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TN Politics: Bad Timing, Bad Laws Ahead of Big Ballot

WKNO-FM

The license plate debacle was slow to make headlines. By the time it became widely known that thousands of people weren't receiving their new Tennessee plates because of a backup at the Shelby County Clerk's office, Wanda Halbert had already won her reelection primary.

Memphis Political analyst Otis Sanford says the story might be different had the mismanagement come to light sooner. But she will likely defeat her Republican and Independent challengers in the August 4 election.

This week, Democratic State Representative Torrey Harris was arrested in Nashville after getting into a domestic dispute with an ex-boyfriend. Sanford expects it will not affect his election bid to the District 91 seat.

Finally, the so-called Tennessee ban on Critical Race Theoryin public and charter schools goes into effect in August, though lawmakers refused to explicitly state what topics of conversation or elements of American history must be avoided in order to not offend children, parents, staffers or school board members with regard to race or sex. The law allows anyone who objects to anything to file a complaint, and if that complaint is confirmed to violate lawmakers' deliberately vague policy, the Department of Education is required to remove funding from a school district.

This puts the burden of stifling free speech not on state lawmakers, but on local school districts under threat of defunding — a tactic gaining popularity with Republican lawmakers with a pro-white racial agenda who previously defunded the City of Memphis for removing Confederate monuments.

Reporting from the gates of Graceland to the balcony of the Lorraine Motel, Christopher has covered Memphis news, arts, culture and politics for more than 20 years in print and on the radio. He is currently WKNO's News Director and Senior Producer at the University of Memphis' Institute for Public Service Reporting. Join his conversations about the Memphis arts scene on the WKNO Culture Desk Facebook page.