How runoff upsets could change Council
Three takeaways from Easter-thomas, Logan victories
Two candidates for Memphis City Council beat incumbents to win their runoff elections last week, setting up what could be a dramatic shift in how the council does business.
In the most closely watched race, politically progressive public school teacher Michalyn Easterthomas took away the City Council District 7 seat from incumbent real estate adviser and developer Berlin Boyd, our Sam Hardiman reports.
In the final but still unofficial tally, Easter-thomas won 2,036 votes (75.4%) to Boyd’s 665 votes (24.6%).
Community development corporation leader Rhonda Logan also wrested District 1 away from Southwest Tennessee Community College government liaison Sherman Greer, who was appointed to the seat earlier this year, Sam also reports. Logan, who failed to win the appointment, won the race with 1,034 votes (56.3%) to Greer’s 802 (43.6%).
Here are three of my takeaways from the runoff results:
1. The elections were another example of ‘Black Girl Magic.’ Last year, women — and especially black women — led the Democrats in sweeping the Shelby County elections.
And last night was another example of what was dubbed “black girl magic.”
For the first time in the city’s history, it has five black women on the council, breaking the previous record set earlier this year of four.
That’s only 38% of council seats in a city whose population was 52.5% female last year — but it’s still a historic moment.
2. The people — all 4,540 of them — have spoken. After taking down Boyd handily, Easter-thomas claimed it was a “show of people power.”
And it was, in a sense, although people could level the same criticism at her win as was recently leveled at Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland’s.
With such low turnout (only 4.9% of the 92,652 registered voters in both districts), calling it a “show of people power” might be a stretch.
But the election was perhaps more of an indictment against Boyd than it was a statement about Easter-thomas.
Boyd was viewed by many as more of a representative of the wealthy on Mud Island, where he lived, than as a representative of the rest of his district, one of the poorest in the city, mostly made up of Frayser and North Memphis.
In August, 70% of voters supported one of the eight candidates who wasn’t Boyd, with Easterthomas receiving just 20.1% of the total vote, enough to make the runoffs. Last week, the percentages stayed roughly the same, with 75% of voters saying “no” to Boyd.
That said, 95.1% of the districts’ registered voters didn’t vote, which is a searing indictment of the efficacy of runoffs, yes, but also of the candidates.
Voters clearly didn’t see the stakes as being very high. But they were, which leads me to takeaway No. 3...
3. The upsets will help reshape the council, as we know it. With the runoffs settled, we now know what the council’s lineup will be at the start of next year:
❚ District 1: Rhonda Logan
❚ District 2: Frank Colvett Jr.
❚ District 3: Patrice Robinson
❚ District 4: Jamita Swearengen
❚ District 5: Worth Morgan
❚ District 6: Edmund Ford Sr.
❚ District 7: Michalyn Easter-thomas
❚ Super District 8-1: J.B. Smiley Jr.
❚ Super District 8-2: Cheyenne Johnson
❚ Super District 8-3: Martavius Jones
❚ Super District 9-1: Chase Carlisle
❚ Super District 9-2: Ford Canale
❚ Super District 9-3: Dr. Jeff Warren
In recent years, the council coalition that has maintained power has largely been united around the ideals of being business-friendly, passing conservative budgets that keep taxes low, and improving public safety.
But that could change after the recent elections. It’s still too early to say with any certainty what the new coalitions will look like, but I could see the council being more eager to support economic development incentives reform, public transit, instant runoffs, an independent police review board, and a proposal to switch Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division’s power provider in an attempt to secure savings that could be passed on to the utility’s customers.
Columnist Ryan Poe writes The 901, a running commentary on all things Memphis. Reach him at poe@commercialappeal.com and on Twitter @ryanpoe.
It’s still too early to say with any certainty what the new coalitions will look like.