- FAST FACTS:
- Councilman Strickland presents motion to accept Herenton's Resignation
- That leads to intense and combative debate
- Council voted 7 to 6 to accept resignation and declare vacancy
tom.powell@wreg.com twitter.com/tompowell3
(MEMPHIS July 7, 2009 9:13 PM) -- The Memphis City Council voted 7-to-6 in favor of a motion accepting Mayor Herenton's retirement on July 30th. The motion declares the seat would then be vacant on July 31st.
Some council members who voted against the motion felt it was an attempt to back Mayor Herenton into a corner. They say the people elected him, and he should be free to change his mind on his retirement.
The mayor has sent a series of letters to Council Chairman Myron Lowery. The first letter announced his retirement date as July 10th. The second said his intended resignation date would be pushed back until July 30th. A third letter, according to the city council attorney, could be read to mean Herenton is rescinding all of his previous retirement announcements.
It's that third letter you may be hearing a lot about in the coming days. If the letter means Herenton took back all of his previous retirement announcements, then attorneys warn the document could be used in court to show the council voted on a retirement letter that was no longer valid.
