As they close out their first month on the job, the new slate of Shelby County Commissioners seems to be divided on a number of issues.
Relatively minor and procedural decisions brought tension to the Commission's Sept. 23 committee meetings, often splitting the board along party lines.
County Mayor Mickell Lowery also pushed the board to revive a currently dormant board of ethics. The board would have no decision-making power, but would make recommendations to the commission to increase transparency to the public.
"Discussion of this ordinance and the ethics committee has become a political volleyball," Chair Shante Avant said.
The proposal had pushback from several commissioners, but Lowery made it clear that it's one of his early priorities.
"There's going to be plenty of times over the next four years we're going to disagree on some stuff. Let it not be this," Lowery told the board.
Also, Vice Chair Henri Brooks introduced the idea of a moratorium on data center development, similar to the one being considered by the Memphis City Council. It wasn't formally on last week's committee agenda, but several commissioners seemed interested in moving forward.
Cohen introduces articles of impeachment against Trump
Rep. Steve Cohen, a Memphis Democrat, introduced more than two dozen articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump last week.
On Sept. 24, the congressman presented 26 articles of impeachment citing multiple abuses of power and other violations.
“Trump is clearly the most impeachable President our country has ever endured," Cohen said in a statement. "His continued presence in office is a danger to our democracy."
Cohen previously introduced five articles of impeachment against Trump in 2017. He is not running for reelection to his 9th District House of Representatives seat.
Pearson speaks at New York Times climate event
Tennessee state Rep. Justin J. Pearson has seemingly solidified his spot as a nationally recognized environmental advocate.
Pearson, who is running for U.S. Congress in Tennessee's newly redrawn District 9 in November, was featured at the New York Times' Climate Forward conference last week. He spoke on his push for more transparency about the public health repercussions of large-scale data centers.
For years, Pearson has been outspoken against Elon Musk's SpaceXAI in Memphis. The topic has come to a head in recent weeks as a potential data center moratorium makes its way through the Memphis City Council.
Coming up
The Memphis City Council will meet Oct. 6 at City Hall, 125 N. Main St. Meeting agendas for the Council's committee and regular meetings will be posted on the city's website closer to that date.
The Council is expected to continue discussing a possible ban on data center development, or more likely, regulations for the ones within city limits.
The Shelby County Commission will next meet at 3 p.m. on Oct. 12 at Vasco A. Smith, Jr. County Administration Building, 160 N. Main St. The meeting will also be streamed on the commission's YouTube channel.
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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: Shelby County commission divided early; Cohen pushes for Trump impeachment
