Lee budget assigns 20 more troopers to Shelby County
Gov. Bill Lee says his budget proposal would assign 20 more Tennessee Highway Patrol troopers to Shelby County to help stem crime rates.
Here’s the release from the governor’s office:
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced his proposed budget will fund 20 additional Tennessee Highway Patrol troopers for Shelby County as the administration focuses on proven crime prevention methods and addressing law enforcement staff shortages.
Gov. Lee will be in Memphis on Thursday, March 3, to do a ride-along with the Tennessee Highway Patrol and Memphis Police Department with a brief media avail to follow.
“Violent crime has no place in Tennessee, period. To immediately strengthen public safety, we have to invest in evidence-based crime prevention methods and continue efforts to recruit and retain qualified law enforcement officers,” said Gov. Lee. “I commend the Memphis Police Department for their work to protect neighborhoods across the city and look forward to our continued partnership.”
Gov. Lee’s Fiscal Year 22-33 budget proposes key public safety investments, including proven crime prevention methods to directly support Memphis and Shelby County:
— 20 additional Tennessee Highway Patrol troopers for Shelby County funded 100% by the state.
— Creation of a $150 million Violent Crime Intervention Fund for law enforcement agencies across the state to invest in evidence-based programming and resources.
— $30 million to support relocation bonuses for out-of-state police officers seeking to move to Tennessee.
— Expansion of state funding for law enforcement basic training and increasing the frequency of training for new recruits.
— Access to a statewide hiring portal that includes qualified law enforcement recruits from outside of Tennessee who are looking to relocate.
Read more about Gov. Lee’s statewide public safety agenda here.
State Supreme Court agrees to hear appeal over school voucher law
The State Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to hear an appeal of lower court rulings that Gov. Bill Lee’s signature school voucher to be unconstitutional.
Nashville Chancellor Anne Martin ruled in May that the law violated home rule provisions of the Tennessee Constitution by applying to only Nashville and Shelby County school districts without seeking support from either voters or local legislative bodies. The state sought a direct appeal to the Supreme Court but the justices declined to bypass the intermediate Court of Appeals, which unanimously upheld Martin’s original ruling.
Attorneys for Nashville and Shelby County governments argued the Supreme Court shouldn’t take up the appeal because the defendants hadn’t brought new arguments about the case. The state maintains home rule protections shouldn’t apply because school boards are separate from the operations of county governments.
The Supreme Court case will be closely watched as home rule disputes are only expected to multiply as rural-urban tensions largely match the partisan divide in the state.
Here’s a primer on the history of the home rule amendment from The Tennessee Journal in May 2020:
The subject of extending greater home rule powers was the subject of the greatest debate at a 1953 constitutional convention, but opposition failed to materialize at the ballot box as the change was approved with over 70% of the vote. The overwhelming approval reflected a sentiment summed up in an editorial in the Knoxville News Sentinel at the time that the change was needed to “make it tough on city charter meddlers in Nashville.”
State Supreme Court Justice A.B. Neil told the delegates to the constitutional convention the home rule question would be key to their deliberations. The General Assembly had handed down “too much unwise local legislation” over the years, the justice said, adding that many of those acts had “no merit other than to serve the basest ends in partisan politics.”
In a historical twist, the president of the 1953 constitutional convention was Prentice Cooper, a former governor who opposed the home rule amendment. Cooper, who died in 1969, was the father of Nashville Mayor John Cooper, who has led the charge to dismantle the voucher law on the basis of home rule violations.
Healthcare startup’s simulation finds most critical coronavirus cases in Shelby, Knox
Source: Carrot Health COVID-19 Critical Infection Risk Dashboard
Shelby and Knox counties are likely to have the most critical — and fatal — cases of coronavirus in Tennessee, according to simulations by Carrot Health.
The estimates are based on scientific research analyzed against the healthcare startup’s database of demographic and behavior data on every adult in the country.
Under Carrot Health’s simulations, 529,915 Tennesseans will be infected, or 10% of the total adult population. About 27,580 cases, or 5.2%, will become critical, resulting in 5,517 mortalities.
Here’s what the projections find for the five most affected counties:
| Adult population | Simulated critical cases | Simulated mortalities | |
| Shelby | 745,963 | 3,445 | 689 |
| Knox | 361,225 | 2,014 | 402 |
| Davidson | 504,611 | 1,704 | 341 |
| Hamilton | 291,970 | 1,571 | 314 |
| Sullivan | 136,685 | 1,321 | 264 |
See Carrot Health’s full Covid-19 Critical Infection Risk Dashboard here. Simulations can be adjusted based on critical infection and mortality rates.
Sen. Reginald Tate’s primary opponent endorsed by Democratic colleagues, citing his siding with GOP in legislative voting
Two of state Sen. Reginald Tate’s Democratic colleagues from Memphis – Sens. Lee Harris and Sara Kyle – have endorsed his primary opponent as he seeks reelection, reports the Commercial Appeal, adding that’s a break with tradition and “a consequence of siding with Republicans on hot-button issues like defunding Planned Parenthood.”
Democrat Lee Harris, Republican David Lenoir win Shelby County mayor nominations
Senate Democratic Leader Lee Harris won the Democratic nomination for mayor of Shelby County on Tuesday while David Lenoir, now county trustee, won the Republican nomination, according to final unofficial returns.
Harris, who is not seeking reelection to his state Senate seat, defeated former county commissioner Sidney Chism 34,081 votes to 10,425 votes in the Democratic primary. The GOP primary was also lopsided with Lenoir collecting 18,408 votes to 8,655 for runner-up Terry Roland in the three-candidate contest.
Shelby GOP disavows local candidate with ties to white nationalist group
The Shelby County Republican Party is disavowing Keith Alexander, the property assessor candidate with white nationalist ties, reports the Commercial Appeal. Alexander’s name has been dropped from membership roll and a $25 donation he made was refunded.
And, if Alexander wins Tuesday’s primary election, local GOP Chairman Lee Mills would want Alexander removed and candidate Robert “Chip” Trouy to fill the Republican spot in the August county general election.. Alexander and Trouy are the only Republicans seeking the party’s nod for assessor.
Lenoir holds money lead in Shelby County mayor race
David Lenoir, a candidate for the Republican nomination for Shelby County mayor, raised $232,740 over the past six months to keep his financial lead in what will likely be a costly political slugfest, reports The Commercial Appeal.
Lenoir, who currently serves as the county trustee, had $345,438 tucked away in his campaign treasury as of Jan. 15, according to his campaign finance disclosure. Behind him, Republican Juvenile Court Clerk Joy Touliatos raised $125,558 and loaned herself another $115,000 as she tried to close the gap ahead of the May 1 primary election.
Shelby County Commissioner Terry Roland, the third candidate hoping to win the Republican primary, raised $32,165 and spent $24,900, leaving him with $16,319.
On the Democratic side of the race, Sen. Lee Harris reported a balance of $92,259 after raising $108,486 and spending $16,227, blowing past primary opponent Sidney Chism, who raised $10,550 and spent $2,442 to end the period at $8,107.
Bank of Bartlett President Harold Byrd, whose disclosure shows only $750 in contributions, confirmed Thursday that he will not enter the Democratic primary after flirting with the idea for months.
GOP leader Bill Giannini killed in I-40 traffic accident
Bill Giannini, former deputy commissioner of the state Department of Commerce and Insurance and former Shelby County Republican chairman, was killed in an Interstate 40 traffic accident between Jackson and Nashville on Thursday, reports the Commercial Appeal.
Shelby mayor files lawsuit against county commission chair over opioid crisis lawsuit
Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell’s administration has sued Board of Commissioners chairwoman Heidi Shafer in Chancery Court, challenging her hiring of a law firm last week to hire to sue pharmaceutical companies over the county’s opioid crisis, reports the Commercial Appeal.
In a news conference Tuesday, Luttrell said he was “irked” by Shafer’s decision to hire New York-based Napoli Shkolnik, the law firm known for winning a huge class-action settlement for sick Ground Zero workers, among others. He repeatedly emphasized that her action was “unilateral,” without input from the full commission or administration, and claimed she violated the county charter by usurping executive branch authority.
Shelby School Board joins Nashville board in defying state order to give student data to charter schoos
The Shelby County School board voted Tuesday night to defy an order from state Education Commissioner Candice McQueen requiring that student contact information be turned over to charter schools, reports Chalkbeat Tennessee.
The board’s action means Tennessee’s largest district more than likely will be sued by the state of Tennessee. On Oct. 18, the state sued Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools after its board declined to hand over information to three state-run charter schools.
A spokeswoman for Tennessee’s Department of Education said the state will evaluate its options in the wake of the board’s vote.
“We are disappointed by this decision from the Shelby County Schools Board of Education as we in good faith provided the district with additional time to comply,” said spokeswoman Chandler Hopper.
The vote came after members discussed their legal options with the district’s top lawyer during a closed executive session. At issue: Whether to stick by the board’s earlier resolution to be in solidarity with Nashville’s board, or to turn over the information after giving parents the chance to opt out. (About 7,700 Memphis families met this week’s opt-out deadline set by Superintendent Dorsey Hopson.)
Board member Chris Caldwell offered up an amendment stating that the Memphis board will not comply with Green Dot’s request. The vote was unanimous, with two members absent.
