a mystery.

If you haven’t heard of Treadaway, there’s a reason: He just moved here. He bought a house in District 1 in July, after moving from Senatobia, Mississippi, where, as recently as May 2017, he ran unsuccessfully as a Republican for alderman.

District 1 is a majority-black area comprised primarily of Raleigh and Berclair. The city of Memphis is two-thirds African-American and votes heavily Democratic. So why would anyone think a white Republican who moved to town five months ago from Mississippi would be a suitable representative on the Memphis City Council? Precisely because he’s a white Republican would be the correct answer. And if you think Treadaway moved into the less-than-luxe Raleigh neighborhood for any other reason than to try to fill a soon-to-be-vacant council seat, I’ve got a good deal on a storefront lease in Raleigh Springs Mall for you. The Treadaway gambit was in the works way before last Tuesday’s vote.

Next Tuesday, it gets even more interesting, as the resignations of Fullilove and Ford will be in effect, leaving just 10 council members to pick three vacant seats. Obtaining the needed seven votes on anything from these folks will involve serious deal-making. Will Treadaway win a seat in next week’s council poker game? Who knows? I wouldn’t be shocked. If I lived in District 1, I would be outraged.

I do know this: Democracy isn’t supposed to work like this. Incumbents aren’t supposed to be able to appoint their friends to public office. City council members shouldn’t gain office as the result of deal-making between their soon-to-be colleagues. Elected officials are supposed to be — wait for it — elected.

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Politics Politics Feature

The Council Deadlock

On Tuesday, November 20th, when the Memphis City Council began to vote on a replacement for Bill Morrison, the District 1 councilman elected on August 2nd to serve as Probate Court clerk, the racial distribution on the council effectively shifted from a 7-6 African-American majority to one, for voting purposes, of 7-5.

Hold on to that fact for a few paragraphs of background.

Though the population of District 1 is a black-majority one, voting habits have made that gap more or less marginal, and Morrison, a white educator, had little trouble winning reelection since his first win in 2007, that one stemming from  a runoff victory over Stephanie Gatewood, an African-American candidate.

Given the district’s ambivalent demographic factors, it is hard to argue that a “gentleman’s-agreement” circumstance should have mandated a white-for-white replacement in the appointment process. It would be just as easy, if not easier, to suggest that District 1’s majority-black status calls for a credentialed African-American candidate to serve on an interim basis until next October’s regular election process can account for the election of someone to serve a full four-year term.

The elephant in this room is that special replacement elections on the regular November ballot, at negligible cost to taxpayers, could have been facilitated by the timely resignations of Morrison and two other council members who won elections to county positions in the August 2nd general election — District 8, Position 2 Council member Janis Fullilove, now Juvenile Court clerk, and District 6 member Edmund Ford Jr., now a member of the Shelby County Commission.

For whatever reason, all three county election victors chose to push their council incumbencies to the maximum 90-day post-election limit permitted by the city charter, thereby stifling the prospect of their replacement by constituent voters in November and making necessary an appointment process overseen by the remaining council members — already under suspicion, here and there, of tendencies toward bloc voting and collusion.

A note thereto: Current chair Berlin Boyd, an African American, has earned a reputation for siding consistently with the business-friendly, development-minded council bloc largely made up of the body’s white members.

Indeed, such votes go more toward defining Boyd’s profile than racial factors do, and he was the target of barbs from other black council members last Tuesday when he declined to add his vote, which would have been the seventh and deciding one, to the total acquired, over and over in the council’s more than 100 separate tallies, by District 1 applicant Rhonda Logan.

Lonnie Treadaway, Rhonda Logan

Consequently, Logan, president of the Raleigh Community Development Corporation and an African American, was unable to win a majority, while her main opponent, Flinn Broadcasting executive Lonnie Treadaway, a white man, topped out at a maximum of  five votes from white council members and, upon occasion, one from Boyd.

And now, with a new council vote scheduled for December 4th to fill the Morrison vacancy and Fullilove’s and Ford’s as well, that 7 to 5 ratio in which Boyd’s could have been the deciding vote is no more. The new arithmetic will be 5-5, an even ratio suggesting that, if the white and black members of the council continue to vote as racial blocs (as, for all practical purposes, they did last week), they will, in theory, have an equal chance of prevailing.

The fact is, though, that  two of Logan’s votes — those of Fullilove and Ford — will be gone, while all of Treadaway’s previous votes will still presumably be available, and there is no reason to suppose that his candidacy is anything but live and well.

It is fair to say that eyebrows were raised by Treadaway’s bid, given the well-publicized fact that Treadaway ran for an alderman’s position last year in Senatobia, Mississippi (“a community that all would be proud to call home,” his campaign literature proclaimed, along with the statement of fact that he had lived in that city’s Ward 4 for 16 years).

It is also fair to say that a cloud of suspicion for the origin of Treadaway’s ambition immediately fell upon Flinn Broadcasting general counsel Shea Flinn, a former councilman who later became a prominent Chamber of Commerce executive and promoter of various strategies to accelerate the economic growth of the Memphis community.

Flinn makes no secret of his confidence in the abilities and sense of purpose of Treadaway, Flinn Broadcasting’s national sales manager for many years (“Yeah, I support him”) but disclaims any responsibility for his council bid.

“I’m trying to live a Christian life. I’m steering clear of politics,” protests Flinn, a family man with children who also happens to be both a political natural and a wit of some talent.

He and other supporters of Treadaway note that their man has worked in Memphis for at least 20 years, now indisputably lives in District 1, and, they say, has a keen desire to serve the community.

Much the same is proclaimed by supporters of Logan, whose website describes her as a “community developer” and quotes her as saying, “My life’s work is devoted to counseling, advocacy, & help.”

For the record, she, like Treadaway, is a transplant to District 1, having lived much of her life elsewhere, though in the city of Memphis.

There’s no law of nature saying that the contest for District 1 must be restricted to one of Treadaway versus Logan, though those were the lines that held through multiple hours of balloting last Tuesday night.

Flinn offers the thought that the balance of forces on December 4th, when the council will try again, to select representatives for three council seats, not just one, will enforce the necessity for compromise, since neither side will be able to impose its will without enticing votes from the other side.

Given the demographics of the three districts in question, the question will likely turn on whether three new African-American members will be named, creating an 8 to 5 black majority on the council, or two African Americans plus one new white member, which would keep the present ratio intact.

In the long run, meaning by next October’s city general election, the same issue will be up for resolution again. That is, if the council meanwhile is able to name anyone at all to fill the three vacancies. Some observers are already imagining scenarios emerging from the current deadlock that will result in a special called election, after all — one that the taxpayers will be on the hook for, and one that may decide whether the city is governed by an economic vanguard or anew, from the grass roots.