MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Shelby County Commissioner Mick Wright sent a 20-page formal complaint Thursday against Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert to the special prosecutor investigating Halbert's office.
This development is the latest in a year’s long back and forth between Shelby County leaders and residents alike. After months of tag delays, abrupt location closures, and opening delays.
“It’s really a pattern of willful neglect by Clerk Halbert," Wright told ABC24. "It’s not just one or two things.”
In June, Shelby County D.A. Steve Mulroy ordered Hamilton County D.A. Coty Wamp to investigate complaints against Wanda Halbert and look into her possible removal. If the complaints are proven, they could "constitute a willful neglect by Halbert to perform the duties of her office," according to the D.A.'s office.
ABC24 learned earlier in December that Wamp, Tennessee's 11th Judicial District based out of Chattanooga, provided an update in a letter, saying the process of collecting evidence in the investigation her office was appointed to in June has been slow-going, and Wanda Halbert's office hasn't responded to requests for more information.
All of this came after the county commission appointed a special advisor to aid the clerk's office.
To help with the investigation, Assistant District Attorney Kevin Loper from the Hamilton County DA's office was in town Wednesday meeting with officials and fielding complaints from those in the community.
It’s the first time officials publicly set aside time to meet with the community since the investigation into Halbert was called back in June.
Earlier this year, the clerk’s office abruptly closed its Poplar Plaza Shopping Center location due to eviction, a characterization Halbert denies.
“Being behind a month or two is not eviction," Halbert said during a presser following the closure.
The latest move by Commissioner Wright makes the case to officially ouster the clerk
Wright not only cited location closures, and the backlog of car tags since Halbert took office in 2018 but he also sights the impact those delays are having on public safety.
“These drivers have already paid for their tags and just haven’t received them," Wright said. “They’re already dealing with shortages at MPD and having to spend their time and resources pulling people over.”
If you have knowledge and evidence of any potential neglect of official duties by Wanda Halbert, or if you want to be heard in the course of the investigation, the ADA wants to hear from you.