The upcoming Knoxville municipal runoff election features three competitive races. In the race for municipal judgeship, incumbent Judge John Rosson Jr., with over three decades on the bench, faces challenger Tyler Caviness, a former public defender advocating for fresh perspectives and better accessibility to justice. The city council at large, Seat B race pits community advocate Debbie Helsley against homebuilder R. Bentley Marlow, with both candidates focusing on addressing housing shortages and increasing homelessness resources. In the city council at large, Seat C race, incumbent Amelia Parker faces real estate developer Tim Hill, with Parker emphasizing progressive causes and affordable housing while Hill advocates for increased public safety and using density and public-private funding to address housing shortages. The election is on Nov. 7, following early voting through Nov. 2. The Tennessee Lookout has in depth coverage on the race.

Memphis attorney and former mayoral candidate Van Turner is asking for a formal investigation “into the practices and procedures” of the Shelby County Election Commission during the Oct. 5 Memphis municipal election, the Commercial Appeal reports. The request is based on a report that an election worker had her car broken into the night before the election, with items stolen including keys to ballot boxes and codes to the mayoral election. Turner also said that another set of keys had earlier gone missing from a downtown office of the election commission. The commission has said the election was not compromised in any way. Turner came in fourth in the race for Memphis mayor, losing to Paul Young.

Incumbent Franklin Mayor Ken Moore won reelection last night over Alderman Gabrielle Hanson. The race gained national attention as Hanson faced questions about her ties to white supremacists, her criminal record and past statements about the Covenant School shooting. Read more about the race from the Nashville Post and its Williamson County sister publication The News.

Daniel Herrera, former Knox County Republican party chairman, announced that he will challenge incumbent Republican Knox County Law Director David Buuck in the 2024 election. Herrera was elected party chair in 2021 at just 28 years old after defeating Harry Brooks with more than 60% of the vote. The Knoxville News Sentinel has more on Herrera's leadership experience.

Memphis Mayor-elect Paul Young has announced his transition team will include former Memphis Police Director Toney Armstrong, former University of Memphis President David Rudd, Rhodes College President Jennifer Collins and Chris Winton, former chief people officer for FedEx, reports Local Memphis. According to a news release on Young’s website, the transition team represents "Young’s five pillars and other key focus areas." The release said more are expected to join the team in the coming weeks. "Diversity is a defining element of this team," said Young "It was important to pull together the best and brightest people from all neighborhoods and all facets of our community."

Franklin Alderman Matt Brown yesterday called on the Board of Mayor & Aldermen to vote to censure mayoral candidate and current Alderman Gabrielle Hanson at the next board meeting or special session, reports the Tennessean. Brown's motion follows reports that members of the Tennessee Active Club – which has been identified as a white nationalist hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center – attended a mayoral forum where Hanson spoke. The board previously issued a statement, saying it would not "tolerate any form of hatred, intimidation, or violence directed at our residents, media representatives, or anyone else attending or participating in the democratic process."

Memphis voters on Thursday elected Paul Young, the current head of the Downtown Memphis Commission, as their next mayor. The Commercial Appeal reports that with 27.62% of the vote, Young won the mayoral race with 24,408 total votes — 4,500 more than his closest competitor, Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner. Former mayor Willie Herenton came in third, followed by attorney Van Turner. Voters also selected a number of new council members. Here are those results. Three of the council’s single-member districts remain undecided after no candidate garnered a majority of the vote, according to unofficial results. The races for those districts will go to a runoff on Nov. 16.

The mayor's office and 11 Memphis City Council seats are up for grabs in today’s municipal elections. Strong early voting totals suggest high interest in the elections before polls close tonight. Just over 15% of Memphis’ 373,091 registered voters had cast their ballots by the time early voting closed on Saturday. The Commercial Appeal is providing election updates throughout the day.

In filings released earlier this week, the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance found that from Jan. 1 to June 30, groups spent a combined $35 million on lobbying activity this year, a 66% rise since 2013 and nearly $4 million more than in 2022, reports Tennessee Lookout. The Tennessee Medical Association led spending during the filing period, paying out $330,322 to sway lawmakers. Their primary focus was a bill to address Tennessee abortion law, which initially didn’t provide doctors with exemptions to save the life of a mother. Republican lawmakers passed a narrow exemption bill. The Center for Individual Freedom, the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association, the Tennessee Hospital Association and the Tennessee Health Care Association rounded out the top five.

Franklin alderman and mayoral candidate Gabrielle Hanson said yesterday on her Instagram account that she had been arrested and pleaded guilty to promoting prostitution in Dallas in the mid-1990s, the Tennessean reports. In the video, Hanson recalled that while attending Southern Methodist University, she took a job answering phones for a "modeling and entertainment casting company.” Hanson said she did not know the company was running an escort service until her arrest. The revelation of her arrest is the latest controversy for Hanson, who earlier this month faced a NewsChannel 5 investigation that reported on a group of women who said Hanson had used their social media posts to falsely claim they were supporting her mayoral campaign.