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With confidence and ‘courage,’ Tami Sawyer declares candidacy for Memphis mayor

NNPA NEWSWIRE — “I am running now because when I see our city and I see our people and I look at the conversations that we are having at high levels of leadership, it doesn’t incorporate what is next for the impoverished, people of color, women, every person that is not considered in our vision for Memphis,” said Shelby County Commissioner Tami Sawyer, director of diversity and cultural competence for Teach for America in Memphis.

Published

7 years ago

March 14, 2019

Oakland Post

By Karanja A. Ajanku, Editor, The New Tri-State Defender

Shelby County Commissioner Tami Sawyer has made the decision. She is running for mayor, taking a “social leadership stance.”

The first-term District 7 representative “expound[ed] on plans to drive progress and change and broaden impact for Memphis” during a press conference at Makeda’s Homemade Cookies, 488 S. 2nd St., on Friday (March 8, International Women’s Day) at 10 a.m.

A “Memphis Can’t Wait” rally designed for Sawyer to “share her vision for Memphis” took place at Clayborn Temple downtown on Saturday (March 9) at 5 p.m.

Prior to these two events, Sawyer visited The New Tri-State Defender, outlining her reasoning and timing for a mayoral bid that pits her against incumbent Jim Strickland and the announced candidacy of former Mayor Dr. Willie W. Herenton.

“I am running now because when I see our city and I see our people and I look at the conversations that we are having at high levels of leadership, it doesn’t incorporate what is next for the impoverished, people of color, women, every person that is not considered in our vision for Memphis,” said Sawyer, director of diversity and cultural competence for Teach for America in Memphis.

“We can’t continue to repeat the mistakes of the past, nor can we survive off of ‘basic’ leadership.”

Sawyer won the Aug. 2, 2018 general election for District 7 with 80-plus percent of the vote. That followed her surprisingly strong 2016 bid for state House District 90, which she lost but drew 43.37 percent of the vote.

Some openly question the timing of her mayoral bid, saying it’s too early.

“I believe that we are in a situation with our city where we can’t wait for change,” Sawyer said. “We’re facing the evaporation of black wealth from the country by 2030. By 2030 we will have zero dollars of net wealth in the black community.

“When you look at the opportunity indicators for where Memphis is, that means we are going to lose any of those economic advantages and wealth collectively in the next three to four years. We have to get serious about policy and programs and support that recognizes that 50 percent of our kids are born below the line of poverty. …We don’t invest in schools. Zero percent of our city budget goes to education. I don’t think we have another five years to risk our people.”

As Sawyer enters the race, Strickland is a month-plus into his re-election bid, vowing to go “door to door, home to home” with his basic theme: “Keep that Memphis momentum going.”

Economic development downtown is great, but it doesn’t reach the majority of Memphis, Sawyer said.

“We don’t have time for trickle-down economics to be the way to go. One percent of the population is benefitting from this development. …We have to debate with developers about minority and women business percentages. Where is the investment in our communities? What impact is this development going to have?”
Sawyer doesn’t see enough support for small businesses.

“Momentum for one percent is not momentum for Memphis. Momentum for Memphis looks likes programs and infusions and economic support for small business owners and entrepreneurs. We are a resilient and creative city but we don’t always have the resources we need for our ideas to really grow and shine and become profitable.

“We’ve seen it happen in other cities and it can happen here where instead of being excited about new buildings and development, we can get excited about how many small businesses are really popping up. That money actually lands back in the community.”

Sawyer said she has the courage to keep pressing forward in making the case for the poorest Memphians, adding that such a commitment doesn’t make her anti-business.

“What I don’t believe in is corporate welfare that is given in a way that we’re taking tax dollars away from programs and benefits for the community. That’s allowing a small percentage of our population to continue to grow the wealth gap in Memphis.

“As a commissioner thus far I’ve had that courage,” Sawyer said. “When Union Row came up, I questioned whether we should vote for it. When they came back a second time and asked for $60 million for a parking garage downtown, I said ‘no.’

Regardless of where we find these pockets of money, whatever fund we say they’re in, at the end of the day, the way the city generates money is from some sort of taxes. We’re continuing to give tax money into the pockets and developments that won’t be accessible to most of us. …

“I would say to corporate interests that Memphis has to – right now – uphold and stand with its strongest resource, which is our people, all of our people.”

Noting that public safety was a prime concern among those who responded to a TSD survey of issues for the mayoral candidates, Sawyer said public safety must be addressed in a way that “takes us away from a tough-on-crime stance. Putting more people in jail, being tougher on crime has yet to solve crime anywhere.”

With Memphis’ high levels of poverty, having tough on crime/lock’em up stances create more dire straits for people,” she said.

“Being put jail, you get all kinds of fees, you lose your job, your rent doesn’t get paid. We are creating this ecosystem where most of the crimes that we are seeing are crimes of poverty. We have to address public safety in a more holistic way.”

Specifically, she wants to take a community-policing program such as the one operating in Frayser and make it a broader model for the city.

Education is a prime factor in public safety, Sawyer said, advocating for devising a way to redirect of some of the get-tough-on-crime funds into the schools.

One TSD survey participant asked this: “Will you divest from the prison-industrial complex and invest in K-12 public education?”

“Absolutely,” said Sawyer. “That is a major part of why I am running. You are going to go where you are directed to go. Right now, we are directing our energy and our money to say we need more beds in jail. We need more police…What about more teachers, more school counselors, more trauma-informed advocates and more principals?”

Sawyer said it was a mistake for Memphis to disinvest from the Memphis and Shelby County Office of Reentry, calling such a program vital.

“When people return home from being incarcerated, their family may or may not be in the same place they were; they don’t recognize the community; they don’t understand the technology. We need these community programs in place to help reconnect – not just to work – but to our community; so that they feel they have a place here. So that the decisions they make for the rest of their life are ones of value to them and where they live.”

Many community programs are going beyond intervention to embrace prevention and need more city support to make them known and more widely available, she said.

Leadership team

If elected, Sawyer would be the first woman elected mayor of Memphis. In the year of Memphis’ bicentennial, that would be exciting, she said, and “a bit sad (that it has not happened before).”

Her leadership team would reflect people with “passion and commitment to our community. …and innovation. …

“We know we can’t solve our issues and challenges with business as usual. Let’s innovate and reach people where they are…. I definitely do want a diverse leadership team. I am going to be looking for women. I’m going to be looking for people of color who don’t identify as black to join us as well. We have the fastest growing immigrant population in the South, definitely the fastest in Tennessee. Where is our bilingual support? How are we providing services to our Spanish speakers, who haven’t learned English yet but need critical city services?

“Who are our liaisons to different communities? We have a vibrant Muslim community in North Memphis; our LGBTQ community. My leadership team will look like our city, which is beautiful, diverse and multilayered and intersectional.”

Activism in the mayor’s office

Sawyer was the most visible figure in the #takemdown901 movement that advocated for the removal of Confederate-era monuments from parks then owned by the city. She is known as an activist and embraces the term.

“Activists have been mayor for a long time. Maynard Jackson (Atlanta) was an activist. President Obama was an activist. Sometimes we look at activist as a dirty word and it shouldn’t be. An activist acts. …I move issues into the forefront. I drive conversation. I drive change. And isn’t that what we want in a mayor?

(For more information, visit www.tamisawyer.com.)

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2026 Lucid Air Grand Touring Review — Is This $136K EV Sedan Worth It?

AUTONETWORK ON BLACKPRESSUSA — Finished in Stellar White Metallic with the Tahoe Grand Touring interior, this Lucid makes a strong first impression. The shape is sleek and low, but it still feels elegant instead of trying too hard. Features like soft-close doors, powered illuminated door handles, 20-inch Aero Lite wheels, and the Glass Canopy Roof help the car feel expensive before you even start it.

Published

2 weeks ago

May 3, 2026

Oakland Post

The 2026 Lucid Air Grand Touring is the kind of luxury EV that makes people stop and ask a simple question: Is this really better than a Tesla Model S, Mercedes EQS, or BMW i7? At $136,150, it has to do more than look futuristic. It has to feel special every time you get in it.

Finished in Stellar White Metallic with the Tahoe Grand Touring interior, this Lucid makes a strong first impression. The shape is sleek and low, yet it still feels elegant rather than trying too hard. Features like soft-close doors, powered illuminated door handles, 20-inch Aero Lite wheels, and the Glass Canopy Roof help the car feel expensive before you even start it.

Inside is where the Air Grand Touring really makes its case. The 34-inch Glass Cockpit Display and retractable Pilot Panel screen give the cabin a clean, modern look that still feels different from other EVs. The Tahoe Extended Leather and Lucid Black Alcantara headliner lifts the sense of occasion, and the front seats are a highlight. They are 20-way power-adjustable, heated, ventilated, and include massage. That matters because luxury buyers at this price expect comfort first.

Rear passengers are not ignored either. You get 5-zone heated rear seating, a rear center console display, and power rear and rear side window sunshades. Add in the Surreal Sound Pro system with 21 speakers, and the Air feels like a true long-distance luxury sedan.

Lucid also gives this car serious EV hardware. The dual-motor all-wheel-drive system, 900V+ charging architecture, and Wunderbox onboard charger are big talking points. Buyers in this segment care about range, charging speed, and everyday ease, not just raw performance. That is where the Lucid continues to stand out.

On the technology side, the Air Grand Touring includes DreamDrive Premium, with 3D Surround View Monitoring, Blind Spot Warning, Automatic Park In and Out, Automatic Emergency Braking, and a Driver Monitoring System with distracted and drowsy driver alerts. This one also has DreamDrive Pro, which adds future-capable ADAS hardware.

There are still some real-world annoyances. Based on your notes, the windshield wiper control is hard to find and use, and that matters more than people think in a high-tech car. When controls become less intuitive, even a beautiful interior can feel frustrating.

Still, the 2026 Lucid Air Grand Touring succeeds where it matters most. It feels luxurious, advanced, comfortable, and thoughtfully engineered. For buyers who want an EV sedan that feels truly premium and less common than the usual choices, this Lucid makes a very strong case.

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Snoop Dogg Celebrates 10 Til’ Midnight at the Compound

LOS ANGELES SENTINEL — The album is paired with a film that stars Snoop Dogg, Hitta J3, G Perico, and Ray Vaughn, and one of the strongest elements of the whole project is that the production stayed rooted right here in Los Angeles.

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2 weeks ago

May 3, 2026

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Snoop Dogg celebrated the premiere of 10 Til’ Midnight at his Inglewood recording studio & multipurpose facility, The Compound, but the night felt like much more than an album release. It felt like Los Angeles. It felt like legacy. And it felt like another major move from one of the city’s greatest cultural architects as he continues to prove that he is not just dropping music — he is building moments, shaping narratives, and pushing the culture forward in real time.

What made the event so powerful was the clarity behind the vision. During a panel conversation with DJ Hed, Snoop opened up about the heart behind 10 Til’ Midnight, explaining that the project was created to help bridge older and younger generations while also speaking to the long-standing divisions between Bloods and Crips in a unique way through film. That alone gave the project a different kind of weight. This was not just about songs. This was about using creativity as a tool for connection. This was about taking a story rooted in Los Angeles and telling it in a way that could bring people together.

Snoop Congratulated By Rapper & Fellow 10 Til Midnight Cast Member G Perico (CreativeLB/KreativeKapturez)

The album is paired with a film that stars Snoop Dogg, Hitta J3, G Perico, and Ray Vaughn, and one of the strongest elements of the whole project is that the production stayed rooted right here in Los Angeles. The film was shot in the city, including at WePlay Studios in Inglewood, which gave the entire project an even deeper hometown feel. It was not just a West Coast story in content — it was a Los Angeles-made production from the ground up.

That matters because, in a city like this, authenticity still carries weight. Snoop understands how to make sure that what he creates does not just represent Los Angeles on the surface, but actually comes from it.

What also makes 10 Til’ Midnight significant is that it represents another major step in Snoop’s evolution as both an artist and executive. Public reporting around the project identifies it as his 22nd studio album, but the bigger story is what it represents in this season of his life. This is one of several consecutive moves he has made in his 50s that show he is still building, still expanding, and still finding new ways to reinvent what the next chapter looks like.

Snoop Dogg at the Premiere of 10 Til Midnight (CreativeLB/KreativeKapturez)

Now, as the head of Death Row Records and the newly aligned leader of Death Row Pictures, he is taking the brand into a new dimension. That is what made this moment feel bigger than music. Snoop is not just protecting the legacy of Death Row — he is stretching it. He is expanding it beyond records and into film, visual storytelling, and larger creative worlds that can continue carrying the label’s impact forward. Public reporting has noted that this project arrives as part of that broader cinematic push.

That is a major Los Angeles move because the city has always been built on the intersection of music, film, neighborhood identity, and cultural storytelling. With 10 Til’ Midnight, Snoop is leaning all the way into that intersection.

The room at The Compound reflected that. It felt like a private premiere, but it also felt like a statement — a reminder that Snoop Dogg’s staying power has never been based only on nostalgia. It comes from his ability to remain connected, remain visionary, and remain in tune with how to move the culture without losing the essence of who he is.

That is why this premiere mattered. It was not just about celebrating another album. It was about witnessing a Los Angeles legend continue to evolve, continue to unify, and continue to use art to tell stories that hit deeper than entertainment alone.

In that sense, 10 Til’ Midnight became more than a project launch. It became another example of how Snoop Dogg is still taking Los Angeles to the next level — using music, film, and legacy together to build something bigger than a moment.

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OP-ED: Small Businesses Need Minnesota to Act on Pass-Through Tax Policy

MINNESOTA SPOKESMAN RECORDER — A Twin Cities immigrant entrepreneur who built several businesses including grocery stores in underserved neighborhoods is calling on Minnesota lawmakers to extend the Pass-Through Entity tax option before it expires, warning that its loss would hit small businesses already recovering from Operation Metro Surge with higher federal tax bills.

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2 weeks ago

May 3, 2026

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A Twin Cities Small Business Owner Is Urging Minnesota to Extend a Tax Policy That Could Save Thousands of Businesses

By Daniel Hernandez | Minnesota Spokesman Recorder

I came to the United States as a teenager with a clear goal: to build something meaningful through hard work. I put in long days in construction, restaurants, and landscaping; doing whatever it took to learn, save, and eventually start my own business.

Over time, I built and ran several successful ventures, including an event photography company, a magazine, a tax and accounting firm, and now grocery stores serving neighborhoods across the Twin Cities where other retailers chose not to invest. I’ve created jobs, supported families, and committed to communities that deserve stability and opportunity.

That’s why I’m speaking out now.

Small business owners in Minneapolis and the communities we serve are recovering from serious disruptions, including the impacts of Operation Metro Surge. That event hit immigrant communities especially hard. In my own case, I lost nearly half of my 60 employees and saw revenue drop by about 85%. While I worked to provide competitive wages, health benefits, and paid time off, the real hardship fell on the people who lost their jobs and income.

Even as we rebuild, small businesses are facing another challenge. The Minnesota Legislature is considering letting an important tax policy expire: the Pass-Through Entity tax option.

Here’s what that means in plain terms.

Many small businesses, including mine, are pass-through businesses. That means the business itself doesn’t pay income tax. Instead, the owners report the income on their personal tax returns. But under current federal rules, there’s a limit on how much state tax we can deduct. That often leads to higher federal tax bills.

The Pass-Through Entity option fixes that. It allows the business to pay the state tax directly, which means the business can fully deduct those taxes on its federal return and lower the total amount of income taxed federally. The result is straightforward: small business owners pay less in federal taxes, without reducing what the state collects.

This policy is not new or controversial. Thirty-six states already offer it. It doesn’t cost Minnesota anything, it’s revenue neutral. And it benefits more than 66,000 businesses across the state.

In a state where the cost of doing business is already high, it’s hard to understand why we wouldn’t offer the same basic tax treatment as states like California and Illinois.

Small businesses have carried a heavy load in recent years, through a pandemic, rising costs and public safety disruptions. We’ve adapted, reinvested and stayed committed to our communities. What we need now are practical policies that support that work, not make it harder.

If the Minnesota House does not act soon, many businesses will face significantly higher federal tax bills. That’s money that could otherwise be used to hire workers, raise wages or reinvest in local neighborhoods.

I urge Gov. Tim Walz and members of the House Tax Committee to pass House File 3127 and extend the Pass-Through Entity election.

Small businesses are the backbone of our communities. We’ve proven our resilience. Now we need our state leaders to show the same commitment to us.

Daniel Hernandez is the owner of Colonial Market located at 2100 E. Lake St.

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