Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon released hundreds of public records on Monday related to the city’s hiring process to replace police chief Eve Thomas, who retired in 2022 amidst controversy over the city’s rising homicide rate. The mayor’s office had previously denied a request by KnoxNews for the records claiming the search for a new chief was not subject to open records law since the city had hired an outside party, Police Executive Research Forum, to conduct the search. KnoxNews sued the mayor’s office in July and in December, Chancellor John Weaver ruled that KnoxNews could depose city officials to answer questions about the suit under oath. Read more at KnoxNews.

Vivian Wilhoite, a former Metro council member and current Davidson County property assessor, is the latest candidate announce a campaign to be Nashville’s next mayor. She joins former Republican congressional candidate Natisha Brooks; state Sen. Heidi Campbell, D-Nashville; Metro Council members Sharon Hurt and Freddie O’Connell; state Sen. Jeff Yarbro, D-Nashville; Republican strategist Alice Rolli; former Metro official Matt Wiltshire; former school board member Fran Bush; and former AllianceBernstein executive Jim Gingrich. The filing deadline is May 18. The Nashville Scene has more on the race.

The Tennessee Lookout reports that special elections to fill three seats in the Tennessee Legislature could cost taxpayers up to $570,000 after the resignation of Rep. Scotty Campbell, R-Mountain City, and the expulsion of Rep. Justin Jones, D-Nashville, and Justin J. Person, D-Memphis. The Metro Council and Shelby County Commission voted to reappoint Jones and Pearson respectively, just days after their expulsion, but a special election must be held to fill all three seats because the two-year terms have more than a year remaining.

Candidates for Memphis mayor met this week for a debate, during which all said they support enforcement of a youth curfew, the Commercial Appeal reports. The curfew idea was first introduced as part of a proposed “Juvenile Crime Abatement Program” put forward by the Memphis Police Department. It would require stricter enforcement of a 1996 curfew ordinance impacting those age 16 and under. The overall plan has met with resistance for allegedly utilizing profiling and concerns about where juveniles would be held if picked up for violating curfew. Candidates also addressed the death of Tyre Nichols at the hands of Memphis police officers, the number of police needed in the city, and whether the culture that led to Nichols’ death is endemic in the police department.

The U.S. Supreme Court announced today that access to the abortion pill mifepristone will remain unchanged through at least Friday. Justice Samuel Alito, who handles emergency requests from the Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, announced the extension through Friday at 11:59 p.m. EDT. The order gave no indication of how the court intends to proceed. Last Monday, the Court of Appeals issued an emergency stay of U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk’s ruling, which invalidated the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the pill citing insufficient research but imposed that new restrictions on the pill's distribution. Last Thursday, the Biden administration asked for an emergency intervention from the Supreme Court to allow access to the pill through mail order and without first seeing a physician. Read more about today's ruling in The Hill.

The Nashville mayor’s race widens as state Sen. Heidi Campbell, D-Nashville, announces her campaign. The Tennessean reports that Campbell said Nashville is “in the midst of a hostile takeover” and she has a “deep understanding” of the issues between the state and Nashville governments. Prior to entering state politics, Campbell served as mayor of the Davidson County suburb Oak Hill from 2014 to 2020.

Ken Moody, special assistant to Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland, is leaving the mayor’s office for a new position at the University of Memphis, effective March 3. ABC24 reports that Moody has been with Memphis government for more than 20 years. Mayor Strickland said in a news release that “Ken has been an invaluable member of our senior leadership team and has made a real difference in city government.”

Republican strategist Alice Rolli has entered the 2023 Nashville mayoral race, according to the Nashville Scene. Rolli was campaign manager for Tennessee Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander’s 2014 reelection bid and worked for several years in the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development during GOP Gov. Bill Haslam’s time in office. She was also an adviser to Republican Randy Boyd’s unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign in 2018 and was involved in an effort to stop a development near Fort Negley in 2017. Rolli’s campaign Treasurer David Fox, who lost his mayoral bid in 2015, says that for Rolli, the measure of the city’s success is “the quality of life for all who are committed to make our city their home,” not how many corporations city leaders can incentivize to relocate.

Nashville Mayor John Cooper sent the Republican National Committee (RNC) and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) similar letters of intent to move forward in the bidding and hosting process for the 2028 conventions, the Nashville Business Journal reports. The letters are not binding and require the Metro Council to approve any agreement. The council declined to pursue a bid to host a political convention in 2024 citing concerns over logistics and safety. In response, a number of Republican members of the state legislature introduced bills targeting the city’s autonomy. Proposals included defunding the convention center, giving the state control over the airport and sports authorities, and cutting the number of council members, the Tennessean reports. House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, recently suggested that lawmakers might pull back on these efforts if Cooper showed the city was open to an RNC bid.

At-Large Metro Councilmember Bob Mendes said today that he will not enter the race to be Nashville’s next mayor. Mendes had publicly considered a campaign after Mayor John Cooper announced he would not seek reelection. Mendes, a two-term councilmember who has taken a prominent role in debates about the city’s finances, wrote on his website that a mayoral bid “is not the best way for our family to serve Nashville at this time.” Read more in the Nashville Post.