Close Menu
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    • Home
    • About Us
    • Digital Subscription
    • Advertisement
    • Contact Us
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    The Tennessee TribuneThe Tennessee Tribune
    Advertise With Us
    • Home
      • COVID-19 Resource Center
        • Dr. Henry Louis Gates’ PSA Radio
      • Featured
    • News
      • State
      • Local
      • National/International News
      • Global
      • Business
        • Commentary
        • Finance
        • Local Business
      • Investigative Stories
        • Affordable Housing
        • DCS Investigation
        • Gentrification
    • Editorial
      • National Politics
      • Local News
      • Local Editorial
      • Political Editorial
      • Editorial Cartoons
      • Cycle of Shame
    • Community
      • History
      • Tennessee
        • Chattanooga
        • Clarksville
        • Knoxville
        • Memphis
      • Public Notices
      • Women
        • Let’s Talk with Ms. June
    • Education
      • College
        • American Baptist College
        • Belmont University
        • Fisk
        • HBCU
        • Meharry
        • MTSU
        • University of Tennessee
        • TSU
        • Vanderbilt
      • Elementary
      • High School
    • Lifestyle
      • Art
      • Auto
      • Tribune Travel
      • Entertainment
        • 5 Questions With
        • Books
        • Events
        • Film Review
        • Local Entertainment
      • Family
      • Food
        • Drinks
      • Health & Wellness
      • Home & Garden
      • Featured Books
    • Religion
      • National Religion
      • Local Religion
      • Obituaries
        • National Obituaries
        • Local Obituaries
      • Faith Commentary
    • Sports
      • MLB
        • Sounds
      • NBA
      • NCAA
      • NFL
        • Predators
        • Titans
      • NHL
      • Other Sports
      • Golf
      • Professional Sports
      • Sports Commentary
      • Metro Sports
    • Media
      • Video
      • Photo Galleries
      • Take 10
      • Trending With The Tribune
    • Classified
    • Obituaries
      • Local Obituaries
      • National Obituaries
    The Tennessee TribuneThe Tennessee Tribune
    Featured

    Crime Defines Memphis Mayor’s Election

    Tony JonesBy Tony JonesSeptember 28, 2023No Comments4 Mins Read
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Telegram Pinterest Tumblr Reddit Email
    Mayoral candidate Sheriff Floyd Bonner says recent indictments in death of inmate Gershun Freeman a political scam.
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

    By Tony Jones

    MEMPHIS, TN — Robust early voting totals suggest a nerve rattling conclusion to the 2023 Memphis Municipal Election that will be nearly as compelling as the 1991 contest that resulted in Dr. W. W. Herenton becoming the city’s first elected African American mayor.

    Set for Thursday, October 5th, due to a packed field of 17 candidates, the former five term, the 83-year-old former chief executive is a surprisingly viable candidate to return to the office that he held for 19 years. 

    “We need 30,000 votes to win,” Herenton recently told supporters on Facebook, and according to several pundits he may not be far off target. 

    Aggregate poll review places Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner, businessman J.W. Gibson, Herenton, NAACP President Van Turner and Downtown Commissioner Paul Young as the having the strongest support. 

    Unless a miracle occurs, the several qualified female candidates have disappointedly not gained traction, including the strongest among them House Speaker Karen Camper, former Shelby County Schools president Michelle McKissack and formidable grassroots advocate Dr. Carnita Atwater, who made state headlines as a moral voice in the 2022 gubernatorial campaign. Atwater had previously gained widespread respect for her powerfully stated opposition to Mayor Jim Strickland’s original Memphis 3.0 plan, causing a revision before its final release. 

    The contest has proven to be the perfect lightning rod for resetting the city’s municipal representation, including the gender gap. Many female candidates are viable incumbents and new contenders in city council races. All of the city council seats are at stake and early voting totals have been robust up to press time. 

    Begun Friday, Sept. 15th, early voting concludes Saturday, Sept. 30th. Headed into the final week, as of Monday, Sept. 25th, 18,461 voters have taken advantage of the opportunity, outstripping several of the city’s prior contests. 

    But the city’s crime rates are outstripping prior totals and that fact has come to define the race. The fear of living in Memphis grows more real every day. MPD’s Public Information Office reports that there have been 290 homicides as of Sept. 25th as compared to 213 at the same time last year. 

    The concern boiled over when Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk reported the indictment of 9 Shelby County jail deputies in the beating death of 33 year old Gershun Freeman. A video was released depicting the beating after Freeman exited his cell naked and attacked the jailers. 

    Dueling press conferences followed. with Sheriff Bonner defending his employee’s actions and accusing Funk of making a political play to support Van Turner’s campaign as a favor to Turner supporter Shelby county DA Steve Mulroy. 

    Said Bonner, “Let me be clear. No action — no action — by any Shelby County Sheriff’s Office employee caused Mr. Freeman’s death,” Bonner said, adding later that he would be “the first one to donate” to any fundraiser to help with his deputies’ legal fees.  

    In a press conference responding to Bonner’s allegation, Mulroy stated, Mulroy also said he recused himself from the investigation “to keep politics out of the case. I’ve had no involvement at all in the case since last year, and played no role in the decision to indict,” and that he supported the video release “in the name of transparency.”

    Now in voters’ hands, the only thing clear about the 2023 mayoral race is that the victor will be a black male and his number one task will be to address the thugs that are disrupting sane life in the city with seeming impunity while black men still die in protective custody. Many say Memphis needs a true civil rights era leader that must equally stern on the streets ever vigilant behind the scenes. The voters will decide who that may be.   

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    Tony Jones

    Related Posts

    Dr. Price named senior pastor at Schrader Lane

    August 28, 2025

    TSU President Tucker Appoints Three New Leaders to Advance Transformational Change Agenda

    August 28, 2025

    Meharry Medical College Serves More Than 450 Dental Patients at Biannual Oral Health Day

    August 28, 2025

    Civil rights leader Dinkins honored by school naming

    August 27, 2025

    Twisted Sistuhs x Mansion on Mars Tour Brings Music, Wine, and Community Together

    August 26, 2025

    Tennessee Announces 2025-26 Teacher of the Year

    August 25, 2025

    Comments are closed.

    Advertisement
    Business

    Sprouts Farmers Market Hosts Hiring Event Ahead of Mt. Juliet Opening

    August 28, 2025

    NBCC MINORITY BUSINESS OF THE WEEK: Flying Dress

    August 20, 2025

    Toon appointed new role at MMCV

    August 16, 2025
    1 2 3 … 386 Next
    Education
    Education

    TSU President Tucker Appoints Three New Leaders to Advance Transformational Change Agenda

    By Emmanuel FreemanAugust 28, 2025

    NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee State University President Dwayne Tucker today announced the hiring of three senior…

    Tennessee Announces 2025-26 Teacher of the Year

    August 25, 2025

    U of M shutters Multicultural Affairs Office, begins dismantling DEI to comply with new Tennessee law

    August 23, 2025

    TSU to Build $50M Engineering Facility

    August 21, 2025
    The Tennessee Tribune
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    • About Us
    • Digital Subscription
    • Store
    • Advertise With Us
    • Contact
    © 2025 The Tennessee Tribune - Site Designed by No Regret Media.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

    Our Spring Sale Has Started

    You can see how this popup was set up in our step-by-step guide: https://wppopupmaker.com/guides/auto-opening-announcement-popups/