There’s the contest and there are the rules. Rules have history. Changing them has consequences.
Cities aren’t mentioned in the Constitution. Neither are parties. The Founders were very aware of the issue of factions. James Madison got it right. Majority rule is the gold standard. However, a faction that becomes a majority can run roughshod over others. Hence, we have federalism and the separation of powers.
Cities are not immune from the faction problem. Page one of the rulebook is representation. Should a majority be required for a mayor or council member to assume office? Do majorities use these requirements to mobilize their members to shut out others? Sometimes they do! It’s a matter for research.
Cities are creatures of the state, and the state has spoken
Tennessee municipalities and their elections have gotten some unsolicited attention in the General Assembly. Like it or not, cities are creatures of the state, and the state has spoken. In the past couple of sessions the General Assembly has eliminated the possibility of instant runoffs, large city councils and district primaries with citywide runoffs.
Some of this will end up in court. After all, there’s the matter of home rule that requires that state legislation must be general and not targeted to one city. But most will likely stand. That puts the bouncing ball back in the locals’ hands.
Impacts on Knoxville, Nashville and Memphis
These state changes have affected Memphis, Nashville and Knoxville. In 2021 the Tennessee General Assembly permitted local governments to institute partisan school board elections. Last year a bill to require local mayoral and council partisan elections was introduced but failed to become law.
There’s discussion in Memphis about changes to its electoral system. In this fall’s mayoral election there were 17 candidates. Twenty-eight percent was a plurality. Paul Young was elected.
Two proposals for charter changes have circulated. One would institute runoffs for elections for mayor. The other would create partisan elections for mayor and council members, with the primaries acting to narrow the field.
Don’t make local elections partisan
Making local elections explicitly partisan in Memphis or elsewhere is not a good idea. True, it does create an easier path to an almost certain majority winner. But it does so at a cost of collaborative governance that is needed more than ever.
Runoffs are another matter. They have a checkered history. Runoffs for mayor were eliminated in Memphis by a 1991 federal court decision. The evidence at that time was pretty clear. They had been used as a mechanism to ensure that a candidate favored by the then white majority would ultimately prevail.
Things have changed a lot. Today, Black residents are a clear majority in Memphis. There’s little evidence that old ways will return. Memphis should give real consideration to a runoff provision for mayor. The instant runoff had some appeal. It’s off the table now.
Runoff provisions create burdens on Knoxville City Council candidates and voters
Knoxville has no demonstrated pattern of runoffs serving to mobilize voters on the basis of race. Nonetheless, the General Assembly got rid of the citywide runoffs for district elections. Knoxville thus has majority runoff provisions that are no longer needed. They create needless burdens on candidates and voters.
Let’s back up to a fundamental principle. If a candidate obtains over 50% of the vote in an election, they should not have to run a second time with the same constituency. Right now at-large candidates for Knoxville City Council have to do just that.
The legislature eliminated citywide runoffs for district races. So unless the charter is changed, district candidates with majorities in the primary will have to likewise rinse and repeat before the same voters. This burdens candidates and voters for no good reason. All Knoxville City Council elections, like those for mayor and city judge, should require runoffs only when a candidate has not received over 50% in the first election.
The spirit of home rule took a setback during the last session. But it’s still alive. Local voters and their elected officials should strongly consider any changes that can improve local democracy.
William Lyons is Professor Emeritus of Political Science and Interim Associate Director of The Institute of American Civics at the Howard Baker School of Public Policy and Public Affairs at the University of Tennessee. He also served as Chief Policy Officer for Knoxville Mayors Bill Haslam, Daniel Brown and Madeline Rogero. The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Institute of American Civics or the University of Tennessee.
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