Chairman schedules meeting to fill District 86 seat following Justin J. Pearson’s expulsion

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - Mickell Lowery, Chairman of the Shelby County Board of Commission, called for the reappointment of Justin J. Pearson and scheduled a meeting in hopes to do so.

Shelby County Commissioners will decide if they want to reappoint him – to get him back in the house on Wednesday at 1:30.

However – there’s worry his former colleagues could retaliate against Memphis if this decision is made.

At risk are hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding for projects across Bluff City which include renovations to FedEx Forum.

Four out of the 13 commissioners we’ve reached out to say they’re open to Pearson’s reappointment.

Those are Brittney Thornton, Charlie Caswell, Mikell Lowery, Erika Sugarmon.

Lowery released a statement on Sunday regarding the current political and social unrest over the expulsions of both Justin Pearson and Justin Jones.

“As the Chairman of the Shelby County Board of Commissioners, I am required to
make decisions as a leader regarding the actions of the body and at times my colleagues
during heated debate. The protests at the State Capitol by citizens recently impacted by the
senseless deaths of three 9-year-old children and three adults entrusted with their care at
their school was understandable given the fact that the gun laws in the State of Tennessee
are becoming nearly non-existent. It is equally understandable that the leadership of the
State House of Representatives felt a strong message had to be sent to those who
transgressed the rules. However, I believe the expulsion of State Representative Justin
Pearson was conducted in a hasty manner without consideration of other corrective action
methods. I also believe that the ramifications for our great State are still yet to be seen.
Coincidentally, this has directly affected me as I too reside in State House District 86.
I am amongst the over 68, 000 citizens who were stripped of having a representative at the State due to the unfortunate outcome of the State Assembly’s vote.
Mickell Lowery

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