Jimmy Turner, an attorney with Wilson, Howser & Oliver, will challenge state Rep. Rick Wormick in the Republican primary for Ruthferford County’s 34th District House Street, the Murfreesboro Post reports. "If you are looking for a candidate that is beholden to the political establishment, then I'm not your guy. As a political outsider, I am looking to bring positive and effective leadership to Nashville for our district and county,” Turner said. The GOP primary is scheduled for Aug. 4, 2016.

Metro Council member and Nashville attorney Loniel Greene Jr. is in stable condition after being shot Wednesday at a gas station in Nashville. WZTV reports that the incident is under investigation.

The Columbia Daily Herald reports that Gov. Bill Haslam’s office will not release three documents relating to the governor’s building-management outsourcing plan. Haslam’s office cited a “deliberative process privilege” for high government officials as an exemption to the state’s public records law.

Former Nashville mayor Karl Dean’s plan to build a "trackless trolly" line to connect the city’s east and west areas failed when outside money and interests came into play, the Boston Globe reports. What started as a local transportation project, the newspaper says in its Divided Nation series, turned into a bare-knuckle city-versus-state fight at a time when the partisan divide between big cities — mostly run by Democrats — and state capitals, where the GOP largely holds sway, has reached a historic extreme.

Attorney and city councilman Jim Strickland is the new mayor of Memphis with 42 percent of the vote over three-term incumbent A C Wharton’s 22 percent, The Commercial Appeal reports. "Today the people of Memphis spoke loudly and clearly. You want a new direction for this city," Strickland said. The win for Strickland is the first time a council member will serve as mayor of the city since 1972.

David Smith, longtime press secretary to Gov. Bill Haslam, will serve as the governor’s director of communications, the Nashville Post reports. Smith is a former information specialist with the University of Tennessee’s administration. He will oversee internal and external communications for the administration.

News Channel 5 reports Gov. Bill Haslam’s privatization plan is not saving as much money as taxpayers were promised. "We're getting lower estimates on the money that we are actually going to save for which we paid $1 million to know how much we were going to save," Rep. John Ray Clemmons, D-Nashville, said, referencing the $1 million paid to Jones Lang Lasalle to study the condition of state buildings. 

Gov. Bill Haslam and Transportation Commissioner John Schroer finished a six-week statewide tour discussing underfunded transportation projects with legislators, city officials and business leaders, Nooga reports. Haslam has not commented on what proposals he may bring forward in the upcoming legislative season, but the Republican governor has not ruled out an increase to the state’s gas tax.

The Commercial Appeal highlighted “substantial issues” found during a background investigation of five Memphis city court clerk candidates hoping to succeed City Court Clerk Thomas Long Sr, who is retiring after 20 years. The investigation revealed personal debt issues for William Chism Jr. and funeral home director Justin Ford, and ethics charges that had been filed against former circuit court judge Kay Spalding Robilio.

Memphis mayoral candidate Mike Williams and about 20 city residents travelled to Nashville Friday to ask state officials to conduct a “forensic audit” of the city’s books and an ethics review of city officials, The Commercial Appeal reports. The group did not name any city officials during its request. State Comptroller Justin P. Wilson said he will review documents given to him by Williams.