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Our Blueprint
Alex Robinson
Jaafree Smith
Jerrod Bolton
Richard Massey
What’s your Blueprint for Change
There are almost 100,000 young Memphians registered to vote, yet only 10% of 18-34 year olds in the city are projected to vote. That's where you come in.
Young people in Memphis are powerful, and we can flex our power by showing up to choose the next mayor of our city. Scroll this page to find the information you need to know before heading to the polls on October 5.
What do young Memphians need to live their best lives?
We asked more than 300 people in Memphis, ages 18-30, about the changes we need. They said:
Activities for youth: We need positive things for teens to do in Memphis, like summer jobs and safe places to go after school.
Career training: After high school, we need help figuring out how to make money. We want more career training and connections to good jobs in Memphis.
More good jobs: A lof of young Memphians need help finding good jobs with decent pay and good working conditions. We want the next mayor to raise the pay in the city.
Stopping slum lords and unfair payday lenders: Businesses that take advantage of people without jobs or people who can't pay their bills need to be stopped. Period.
The Candidates
We asked candidates running in the 2023 mayoral election where they stand on the issues that matter most to 18-30-year-olds. The candidates featured below responded by sharing text and video statements. Learn more about each candidate’s Blueprint for Change below.
To learn more about our survey of 18-30-year-olds in Memphis and how we chose which candidates to profile click here.
What You Need to Know
The Job: Mayor of Memphis
The mayor of Memphis manages a budget of $792 million and makes decisions for the 630,000 people who live in Memphis.
17 people, or candidates, are running to be the next Mayor of Memphis.
The candidate with the most votes on October 5th wins.
The current mayor, Jim Strickland is term-limited, which means he cannot run again.
Here’s the full list of the candidates.
Make Your Voice Heard.
VOTE ON OCTOBER 5TH!
Check yourself
Make sure you're registered to vote. You can check your voter registration status here. If you're not already registered to vote, you won’t be able to vote in the local October election, but you can vote in the next presidential election on November 5, 2024. Register to vote here.
Do your research
Scroll up to find out where this year’s candidates stand on issues that matter to you. There are 17 candidates running for mayor this year. Learn who is on the list here.
Make a plan
Getting to the Polls: Get your ride together. How are you going to get to the polls?
Don’t forget to bring your ID. Learn more about what you should bring to vote.
Go to the Polls!
ON ELECTION DAY: Vote on election day – October 5th! Find your polling location here. Polls are open from 7 AM to 7 PM.
The Process
In August 2023, The Collective Blueprint polled (via Change Research) over 300 young adults ages 18-30 in Memphis to understand what issues matter the most to them. We also asked them if they were registered to vote and whether they planned to vote in the October 2023 Mayoral Election. A smaller group of young adults, alums from the TCB program, then convened to refine the survey insights and create the concept for the Blueprint for Change campaign.
We asked candidates to share how they would address the issues raised by young adults – their Blueprint for Change for Memphis. We reached out to 12 candidates who had publicly available campaign information. Candidates who responded with text and video statements are featured on this site.
About the Collective Blueprint
The mission of The Collective Blueprint is to increase socioeconomic mobility by building pathways to thriving careers. Learn more at www.thecollectiveblueprint.org. For questions, reach out to info@changeiscollective.org.