One of next year’s key political races is beginning to pick up steam. Incumbent District Attorney General Amy Weirich, a Republican, is stepping up her appearances before key audiences — like the Rotary Club of Memphis this past week.
And Weirich, who already has one Democratic opponent, attorney Linda Harris, is about to pick up another, University of Memphis law professor and former County Commissioner Steve Mulroy.
Mulroy announced on Monday that he is “seriously considering” opposing Weirich in the 2022 election. Mulroy said he has been “mulling over” such a race since early October, “when a group of criminal justice reform-minded lawyers approached me and asked me to consider it.”
Among the issues Mulroy said he considered needful of addressing were what he called the “pack ’em in and throw away the key” attitude of the incumbent, her record of judicial citations for misconduct, separation of juvenile from adult offenders, and bail reform.
Mulroy said he didn’t take Weirich lightly as an opponent but said that, if he became the Democratic nominee, he believed he had assurances of substantial backing from all aspects of the community and enough support to prevail.
In addition to his two terms as a County Commissioner, Mulroy, the author of numerous articles and a recent book on issues of judicial and election reform, ran in the Democratic primary for Shelby County Mayor in 2014, finishing a strong second to eventual Democratic nominee Deidre Malone.