{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"Lisa Arnold","chatgptsummary":"Lisa Arnold is highly suitable for the role of General Sessions Court Clerk. With 33 years of experience in General Sessions and Criminal Court Clerk offices, she has served in key management positions under both Democrats and Republicans. She has held various roles including Deputy Court Clerk, Chief Principal Clerk, and Manager of Finance. Arnold is dedicated to accurately collecting and recording information on criminal defendants, demands exceptional training of clerk employees, and supports full transparency. She has a Computer Operations degree and a paralegal certification, and is also a certified EMT. Arnold's extensive experience and commitment to the role make her a strong candidate for the position.","notes":"","party":"Republican","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nLisa Arnold is a candidate for Shelby County General Sessions Court Clerk [1].\n\n## Background and education\nArnold earned a Computer Operations degree from State Technical Institute at Memphis and a paralegal certification from Christian Brothers University [4]. She is also a certified EMT [4]. She participated in the County Officials Training Certificate program at the University of Tennessee [4].\n\n## Career\nArnold has over 33 years of experience in the Criminal and General Sessions Court Clerk offices [4]. She began working in General Sessions at age 15 during the summer, and joined full time after high school graduation [4]. She held positions including Deputy Court Clerk, Chief Principal Clerk, Customer Service Supervisor, Grand Jury Supervisor, Collections Supervisor, Finance Coordinator, and Manager of Finance [4].\n\nArnold served in management roles under both Democratic and Republican clerks, including Minerva Johnican and Edward Stanton [4]. Under Clerk Stanton, she managed the Finance Department at General Sessions Court and was the only Republican serving in an appointed position [4]. She implemented the Garnishment and Bankruptcy departments to collect unpaid court costs and fines [4].\n\n## Family\nArnold is a two-time breast cancer survivor and is now cancer free [4]. She is a member of Christ Church Bartlett [4].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Wake Up Memphis](https://omny.fm/shows/wake-up-memphis/shelby-county-general-sessions-court-clerk-candida)\n[2] [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/lisa.arnold.3597)\n[3] [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-arnold-7954331a1/)\n[4] [Campaign Site](https://lisaarnoldforclerk.com/)\n","firstname":"Lisa","lastname":"Arnold","middlename":null,"suffix":null,"token":"YN4S4mhwj5"},"token":"lisa_arnold"},{"candidatename":"Tami Sawyer","chatgptsummary":"Tami Sawyer, with her extensive experience in public service and leadership roles, appears well-suited for the role of General Sessions Court Clerk. Her background in communications and public policy, coupled with her experience in managing administrative functions and legal procedures, aligns with the responsibilities of the role. Her recognition for public service and involvement in civil rights activism demonstrate a commitment to serving the public and upholding justice. Her experience in providing commentary on various media outlets also suggests strong communication skills, which would be beneficial in the customer service aspect of the role.","notes":"","party":"Democratic","person":{"biography":"[https://www.linkedin.com/in/tamisawyer/](https://www.linkedin.com/in/tamisawyer/)\n\n[https://www.instagram.com/tamisawyer901/](https://www.instagram.com/tamisawyer901/)\n\n[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tami_Sawyer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tami_Sawyer)\n\n\nTami Sawyer is a former Shelby County Commissioner. A recognized civil rights activist, Tami holds an MA in Communications and is pursuing a Ph.D. in public policy. She previously held leadership positions with Black Voters Matter and Teach for America Memphis. \n\nIn 2017, Tami founded #TakeEmDown901, the successful movement to remove Confederate statues from Memphis. She is featured in the award-winning Netflix documentary Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America with Jeff Robinson. \n\nTami has provided commentary on outlets such as Al Jazeera, CNN, Essence, Forbes, Huffington Post, MLK50, MSNBC, NPR, Roland Martin, and Time. Tami is a TEDx speaker.\n\nTami has been highly recognized for her public service. In 2022, she was named Young Elected Official of the Year by People For the American Way and was featured on the Reckon South List. In 2018, Tami was included on the Ebony Power 100 List. \n\nTami is a national governing board member of Common Cause. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and The Links, Inc. She is co-founder of the George Floyd Legal Defense Fund of the NAACP Memphis.\n\nTami loves spending time with her cat and two nieces. She enjoys good music, dystopian literature, and building LEGO architecture sets.\n","firstname":"Tami","lastname":"Sawyer","middlename":null,"suffix":null,"token":"zzJyxuwe5y"},"token":"tami_sawyer"}],"choices":null,"description":"The General Sessions Court Clerk, at 140 Adams Avenue, Room 106, Memphis is responsible for managing the administrative functions of the General Sessions Court, including maintaining court records, processing legal documents, and ensuring the accuracy and security of all court files. This role involves assisting judges, attorneys, and the public, scheduling court hearings, and collecting and disbursing court fees and fines. Additionally, the clerk ensures compliance with legal procedures and provides exceptional customer service to all court stakeholders. The General Sessions Court Clerk makes $165,139 a year. The Clerk\u2019s hours are Monday-Friday 8:00 a.m. - 4:15 p.m","district":"shelby","districtgroup":"county","districtgroupname":"County","districtname":null,"job_type":"general_sessions_clerk","o.office":"general_sessions_court_clerk","office":"general_sessions_court_clerk","officedescription":"The general-sessions court clerk keeps the records of the general-sessions court \u2014 small civil claims, landlord-tenant, misdemeanors, and preliminary hearings \u2014 a high-volume court \u2014 and collects court costs and fines.","officequalities":"- Maintains records of the General Sessions Court \u2014 civil claims under the statutory cap, landlord-tenant, small claims, plus misdemeanors and preliminary felony hearings.\n- Records management for the court served by this clerk's office, in conformity with Tennessee Rules of Civil/Criminal Procedure and the orders of the assigned judges.\n- Working knowledge of the relevant court's docket, fee schedule, and pleading requirements.\n- Financial controls for collecting and disbursing court costs, fines, restitution, bonds, and trust funds \u2014 with public accountability.\n- Supervision of a clerical staff handling high case volume and frequent statutory deadlines.\n- Administrative reliability \u2014 the office's filings are legally binding and its records are evidence.","officeterm":4,"officetitle":"General Sessions Court Clerk","partisan":1,"pgr":"general","quantity":1,"referendum":"","source":null,"title":"General Sessions Court Clerk"}