MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Memphis mayoral election is nearly a year away, but you'd think it was much closer based on the interest and conversation taking place around the city.
One major topic these days is whether two announced candidates are even eligible to run because of residency rules. Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner, who announced his candidacy last week, currently lives in Bartlett but is looking to move into Memphis as soon as possible.
Former county commissioner Van Turner, who announced his run in September, only recently moved to Binghampton. At this point, Bonner and Turner are considered the frontrunners for the office. But as The Commercial Appeal reported last week, the question is, does a city charter requirement that candidates must be city residents for five years before an election remain in force? Or does a 1972 Supreme Court decision – followed by a 2019 legal opinion from City Council attorney Allan Wade – take precedent over the city charter?
Wade concluded that because of the Supreme Court ruling, candidates only need to be Memphians for 30 days before Election Day.
The candidates obviously believe the five-year rule no longer applies. But what about Memphis voters? Will they be turned off by the fact that these candidates chose not to live inside the city limits – until they decided to run for mayor? Or will they say, who cares? We’ll find out – in less than a year.