The Daily Memphian On the Record

We are joined by Doctor Earl Fisher, co-founder of the Memphis People's Convention.

The Daily Memphian's Sam Hardiman sits down with Cole Perry of Perry Strategies, which worked on Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland's two campaigns. Perry shares his insight on the crowded 2023 race and peels back the layers on what a successful campaign looks like.

Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris talks about the defeat of his wheel tax proposal on The Daily Memphian's "On The Record" podcast and says he is still pushing for county financing of the rebuilding of the Regional One Health campus.

He would be a heavy underdog in the general election were he to win the Democratic nomination. 

County Commission Budget Committee Chairman Michael Whaley talks about the proposed doubling of the county's capital budget on The Daily Memphian's "On The Record" podcast.

Nine years ago this month all trolleys stopped running following a fire on the Madison line. Nine years later, the Riverfront loop and Madison Avenue line are still down. MATA's chief development officer talks about the delay on The Daily Memphian's "On The Record" podcast.

Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland said this week the results of a federal investigation will show whether Tyre Nichols' death was part of broader cultural issues in the Memphis Police Department. 

As a final county commission vote nears on a timeline for a green fleet on county government vehicles, there are a lot of questions about the aggressive timeline the county administration is setting toward the goal over the next decade.

CLERB chairman James Kirkwood talks in The Daily Memphian's "On The Record" podcast about the review board's possible role in investigating allegations of police misconduct, pending legislation in Nashville.

Three contenders reported raising $300,000 or better in the first report of the mayor's race. J.W. Gibson talked on The Daily Memphian's "On The Record" podcast about his mix of contributions with self financing and why he wants to depart from outgoing Mayor Jim Strickland's "brilliant at the basics" theme.

City Council weighs Philadelphia police reform.

Who gets county tax delinquent properties?

Strickland said, on The Daily Memphian's "On The Record" podcast that an outside review of MPD's special units will likely determine if police culture needs to change or if more police training is the answer. 

Next week, a specially equipped vehicle will begin a drive around of the city collecting data for later analysis on potholes and the condition of streets. The data will be analyzed to find and repair stretches of road for immediate action. The city is also experimenting with artificial intelligence that could make calling in reports of potholes a thing of the past.

U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen talks about the new Republican majority in the U.S. House and the prospects for bipartisanship.

The cofounder of the People's Convention says a 2023 edition of the gathering could serve to whittle down the field in this year's race for Memphis Mayor.

The certified vote totals from the November election show an increase in the number of provisional ballots cast and counted compared to the August elections. The votes added didn't change any of the outcomes on the November ballot, but they did boost the turnout to 34.4%.

The Daily Memphian's "On The Record" podcast takes closer look at the unofficial results in the Tuesday Nov. 8 election and finds a lackluster show of support for the Democratic nominee for Governor in the bluest county in the state as well as interesting numbers from the four amendments to the state constitution.

Shelby County elections administrator Linda Phillips and Ian Randolph of the Shelby County Voter Alliance talked about the low turnout on The Daily Memphian's "On The Record" podcast. 

The Daily Memphian's "On The Record" podcast takes a closer look at the numbers in the certified vote totals from August, previews the nearly complete November ballot and features a few political notes.

The unofficial voter turnout in  Shelby County for the August 2022 big ballot election was the lowest for the election cycle since partisan county primaries began. None of the changes in totals changed outcomes in races. The Daily Memphian's "On The Record" podcast looks at the totals from several key races and compares the vote totals of candidates across elections for the same office.

Beyond the vote totals, politicos will be considering what a Smiley victory in the Democratic primary for Governor could mean for the statewide Democratic strategy and whether the Republican strategy of trying to keep the GOP's May county primaries unopposed worked or backfired in August.

Here is The Daily Memphian's guide to who is who in the 57 contested and retention judicial races on the August ballot included endorsements and polling by the city's two bar associations.

The "big ballot" that comes once every eight years in Shelby County politics has arrived with the Friday, July 15, start of the early voting period. Here are the stakes in the 163 races with 344 candidates and what has changed for voters.

Chief operating officer Doug McGowen talks about the city's study of a long range plan for Mud Island River Park 40 years after it opened.