Jackson Baker

Memphis

Senior Editor and Political Columnist at Memphis Flyer

Contributing Editor at Memphis: The City Magazine

senior editor and political columnist, The Memphis Flyer; contributing editor, The Tennessee Journal

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Articles

Doing the Numbers

4 days ago | memphisflyer.com | Jackson Baker

As I look forward to the Shelby County elections of 2026 and to the intense competitions that will develop for them, I can’t help wondering if all the would-be members of the Shelby County Commission, say, have even a remote idea of the skills that will be required of them. Math skills, for example.
‘Ready to Rumble’?

1 week ago | memphisflyer.com | Jackson Baker

As the calendar makes perfectly clear, July 1st, the beginning of fiscal year 2026, is just around the corner, and the budgets of neither the city of Memphis nor Shelby County are in final form to everyone’s satisfaction. The city’s situation is complicated by successive acts of compromise by Mayor Paul Young and the city council which may have made figures add up technically but may be in conflict with the city’s existing financial obligations.
Memphis Flyer | Storm-Chased

2 weeks ago | memphisflyer.com | Jackson Baker

The one thing we know for sure about this year’s Pride celebration is that the weather was not kind to it. There is no question that the thunder and lightning and torrential downpour of early Saturday morning did not augur well for the 2025 parade and festival, scheduled for later that day. That was one cruel joke played by the elements. A second cruel joke was the rapid and virtually complete clearing of the skies by late morning, by which time, however, the day’s events had been canceled.
Shelby Dems Reorganize

3 weeks ago | memphisflyer.com | Jackson Baker

On its second try this year, the Shelby County Democratic Party (SCDP) — newly reconstituted by the Tennessee Democratic Party after an abortive effort in March — managed to elect new leadership on Saturday at the Teaching and Learning Academy on Union Avenue. The main contestants were the same as had been the case two months earlier — Willie Simon, the ultimate winner, and Jeff Etheridge.
Under the Weather

1 month ago | memphisflyer.com | Jackson Baker

It won’t even be possible to pick up a petition from the Election Commission until December, but by now, most of the long-rumored hopefuls for Shelby County mayor in 2026 have taken some concrete steps indicating their candidacy — by appointment of a campaign treasurer, organization of fundraisers/meet-and-greets, or via social media, campaign signs, or ads in play.
Of Windfalls and Pratfalls

1 month ago | memphisflyer.com | Jackson Baker

Over the last several days, local political leaders fell into rhetorical traps, some of their own making. Example: In an effort to be inspirational in his weekly online column last week, Memphis Mayor Paul Young had this to say: “We’re challenging all graduates and Memphians to take a Negativity Fast from May 17 to June 11: no trash talk about Memphis, share what you love about your city with others and post something positive.
Memphis Flyer | Two Verdicts

1 month ago | memphisflyer.com | Jackson Baker

With almost complete unanimity, the Memphis community reacted with outrage and dismay to last week’s not-guilty verdict for three MPD officers in the Tyre Nichols case. What compounded the prevailing sense of justice denied was the fact that the verdict, on a crime committed against a young Black victim, was rendered by a jury that was all white.
Memphis Flyer | They’re Off!

1 month ago | memphisflyer.com | Jackson Baker

Nothing official has occurred to signal the beginning of the 2026 Shelby County election, but the principal contest for that election — the race for county mayor — has begun all the same. Early salvos have been fired by contenders JB Smiley, the city councilman who, as council chair, challenged state disapproval of local gun-safety ordinances, and by Mickell Lowery, who chaired the county commission during a time of resolute action toward building projects.
Partisan School Board Controversy in Local GOP

1 month ago | memphisflyer.com | Jackson Baker

As the executive committee of the Shelby County Republican Party prepares to meet on Thursday night at the Great Hall of Germantown to consider the issue of partisan school board races, a longtime GOP activist weighs in against the ideaIn a letter to the Flyer, Naser Fazlullah, a recent candidate for party chairman who held the office of vice chair, condemns the idea.
Memphis Flyer | A Tragic Loss

2 months ago | memphisflyer.com | Jackson Baker

As I do every morning, I checked my phone on Monday for early-morning messages and overnight news. To say I was shocked by one piece of news would be an understatement. The venerable Clayborn Temple, where we then-serving members of the Rotary Club of Memphis shifted our weekly meetings for the run-up year to the 2018 MLK commemoration, was gone, consumed by fire. The sense of devastation and irredeemable loss was widely shared.