MEMPHIS, September 1, 2026 - The Memphis City Council's Personnel and Governmental Affairs Committee approved seven appointments and one reappointment to the Memphis Area Transit Authority board with a request for same night minutes.

Mayor Paul Young presented the slate himself. He told the committee the transit authority's board has been in flux and has not had a quorum for some time, that the agency will continue under its trusteeship relationship, and that at some point the city has to move toward bringing in a chief executive and reestablishing the structure. This, he said, is one step in that direction.

The slate

The appointments are Sharon Harris, Tate Wilson, Willie Gregory, Dr. Gwen Sutton, William Mallory IV, Allison Donald and Antwoine Clark. Brandon Arrindell, a current member whose term has expired, is reappointed. The mayor said Maya Sigers is a current member whose term is not up.

He described each. Sharon Harris is a vice president of human resources and a board of trustees member at LeMoyne-Owen College. Willie Gregory is a director of global investment at Nike who previously worked in marketing and sales at IBM. Tate Wilson is chief executive of the Kemmons Wilson Foundation. Dr. Gwen Sutton is president of the Tennessee College of Applied Technology. Allison Donald is an independent living specialist with Disability Connection Midsouth and a longtime transit advocate. Antwoine Clark is an employment development manager at the Binghampton Community Development Corporation. He described William Mallory IV as a director at International Paper with experience in real estate.

The committee chairwoman noted for the record that resumes for all of the proposed appointees had been placed in members' binders.

The objection

Councilwoman Yolanda Cooper-Sutton spoke at length against moving now. She said she had told the mayor she was not eager to reestablish a board, and that her concern is the work done under the interim president. She said she did not want anyone coming onto the board and undoing what has been put in place and is now working, or changing the chief executive.

She said she had read every resume in the binder and was not saying anyone is unqualified, then asked the room whether any of them had ridden the bus lately. She said she had done a two-week tour of the system with the interim president. She said Memphis keeps the same playbook and ends up with the same results, that decisions should not be made on friendship or fraternity ties, and that the city needs people in place who care about the underserved community that uses the bus.

She said she would trust the mayor once again with the appointments, that she did not know whether she would vote yes or no, and that she hoped wisdom would be used in picking the chief executive.

The mayor responded that he shares her desire to maintain stability, and gave the timing reason plainly: the interim president will have to shift at the end of the year, and the board is needed to help select the new chief executive. He said reestablishing the board does not change the trusteeship relationship under which the Council oversees the agency with the interim president in place, and that the two run on parallel tracks.

Councilman Edmund H. Ford Sr., who chairs the Transportation Committee, said the agency has come a long way, that the board can be hired or fired if it does not do the job, and that the trustee arrangement will continue watching. He asked the appointees present to stand and say their names so the public could see who they are.

The committee approved the slate on a voice vote with a favorable recommendation and same night minutes.

What happens next

The appointments went to the floor as add-on item 16 with same night minutes and took effect that night. The mayor said the board's first substantial task is helping select a new chief executive before the interim president shifts at the end of the year.

Your city. Your money. Your receipts.