Political faultines have plagued county commission chair vote. So, what's next?

The Shelby County Board of Commissioners is set to select the next chairman of the board on Aug. 14, as political divisions rendered the board unable to come to a consensus during a previous meeting.

At the July 17 meeting, commissioners Miska Clay Bibbs and Amber Mills were nominated by their respective parties. Clay Bibbs, a Democrat, received six out of the seven votes needed to become the chair. Mills received four, all from her Republican counterparts.

The three votes missing came from commissioners Britney Thornton, Erika Sugarmon and Edmund Ford Jr. ― all Democrats. All three voted "pass" each time the board voted for the chair, except when Thorton was nominated when the three voted for her.

Ford, Thornton and Sugarmon justified this by saying the isolation they experienced during the budget process made them reconsider how their resolutions would get the seven votes needed to pass.

Previous precedent ignored; some Republicans hope for the return

In previous chairman voting processes, bipartisanship was not uncommon. Commissioner Mick Wright has been extremely vocal about the voting patterns in past chairman appointments, saying that the precedent set allowed for cross-party politics and cooperation among members.

"In the past, we've been able to work together across party lines, and so we lose some of that synergy, collegiality," Wright said. "We lose a lot when it becomes just a purely partisan process."

In past chairman appointments, there was a "gentlemen's agreement" in which the position would switch from Democrat to Republican every cycle. Republicans used to hold six seats, and Democrats seven which made the agreement easier to follow Wright said. Currently, Democrats hold nine positions, and Republicans the remaining four.

Commissioner Charlie Caswell Jr. said that while the precedent was for the parties to switch leadership, things have changed.

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"I know that it has been discussed and that it will switch from Democrats, Republicans, but I think that where we are, we understand that we as Democrats have a simple majority and opportunity to continue to move forward with all the issues that we have," Caswell said.

While this "gentleman's agreement" has been ignored since 2021, Commissioner Brandon Morrison said that she views much of the activity the Commission does as non-partisan. Morrison said while the chair sets the agenda and runs the meeting seven votes are still needed to pass any resolution.

"I feel certain that regardless of who is in the leadership position, they will continue to find ways to work together or at least I hope so," she said.

Commissioner Michael Whaley said that while there is importance to having multiple voices at the table, it does not necessarily mean that rotating between Republican and Democrat is the answer for the post. Whaley believes that other qualities are more important when selecting a leader other than changing between parties.

"It's more important to identify and support the qualities of someone you want as the Chairman you know, someone you want in a leader, versus just everyone getting the chance to do it," Whaley said. "I don't think that's necessarily how it ought to be, regardless of party."

Threats of party expulsion for bipartisan voting

An unexpected outcome of this year's chairman voting has been the response from the Shelby County Democratic Party. SCDP told members if they did not vote along party lines, their membership would be at stake. Amber Sherman, President of the Shelby County Young Democrats, spoke during public comment and told the three Commissioners who, before the vote were rumored to be siding with the Republicans, to rethink their decision.

During that meeting on July 17, Thornton was specifically mentioned by Sherman. Thornton responded later in the meeting that Sherman and others who were demanding commissioners reconsider were not present during previous meetings where the three were shut down.

"A lot of the comments were directed towards me, so I just wanted to wrap up the conversation," Thornton said. "...But if this Democratic Party is not going to be there for me, then my back is up against the wall."

The stymie stems from the funding cuts for grants Ford, Thornton and Sugarmon sponsored during the budget process. In order to account for overspending, commissioners Whaley and Wright opted to cut 10 different grant-funded projects. All of those grants were sponsored by the three Democrats who also opposed the $25 wheel tax increase and instead called for a property tax increase.

During a June 27 meeting, Thornton called the cuts an "attack" and "not a coincidence."

Chairman Mickell Lowery said that there are many items that typically lead to Commissioners not voting along party lines, leadership votes are one of those very items.

Commissioner Brandon Morrison said that she views much of the activity the Commission does is non-partisan, and while the Chairman sets the agenda and runs the meeting seven votes are still needed to pass any resolution.

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"I would like to see a more collaborative atmosphere on the commission, I seek to find common ground," Morrison said. "We've been able to do that this year in my first term with public transit and then funding Regional One most recently and I feel certain that regardless of who is in the leadership position will continue to find ways to work together or at least I hope so."

What to expect next meeting

While originally the commissioners agreed to call a special meeting on Aug. 7 to vote on the chair position, conflicting schedules made it difficult for all members to be present. That special meeting had been called so that only a single agenda item could be heard, allowing for extended deliberation not restricted by time and discussion of other agenda items.

Lowery said it is not uncommon for it to take multiple meetings to elect a chairman, and this round is no different.

"It's happened in the past before, I think we've also had some cases where the chair was selected in the next meeting," Lowery said.

Commissioners will now meet Monday for their regular meeting with the chairmanship vote tacked onto the agenda.

There is no telling as to who will be elected as commissioners have been tight-lipped with their voting positions. But, Lowery hopes that whoever is elected is elected unanimously.

"I think it's important to support whoever we elect to chair unanimously. It's a tough job to do for the year," Lowery said.

Sherman said that she hopes that commissioners will show up Monday and vote for a Democrat.

Brooke Muckerman covers county government for The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached at Brooke.Muckerman@commercialappeal.com and followed on Twitter @BrookeMuckerman.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Political divisions continue on Shelby County Commission chair vote