Memphis could lose funding for major projects if Pearson appointed back to seat, commissioner says [View all]

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - A Shelby County commissioner told FOX13 on Friday that Nashville leaders are threatening to take away funding from Memphis and other Shelby County projects if the county commission decides to reinstate expelled state Rep. Justin J. Pearson.

Pearson (D-Memphis) and Justin Jones (D-Nashville) both were voted out of the Tennessee House of Representatives on Thursday.

The decision came a week after hundreds of protestors gathered at the Tennessee State Capitol to speak out against what they viewed as lax gun laws in the wake of a mass shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville that left three 9-year-olds and three adults dead.

As protestors gathered outside of the House walls, Pearson and Jones took part in a demonstration of their own on the House floor, using a bullhorn and political signs to speak out against gun laws. That demonstration prompted the votes which resulted in the two Democrats being expelled from the House.

Rep. Gloria Johnson, D-Knoxville, also faced expulsion but escaped the fate by a single vote.

According to Shelby County Commissioner Erika Sugarmon, leaders in Nashville threated to pull state funding for projects in the Memphis area if commissioners were to reappoint Pearson.



https://www.fox13memphis.com/news/memphis-could-lose-funding-for-major-projects-if-pearson-appointed-back-to-seat-commissioner-says/article_a314c216-d582-11ed-9766-8f4212e502ec.html