Regulating data centers was the talk of last week, again.
The Memphis City Council failed to enact a moratorium on data center development that had been long awaited by advocates, but instead passed a shorter pause at its Oct. 20 meeting.
The meeting was confusing and hard to follow, and not all members of the public — or Council members — knew what the board was voting on before a roll call was taken.
Commercial Appeal reporters explained what happened Tuesday night and what this means for the future of data centers in city limits.
Shelby County enters final days of early voting
You still have a few days left to cast your ballot in early voting before Election Day.
Up until Oct. 29, registered
voters can visit a number of polling places across the county, as there aren't assigned locations like there will be Nov. 3.
Memphis voters also have some city-specific questions to weigh in on during this election cycle. Three changes to Memphis' city charter are on the ballot. The amendments could affect public library workers and other city employees, and implement a disclosure process for lobbyists.
See the full list of early voting locations and hours below:
Steve Cohen makes final push for Democrats
U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, who is the outgoing and longtime representative of Tennessee's 9th Congressional District, urged voters to support Democrats up and down the ballot, calling Nov. 3 "the most important election of our lives."
Speaking to reporters Oct. 23, Cohen highlighted Memphis' newly gerrymandered Congressional districts as disenfranchising the Black vote with civil rights attorney and former Shelby County Commissioner Walter Bailey Jr.
Cohen also addressed his possible successors, including former mentee Justin J. Pearson, the Democratic nominee for the seat who ran against Cohen in the primary, before Cohen ended his reelection bid.
"A lot of what he's going to do is going to be the same thing I would do, which is vote with the Democratic Caucus..." he said. "Every one of the issues he's talked about, I was for the whole 20 years I've been in Congress."
Jerri Green talks early voting
Memphis City Councilwoman Jerri Green, a Democrat who is running for governor against Republican Marsha Blackburn and Independent David Hatley, cast her ballot during the early voting period on Oct. 21, at Second Baptist Church.
In the half hour before Green arrived, a reporter from The Commercial Appeal saw a steady stream of voters moving through the precinct. One of those voters earned a round of applause from poll workers since it was her first time casting a ballot.
After voting, a process which Green described as “very secure,” the Democratic gubernatorial candidate spoke with reporters about how the campaign changed when early voting began.
“We are continuing to push our message for a better Tennessee, but we are making sure that people know where to vote, when to vote, and make sure that they are actually doing it,” Green said. “You can imagine it’s a lot of social media and ads, making sure that people understand the importance of this election.”
She also said she voted against all three constitutional amendments and said she was “very cautious about ever changing our constitution in any way.”
Congressional candidates receive a swath of endorsements
Candidates for Tennessee's U.S. Congressional Districts 5, 8 and 9 have racked up endorsements from various political figures and community leaders as months of campaigning come to an end.
Here are some of the notable endorsements the Democratic and Republican nominees have received:
Chaz Molder, Democratic nominee for District 5
- Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat
- U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, a Democrat retiring from Tennessee's 9th Congressional District
- U.S. Rep. James Clyburn, a Democrat representing South Carolina's 6th Congressional District
- State Sen. Raumesh Akbari, a Democrat representing Tennessee State Senate District 29, which covers parts of Memphis and Shelby County
- Former Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen, a Democrat
- Former U.S. Rep. John Tanner, a Democrat who represented Tennessee's 8th Congressional District
- Former U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper, a Democrat who represented Tennessee's 4th Congressional District
Charlie Hatcher, Republican nominee for District 5
- President Donald Trump
- Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican
- Former Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam, a Republican
- Former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, a Republican
- State Sen. Joey Hensley, a Republican representing Tennessee State Senate District 28, covering rural counties in Middle Tennessee
Heidi Kuhn, Democratic nominee for District 8
- U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, a Democrat retiring from Tennessee's 9th Congressional District
- Memphis Mayor Paul Young, a Democrat
- Former Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton, a Democrat
- State Rep. Torrey C. Harris, a Democrat serving Tennessee House District 91, which covers part of Shelby County
- State Sen. Raumesh Akbari, a Democrat representing Tennessee State Senate District 29, which covers parts of Memphis and Shelby County
- Former U.S. Rep. Harold Ford Sr., a Democrat who represented Tennessee's 8th and 9th Congressional Districts
- Former Tennessee House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh, a Democrat
David Kustoff, Republican nominee for District 8
- President Donald Trump
- Phil Bivens, Former District Attorney General for Tennessee's 29th Judicial District, which covers Dyer and Lake Counties
- Garry Brown, Former District Attorney General for Tennessee's 28th Judicial District, which covers Crockett, Gibson and Haywood Counties
- Mike Dunavant, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee
- Former Shelby County District Attorney Amy Weirich, a Republican
Justin J. Pearson, Democratic nominee for District 9
- Former Vice President Kamala Harris
- Ben Crump, prominent civil rights attorney
- U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat representing New York's 14th Congressional District
- U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Democrat from Vermont
- U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, a Democrat from Massachusetts
- U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, a Democrat representing Michigan's 12th Congressional District
- U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, a Democrat representing California's 43rd Congressional District
- U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna, a Democrat representing California's 17th Congressional District
- U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, a Democrat representing Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District
- U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, a Democrat representing Massachusetts' 7th Congressional District
- U.S. Rep. Delia Ramirez, a Democrat representing Illinois' 3rd Congressional District
- U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost, a Democrat representing Florida's 10th Congressional District
- Shelby County Commissioners Henri E. Brooks, Erika Sugarmon, Karen Streeter and Will Richardson
- Memphis City Council members Pearl Eva Walker and JB Smiley Jr.
Brent Taylor, Republican nominee for District 9
- President Donald Trump
- Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican
- Speaker of the U.S. House Mike Johnson, a Republican
- Majority Whip of the U.S. House Tom Emmer, a Republican
- Majority Leader of the U.S. House Steve Scalise, a Republican
- U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, a Republican representing Ohio's 4th Congressional District
- U.S. Rep. Jason Smith, a Republican representing Missouri's 8th Congressional District
- U.S. Rep. Matt Van Epps, a Republican representing Tennessee's 7th Congressional District
- U.S. Rep. Diana Harshbarger, a Republican representing Tennessee's 1st Congressional District
- U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett, a Republican representing Tennessee's 2nd Congressional District
- U.S. Rep. Charles Fleischmann, a Republican representing Tennessee's 3rd Congressional District
- Former Shelby County District Attorney Amy Weirich, a Republican
- Tennessee Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, a Republican
- Shelby County Commissioners Derek Mills and Mark Billingsley
Coming up
The Shelby County Commission's next regular meeting will be at 3 p.m. on Oct. 26 at Vasco A. Smith, Jr. County Administration Building, 160 N. Main St. The meeting will also be streamed on the Commission's YouTube channel.
The Commission has also taken on regulating data centers and is considering legislation mirroring what is going through the Memphis City Council. Discussions should continue over the next few weeks.
The Memphis City Council is holding a Planning and Zoning Community Listening Session at 1 p.m. also on Oct. 26 at City Hall, 125 N. Main St.
After last week's data center regulation developments, the Council is seeking public input as it continues to workshop policy.
And as we enter the last week before Election Day, stay tuned to The Commercial Appeal's ongoing election coverage.
Got a question for us?
Got a question for the metro reporting team you would like us to take on? Have thoughts on what you want to see in our weekly politics column? Send an email to annie.goldman@commercialappeal.com or call 901-930-7431.
Commercial Appeal reporter Lucas Finton contributed to this report.
Annie Goldman covers government for The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached at annie.goldman@commercialappeal.com or 901-930-7431, and followed on X @AnnieSGoldman
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Notable endorsements pile up in TN Congressional races ahead of Nov. 3
