Young, the current head of the Downtown Memphis Commission, will be the next mayor of Memphis.
by Don Mooney
Memphis, TN—Music blasted through Minglewood Hall as supporters of Paul Young held their phones, flashlights lit, in the air.
“This is not about Paul Young. This is about the future of our city, the city we love, the city people forgot about, the one they wanted to write off,” Young said as he greeted the crowd. “We’re not having it y’all. We’re ready to take us into a new future. … it’s time for us to write the next pages of Memphis history.”
Mayor-elect Young campaigned on a platform of bringing jobs and a strong economy to Memphis, building off his time as head of the DMC and director of the city’s division of housing and community development.
At Young’s watch party at Minglewood Hall Thursday, the crowd grew excited shortly before 8 p.m. as early voting totals projected on a large screen, showing Young in the lead, followed by Bonner.
“I’ve been knowing Paul since he was a little boy,” said Delois Williamson, a Young supporter at the party. “He’s always had that leadership ability. He was born for this.”
As Bonner conceded the race across town, Young’s mother, Pastor Dianne Young embraced supporters of her son at Minglewood Hall. “Look at what God has done,” she said. “This is surreal, because this is a dream I had 20 years ago, and I told him when he was an engineering student. He said, ‘Mama, I’m not going into politics.’ And look where he is now.”
Shortly after Bonner conceded, Herenton and Turner conceded, too.
In a speech to a room packed with supporters, the mayor-elect said his victory was about all of Memphis.
The new mayor of Memphis, a city of more than 630,000 people, will be sworn in on Jan. 1.