Next Memphis City Council will have familiar faces, member who was once banned from meetings

The next Memphis City Council will feature many familiar faces, but new figures to the legislative body — including a member who was once banned from council meetings — could shake things up.

Three of the council’s members are yet to be determined, with those races, including one featuring an incumbent, headed to a Nov. 16 runoff.

Incumbents Rhonda Logan, Jana Swearengen-Washington, Edmund Ford Sr., JB Smiley Jr., Chase Carlisle, J. Ford Canale and Jeff Warren will return to their seats next year, meaning the majority of the council will already be familiar with the city and the council’s work.

Incumbent Michalyn Easter-Thomas is headed to a runoff with Jimmy Hassan, but her 3,936 votes to Hassan’s 1,471 indicate she is likely to also return to her seat.

Returning to the council will be Philip Spinosa, taking the seat vacated by Worth Morgan, who could not run again due to term limits. Spinosa defeated opponents Meggan Wurzburg Kiel and Luke Hatler to take the District 5 seat but isn’t a new face on the council. He was on the council from 2015-2018, before stepping down to join the Chairman’s Circle at the Greater Memphis Chamber of Commerce.

“I plan to bring a renewed sense of positive energy, a track record of collaboration and getting things accomplished,” Spinosa said in a text message. “I can’t wait to work with the mayor and council members again. It’s a tough job, and when we all support each other and work together, we can actually make a positive difference in the lives of all Memphians. My number one goal will be addressing public safety for all Memphians and ensuring our families and communities are safe.”

Janika White, who won the seat for Super District 8, Position 2, defeating Marion Latroy Alexander-Williams Jr. and Davin D. Clemons, is also a well-known figure in Memphis. In 2022, she ran for Shelby County District Attorney, losing in the Democratic primary to Steve Mulroy. She later became special counsel for the Shelby County Commission, a role she continues today. That seat will be vacated by Cheyenne Johnson, who supported White’s campaign.

White said that on the Council, she hopes to become a good “sounding board” for her colleagues, someone who asks questions, does analysis and tries to make “the best decision possible.”

“What I hope to bring to the council is a fresh perspective, but also a collaboration of us creating new and better and more effective ways for our constituents to communicate with us and engage,” White said.

A more unusual figure joining the council is Yolanda Cooper-Sutton, who was once banned by Council Chairman Martavius Jones from attending several meetings during heated discussions about police reform. Jones, who is term-limited, currently holds the seat that Cooper-Sutton will take.

Cooper-Sutton, who ran a grassroots campaign to seek the seat representing Super District 8, Position 3, defeated former City Councilman Berlin Boyd, well-known organizer Jerred Price and four other candidates.

Cooper-Sutton requested that The Commercial Appeal send questions in writing, but did not respond by deadline.

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The other two seats headed to runoffs are District 2, in which Jerri Green, senior policy adviser for Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris will face Scott McCormick, a city councilman from 2004 to 2008, and District 3.

In District 3, pastor and former police officer James E. Kirkwood will face community organizer Pearl Eva Walker.

On Tuesday, the three newly elected council members, Spinosa, White and Cooper-Sutton, attended parts of committee meetings and full council. They greeted current council members and staff, took occasional notes and met members of the media.

Jones, the outgoing chair of the council, said he's curious to see what the new makeup of the legislative body will bring, and that he's optimistic.

This will be the first time since term limits were instated in 2011 that council members have been forced to leave their roles, meaning there could be a decrease in institutional knowledge, he said.

But, Spinosa will bring "the knowledge base he had a chance to build in the time he was on the council" and White will bring her knowledge as an attorney, meaning there will be two attorneys on the council.

"Just having somebody who can bring that legal perspective to what we're doing as the lawmaking body is gonna be an asset to the council and the city, in my opinion," Jones said.

As for Cooper-Sutton, Jones said he expects she will develop a new perspective as a council member, one that may not always be the same as the perspective held as a community member.

“I think she’ll see some things from a different perspective and can very well be the link, if you will, to what I would call the activist community that we currently don’t have right now and possibly bring something positive out of it," Jones said.

Katherine Burgess covers Memphis City Government and religion. She can be reached at katherine.burgess@commercialappeal.com or followed on X, formerly known as Twitter, @kathsburgess.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Next Memphis City Council will have familiar faces, a member once banned