First, I just wanted to express my sincere appreciation for those who supported our campaign for Memphis City Council Super District 8 Position 1. Because of your support, we were able to get our message out and reach the breadth of Super District 8. There is no doubt in my mind that this directly contributed to our win on election day. From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU. I look forward to serving the City of Memphis well.
Read MoreI am deeply grateful to Future 901 for encouraging my candidacy and then supporting me when I chose to run. I started the race hoping to bring a physician’s perspective to our council; i.e., listening, thinking and then making a diagnosis and plan. I promised to be flexible and willing to change course as new facts and conditions arose. That was the gist of my candidacy. Early in the race I heard a compelling interview with a professor from Harvard who had studied how communities can lower violent crime rates, especially murder rates.
Read MoreEarly Voting Starts Today for Municipal Elections!
That means you’ll be voting for Mayor, City Council, Municipal Judges and Court Clerk. With City Council, you’ll be voting for FOUR different council members! You have your regular City Council District and then you get to vote for THREE positions in either Super District 8 or 9. Here’s a map to find your super district:
Read More2020 will be one of the most pivotal races in US history. The Presidential race obviously draws the most attention, but of equal importance are the ramifications for the 50 state legislatures that will face redistricting following the upcoming census. The focus will be on Presidential swing states, but progressives ignore legislative races in the other states at their peril.
Read MoreIn November, 2016, I was unexpectedly elected as the Tennessee State Representative in District 96 (Cordova, Germantown). This article will give some insight into some of the aspects of learning to be a legislator outside of just passing bills. I hope it will help others to understand some of the behind the scenes things that aid in becoming a successful office holder.
Read MoreThe South (Tennessee included) has a poverty problem. Even with an economy that has solid unemployment numbers, our citizens aren’t rising out of poverty. Why that is the case involves a lot of factors ranging from lack of affordable healthcare to lack of enough good jobs paying a living wage or better consistently throughout the state. However, I want to talk about one obvious cause of perpetuating poverty that gets no attention in Nashville: predatory lending. Equally as important, I want to talk about why this problem gets no attention.
Read MoreGovernor Lee, We engage in a moral struggle for hearts, minds and souls over ideas. In the New Testament, Paul in Ephesians referred to it as a battle against powers and principalities, and the spiritual forces of evil. We must take it seriously when the governor of a state salutes a day as Nathan Bedford Forrest Day.
Read MoreRead Mayor Lee Harris's speech regarding FY2020 budget, which "proposes we make investments in education and kids, expand workforce development opportunities, continue the work of criminal justice reforms, and focus on public safety."
Read MoreInstead of Forrest, let’s focus on a forgotten hero from our state’s history that we can all admire. Let us hold up a Tennessean that everyone should agree is worthy of praise. We should be honoring Marine Commandant Clifton Cates. As impressive as his personal heroism was in WWI, he was an equally impressive commander in WWII. He was given command of the 1st Marines at Guadalcanal. It was his command that oversaw the marines raising the flag at Iwo Jima. Basically, if there was gut wrenching fighting to be done in the Pacific, the US sent the Marines and the Marines sent Clifton Cates.
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