Political analyst Otis Sanford discusses the week in Tennessee politics for June 6-12, 2021.
Tennessee may be a deep red state, but its two biggest urban areas have large concentrations of Democrats. It's why voters in two of the state's nine congressional districts -- the ninth, in Memphis and the fifth, in Nashville -- are able to elect U.S. Congressmen aligned with other urban voters. That could change.Democratic Rep. Jim Cooper of Nashville has sounded the alarm that state Republicans are considering a new redistricting map that would carve Davidson County's Democratic stronghold into wedges and fold them into outlying rural areas dominated by Republicans.
Could that happen in Memphis? Political analyst Otis Sanford says that because Shelby County lies in the corner of the state, it would be more difficult to chop up the voting bloc. But because Davidson County is surrounded by other counties, it's easier to divide.
Also, this week, Democrats in Shelby County governments are debating property tax increases at a time when new property reappraisals left many residents with sticker shock.
Finally, as local COVID-19 regulations are lifted, some local businesses and institutions are looking to make vaccinations harder to avoid.
Copyright 2021 WKNO
