Community leaders say Memphis mayoral runoffs are necessary to not 'dilute' Black vote

Samuel Hardiman, Memphis Commercial Appeal
·3 min read

Local community leaders delivered a harsh critique Monday of how the Memphis City Council conducted its redistricting process and then offered alternatives for how the city should choose its leaders — including 13 single-member council districts and runoffs in city elections.

The discussion of how Memphis should be governed came during a news conference at the Memphis Branch of the NAACP where leaders criticized the recent redistricting of Memphis City Council seats ahead of a special election for one seat Nov. 8

Backed by local community leaders, City Councilwoman Michalyn Easter-Thomas urged her colleagues on the City Council to create a citizen redistricting committee — something she's advocated for more than a year.

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"I implore my colleagues to support this effort as the public requests," Easter-Thomas said, noting that new council chairman Martavius Jones supports the redistricting committee.

The City Council reconfigured its seven single-member districts last week. The new maps' passage came hurriedly ahead of the special election to fill the vacant District 4 seat, which Jamita Swearengen vacated Aug. 9.

The public did not see the maps, which longtime City Council attorney Allan Wade drew until they were voted on. That process led to Easter-Thomas and a bevy of community leaders calling a news conference Monday where the conversation turned to who should hold power in Memphis.

"We'll advocate for 13 single-member districts... I don't think anybody will mind me saying I'm also part of a group that's going to be advocating for [50% plus one] and not just for City Council. This should also be done across the board since the City Council collectively was unable to pass a resolution that would have made municipal elections partisan as they should be," Rev. Earle Fisher, head of UPTheVote901, a voter advocacy group, said Monday.

Memphis City Councilwoman Michalyn Easter-Thomas center discusses redistricting Monday at a news conference. She was joined by Vickie Terry (right), executive director of the Memphis NAACP, activist LJ Abraham (far right). And from left, Cardell Orrin of Stand for Children, Kermit Moore of A Philip Randolph Institute, Ian Randolph of the NAACP and Earle Fisher.

Fisher's comments included an acknowledgment of what until now had only been subtext in the conversation about whether mayoral elections should return to runoffs. There is concern that a race without runoffs could mean a white mayor for a majority Black city.

The City Council voted down a referendum ordinance on Aug. 9 that would've set an election for Nov. 8 about whether voters wanted Memphis municipal elections. At its meeting last week, on Aug. 23, the City Council opted against approving the minutes for that item and instead held the item.

The Commercial Appeal first reported last week that the delay would allow the City Council to use that referendum ordinance, formerly about partisan elections, as a vehicle to put runoff elections on the Nov. 8 ballot. Fisher described the ordinance as the next step.

"The next step would have been [to pass] the resolution for partisan elections because you don't have to worry about the dilution of the black vote in a city that's majority black 65% Black. If that's not going to happen, then now you have to deal with whatever means are left," Fisher said.  "And I would hope that the city council finds a way to include the community in the redistricting process.... and finds a way to stop the dilution of the black vote in Memphis [by] at the very least, implementing the runoff provisions."

Fisher said runoffs could prevent a "minority candidate" from being elected the next mayor.

"What you at least want is an equitable representation that we can't seem to accomplish as it looks right now. The elephant in the room is umpteen Black candidates preparing to run for mayor in 2023 with the likelihood of one minority candidate — minority being white in this case because the city of Memphis is majority black," Fisher said.

Samuel Hardiman covers Memphis city government and politics for The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached by email at samuel.hardiman@commercialappeal.com or followed on Twitter at @samhardiman. 

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Leaders pushes for Memphis mayoral runoffs to protect Black vote