Election Day
It’s Election Day, and there’s an important countywide contest on the ballot.
More about that below, but first — if you did not vote early, please vote today.
Voting is 7am to 7pm. Find your polling place at https://tnmap.tn.gov/voterlookup/.
Tell a friend.
Supporting Lisa Arnold
We stand together. Recently, all four Republican commissioners joined with other community leaders for a news conference to endorse Lisa Arnold, our party’s nominee for General Sessions Court Clerk.
Lisa Arnold has more than 30 years of experience working in our courts, making her one of the most highly qualified candidates ever — for this or any other local office.
For Lisa Arnold, this role is not just a stepping stone to higher office or to political gain. This is her life’s work.
Lisa Arnold has worked in management roles under both Republican and Democratic administrations. She is the independent leader we need to speed up our system of justice.
Memphis has one of the nation’s highest rates of violent crime, making it that much more important that our courts are running with as much efficiency, accuracy and transparency as possible.
On day one, Lisa Arnold will step into this role with all the knowledge it takes to run the office.
I’m not worried at all about Lisa Arnold’s readiness. I’m not worried about her electability. I’m not worried that Lisa can’t win.
What worries me is low voter participation. Only 8% of registered voters participated during early voting, on track for turnout to DROP BY HALF from last time.
If you participate in this election, we win. Simple as that.
Do your job. Vote.
Back to school
The county’s school district is in much better shape as school starts back this month, thanks to the bold leadership of MSCS Superintendent Dr. Marie Feagins.
I was proud to join the transition team for Dr. Feagins and to join her for a celebration of her first 100 days, where we released our report. Here’s a clip from a video promo that aired during the event.
It’s encouraging to see the headlines this new superintendent is generating:
- ‘Abuse of overtime’ cost Memphis district $1M, superintendent says
- MSCS quickly filling vacancies
- Feagins leading big changes at MSCS
May these good trends continue!
New chair elected
Each year the board of commissioners selects a chair and vice chair to run our meetings.
I’ve written before about our leadership elections, and it remains concerning that our bipartisan tradition has been broken. In short, I argue that we all lose something by abandoning this practice, but the ones who lose the most are those who fail to learn from the other side.
This year the board chose District 13 Commissioner Michael Whaley as Chair. He did not secure a majority until the 3rd round of balloting, and only with some crossover Republican support. I hope that fact carries some weight as he leads us this year.
Upcoming meetings
Aug 7 — Standing Committee Meetings, 8:30 a.m.
Aug 12 — Commission meeting, 3 p.m.
Aug 21 — Standing Committee Meetings, 8:30 a.m.
Aug 26 — Commission meeting, 3 p.m.
Book club
This month I couldn’t help but fire up the book club feature again to shine a spotlight on a new title by my brilliant cousin, Daniel Wright. Long a scholar of our 30th U.S. President, Daniel’s latest work is called “Salient Cal’s America.” Give it a read.
Stay in touch
If you have a question or concern, email me at mick.wright@shelbycountytn.gov.
You can speak with the Commission office by calling 901-222-1000.
I welcome your feedback on Facebook @CommissionerMickWright and X @mickwright.
Thanks for reading.
Mick Wright
Shelby County Commission – District 3