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On The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast, city parks director Nick Walker says community centers would remain free but with fees for specific programs that include equitable access for the community. He also talked about “open play areas” Memphians indicated in surveys they want to see more of, like David Carnes Park in Whitehaven.

On The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast, City Council member JB Smiley Jr. says the health department needs “boots on the ground” in Black communities to remedy a racial disparity in who is getting the COVID-19 vaccines.

Before Shelby County Commissioners and Memphis City Council members get together to talk about changing the most used tax incentive in local economic development, they want to do more than watch Power Point presentations on PILOTs – payments in lieu of taxes. Shelby County Commissioner Tami Sawyer joins the Daily Memphian Politics Podcast.

The new Tennessee Democratic Party chairman says on The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast that challenging Republican majorities in the Tennessee Legislature will take longer. Hendrell Remus also talked about how different the city’s politics is from other parts of the state.

Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Scott Golden, on The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast, says the map to winning Tennessee may have changed with some suburban areas turning purple. 

Former local Democratic party chairman Corey Strong, on The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast, says the Georgia model of bringing activists and organizers into the state party machinery will take time -- probably six to 10 years to take Tennessee from red to purple.

The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast offers a review of the year 2020 centered on four major events. Three of the four were national in scope. The fourth is a local story that has broad implications for the gap between aspirations and the reality of governing.

Several dozens activists and organizers working for Democratic candidates in the 2020 elections have drafted a “roadmap to renewal” for the state party. A Memphis organizer talks about the roadmap on The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast. The recommendations come as the party prepares to elect a new statewide leader in January.

How a moratorium on gas stations, body shops and used tire places has brought to life the Memphis 3.0 plan in other areas of the city.

U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander also said President Donald Trump has a record to be proud of during the interview on The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast. And he said he carried Memphis in his five statewide general election wins by campaigning everywhere in the county, not just the Republican suburbs.

The Shelby County Voter Alliance is working after its debut effort in the presidential general election cycle to hold the interest of voters through an off election year for most of the county in 2021.

The chairman of the Shelby County legislative delegation to the Tennessee General Assembly talked about the issue on The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast. He also reacted to remarks by Republicans about how Memphis can get more out of the legislature by electing more Republicans.

While presidential battleground states continue to count votes in a bright media spotlight, the vote count in Shelby County is quietly moving toward completion with a large number of provisional ballots. The first priority is to determine where those votes were cast to see if they could potentially change a few close local races.

A new voting app breaks down who the early voters were. The broader turnout numbers show more than half of the county’s registered voters have already cast their ballots.

The founder of one of the get out the vote groups working locally says on The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast that higher turnout is part of a national trend. But detailed numbers also show ongoing problems in access to the vote.

Shelby County Elections Administrator Linda Phillips, on The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast, says the unofficial vote count may be tallied by midnight Nov. 3. But counting absentee ballots is a complex process.

Memphis City Council member Jeff Warren on The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast says there could still be an agreement on the next step in the MLGW-TVA issue. He also warns that the Tennessee Legislature could close the door on a possible MLGW exit from TVA if there isn’t a shorter timeline.

Business leader and developer J.W. Gibson talks about the South Memphis TIF taking in Soulsville, LeMoyne-Owen College and the old Metro Plaza on The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast.

The council budget committee chairman who oversaw 13 hours of pitches by more than 150 nonprofits seeking a share of $1.95 million has problems with the way grants are awarded. But on The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast, Martavius Jones says he continues to work on refining the process and sees a need for the city to help fund some nonprofits.

Shelby County Commissioner Van Turner has seen first hand the impact of violent crime on his commission district which includes Hickory Hill. But Turner says it’s possible to back law enforcement and be opposed to a militarization of the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office and Memphis Police Department.