Elections
Memphis voters to decide five ballot questions in 2024
Here’s a look at the five referendums Memphis voters will decide in 2024 that, if approved, would change future elections.
Bill Dries
Reporter
Bill Dries covers city and county government and politics. He is a native Memphian and has been a reporter for almost 50 years covering a wide variety of stories from the 1977 death of Elvis Presley and the 1978 police and fire strikes to numerous political campaigns, every county mayor and every Memphis Mayor starting with Wyeth Chandler.
There are 4212 articles by Bill Dries :
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December 2023
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City of MemphisA look back at the major decisions by this term’s City Council members
The four-year term of the Memphis City Council is at an end. The Daily Memphian’s Council Scorecard has chronicled 158 critical decisions by the body over that term. Here are the most critical decisions ones.
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Shelby CountyWheel-tax hike, Wanda Halbert top list of 2023’s County Commission votes
A $25 wheel-tax hike tops the annual list of significant votes by the Shelby County Commission. The vote had a ripple effect on the 13-member body from electing a new chair to a special prosecutor investigating County Clerk Wanda Halbert.
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Shelby County Special prosecutor in Halbert case sets up shop in county building
Shelby County Commissioner Mick Wright said Wednesday, Dec. 27, he is in the process of drafting a formal complaint against Wanda Halbert for the special prosecutor’s office in Chattanooga to consider.
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City of Memphis Council Scorecard: MLGW rate hike, stadium deal, council health benefits
The last City Council Scorecard of the year includes a pay raise for the new mayor, another ballot question for 2024 and several items for the new council to decide.
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Behind The Headlines Chamber’s take: I-55 replacement bridge a better bet than a third one
The economic development chief of the Greater Memphis Chamber says on “Behind The Headlines” that a replacement bridge is a much faster path forward. Plus, she talks about actively courting another automaker to the region.
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Shelby County No formal complaints in Wanda Halbert probe, special prosecutor says
Hamilton County District Attorney General Coty G. Wamp, in a letter to Shelby County commissioners, says the investigation has been slow moving with unreturned phone calls and denied records requests that she says violate state law.
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Shelby County Ford v. Lowery case dismissed
The case of one county commissioner against another was dismissed in court Wednesday, Dec. 20.
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City of Memphis Fresh council to decide on council members’ city benefits ballot question
If approved, members who serve two terms, or eight years, would get city health benefits for life. The council also approved a pay raise for incoming Mayor Paul Young and put a fifth referendum on the August 2024 ballot.
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City nails down Brooks Museum agreement, delays vote on Chickasaw Gardens gates
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City of Memphis City nails down Brooks Museum agreement, delays vote on Chickasaw Gardens gates
Memphis City Council heard oppositions to the new Memphis Art Museum before giving the green light to an agreement with the Brooks Museum to run it and punted a vote on closing two streets in Chickasaw Gardens.
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State Government Memphis-Arkansas Bridge, often called the ‘Old Bridge’, to be replaced
TDOT announced a plan to rebuild the I-55 bridge over the Mississippi River with funding from Gov. Bill Lee’s $3.3 billion Transportation Modernization Act.
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Shelby County County Commission approves jail mental health funding but with doubts
Shelby County commissioners also funded 21 new “youth development specialist” positions at Memphis-Shelby County Juvenile Court, and a rugby field for Memphis Inner City Rugby.
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City of Memphis City Council to vote on pay raise for mayor, health benefits for themselves
The Memphis City Council ends its term with a vote on a proposed extension of health benefits for some departing members and on a 2024 ballot question, allowing the body to set the pay for its members.
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Shelby County Final 2023 Shelby County Commission meeting foretells issues in new year
The Shelby County Commission’s final meeting of 2023 will review contract extensions for health care services at the jail and juvenile detention facilities along with a grant for the Memphis Inner-City Rugby program.
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North MemphisNorthside Square represents new life for an old school — and so much more
The $78 million redevelopment of the old Northside High School comes with an ambitious plan to bring back the surrounding Klondike subdivision from decades of blight.
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Shelby CountyFord’s bid for temporary protective order against fellow commissioner denied
Shelby County Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr.’s request for a temporary order of protection from fellow commissioner Mickell Lowery has been denied — at least for now.
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City of Memphis Paul Young says MPD Chief Davis will stay
“We’ve had a number of dialogues over the past couple of months, and I feel confident that she can and will be able to lead us into a better space with regards to public safety.”
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Shelby County Clerk Joe Brown draws five challengers in March primaries
The March 5 primary is Shelby County’s first election of 2024 and is topped by Tennessee’s presidential primary. The race for General Sessions Court clerk is the only countywide position on the ballot in 2024.
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City of MemphisHow the idea for Memphis-Atlanta passenger rail was resurrected
Memphis wasn’t part of original expansion plans for passenger-rail service in and through Tennessee. But connecting Memphis to Nashville would also give travelers New Orleans and Chicago.
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State Government Gov. Lee and Speaker Sexton defend expanded school vouchers in Frayser
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and state House Speaker Cameron Sexton say the fine print of a new, expanded school-voucher bill will include accountability standards for private schools and home-schooled students.
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Neighborhoods New Lester Community Center breaks ground in Binghampton on familiar turf
The new community center, scheduled to open in 2025, is just yards away from the existing community center, which is one of the most used in the Memphis Parks system.
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Arts & Culture Mempho gives new May music festival its name
The music festival by Mempho Presents is May 3-5, 2024, with a lineup expected early next year.
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Business Epicenter awards first three small business fellowships
The fellowships come with a $65,000 stipend for each of the three recipients funded by federal community grants.
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Shelby CountyCounty commission dispute escalates to court protection order
County Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr. is seeking a court order of protection against fellow commissioner Mickell Lowery after the two exchanged words in August. Attorneys are seeking to seal the order and the details of Ford’s legal motion.
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Metro Memphis-Nashville passenger-rail line gets $500K federal grant
“Once this service is in operation, much of the country will be accessible by rail from Memphis,” said U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn. “This is a very big deal.”
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