The 9:01 is a weekday column on all things Memphis

Election day in Shelby County

Ryan Poe | Memphis Commercial Appeal

There are new revelations on Memphis police's bad habit of conducting surveillance on activists.

Brandon Dill / For CommercialAppeal.com

Good morning from Memphis, where Memphis police apparently use fake social media accounts to keep tabs on citizens and St. Jude is changing its race route. But first...

Shelby County Democrats trounced Republicans last night.

Of the 26 county offices up for grabs, Democrats won all but five — and those were previously Republican commission seats. Before the election, Republicans held nine of the 10 most high-profile county offices, including mayor and sheriff. Now, they hold zero.

Katie Fretland, USA TODAY NETWORK – Tennessee

How to describe the devastation of last night's win for Republicans? It was a rout. A sweep. A wave that overwhelmed Republicans who had largely controlled the county — not counting the commission, which had a scant Democratic majority — since 2008.

Of course, all eyes were on the mayor's race, where Democrat Lee Harris easily won by more than 10 percentage points:

With 153,583 ballots counted as of 11:03 p.m., Harris had 84,956 votes, or 55.3 percent, to Republican David Lenoir's 68,491 votes, or 44.6 percent, according to unofficial results from the Shelby County Election Commission.

Here are some of my takeaways from the evening:

1. Democrats are in the driver's seat. Democrat Michael Whaley won the County Commission District 5 seat of term-limited Republican Heidi Shafer, giving the Democrats eight votes on the commission. Also, term-limited Democrat Justin Ford, who would occasionally cross the political aisle or go MIA during key votes, was succeeded by cousin and Memphis City Council member Edmund Ford Jr.

{{props.notification}} {{props.tag}} {{props.expression}} {{props.linkSubscribe.text}} {{#modules.acquisition.inline}}{{/modules.acquisition.inline}} ... Our reporting. Your stories. Get unlimited digital access to exclusive content. Subscribe Now

The upshot: Democrats significantly tightened their grip on the commission this election. That could come in handy for Harris as he pushes for new approaches to old problems — perhaps including the county chipping in on funding for the Memphis Area Transit Authority. Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland is especially looking forward to those talks:

I was particularly thrilled to hear how pro-transit he was during the campaign. We’ve been putting in the work (https://t.co/3lhpAeGIS5) to plan a brighter future for @RideMATA, and I look forward to welcoming the mayor-elect to the table. — Mayor Jim Strickland (@MayorMemphis) August 3, 2018

But MATA funding isn't the only qualify-of-life issue Harris plans to take on: Expect him to look at ramping up investment in education and other poverty-fighting measures. Floyd Bonner's win in the sheriff's race could also align the stars for the criminal justice reforms Harris has advocated as a senator and on the campaign trail.

Brandon Dahlberg / For CommercialAppeal.com

2. The 'blue wave' was real — but different. For a while now, I've wondered whether a much-discussed "blue wave" will look like Democrats actually voting Democratic. Well, that's apparently what happened, looking at the unofficial election results and turnout.

The turnout in the mayor's race, while up from 2014, was down from 2010. And going by percentages, Democrats won 55 percent of the vote, even though the given local political wisdom is that 60 percent of voters are in the Democratic camp. So, if you define a "wave" as Democrats winning through sheer turnout, then no — as Republican Party chairman Lee Mills pointed out on Twitter last night, that didn't happen.

Um, yes they won but I don't think it was a blue wave. Turnout doesn't show that. I mean, they have a 60/40 advantage out of the gate. — Lee Mills (@Millsdo) August 3, 2018

What apparently happened was that Democrats voted with their party. That's a different kind of wave, sure — but if you doubt it's a wave, just look at the results.

The reasons behind the wave are likely manifold, but it's hard to ignore the polarizing effect of President Donald Trump. Also, it's interesting that Harris and Republican governor candidate Bill Lee both largely focused on their visions while their opponents launched highly visible — and negative — attacks on them. Attack ads have a record of working — but in today's political climate, they seem to have backfired.

However, perhaps the big reason for the wave was that Democrats fielded high-quality candidates who clearly articulated the need for new solutions to persistent problems.

Brandon Dill / For CommercialAppeal.com

3. The win breathes new life into the Shelby County Democratic Party. Just a couple years ago, the Tennessee Democratic Party took the dramatic step of dissolving the Shelby County Democratic Party following grimace-inducing infighting.

Before then, the disorganized party had lost its authority, which was perhaps one of the underlying reasons for the party's humiliating defeat in 2010. But now? Well, the SCDP is officially back in business. The party endorsed 26 candidates, and 21 of them won.

To the Dems in Shelby: What a turnaround! Your party was in shambles locally not that long ago (not even recognized by the state party). So, you exceeded conventional wisdom by many percentage points. — Richard Ransom (@Local24Richard) August 3, 2018

What that means: Shelby County Democrats already hold the advantage. If they're organized around a coherent message — well, yesterday could become the new norm.

Additional reading: The Shelby County Schools board elections saw a couple of upsets, Jennifer Pignolet reports. Also, U.S. Rep. David Kustoff fought off perennial candidate George Flinn in their primary. To see the outcome of other races, including Ford Canale's win in the Memphis City Council Super District 9 Position 2 race, click here.

Memphis Police's fake 'Bob Smith' account: Among the revelations from a recently released trove of Memphis Police documents is a gem: MPD kept tabs on local activists' social media accounts with a fake Facebook account registered to a "Bob Smith."

From The Guardian's story:

This [surveillance project] included the publication of daily joint information briefings on potential protests and known protesters. According to the ACLU’s lawsuit, the briefings regularly included information about meetings on private property, panel discussions, town halls, and even innocuous events like “Black Owned Food Truck Sunday.”

It's no wonder city attorneys initially fought the unsealing of the documents. Police were meeting daily (!) to discuss activists, including Black Lives Matter activists. That's not a good look for Memphis, which already has a history of spying on its citizens.

Now, let me inject a little nuance into my take: Checking social media for information about protests makes complete sense. Memphis Police should know what's going on.

However, Memphis Police should employ their oft-touted community policing methods on social media. Instead of secretive surveillance of citizens, develop relationships. Have actual officers get to know activists and truly befriend them on social media. Show you're not out to get activists but protect them. Work with them, not against them.

Unfortunately, that's not what happened. Instead, Memphis police treated activists — treated citizens exercising their rights — like the enemy. I've said it before and will again: Mayor Jim Strickland should take the initiative, regardless of the outcome of the ACLU lawsuit, and stop police from burning bridges in response to a protest on one.

Additional reading: The Appeal also had a story on this issue, along with The Hill.

Plan your route: St. Jude this week released the maps of the routes of its Dec. 1 marathon and half-marathon. So, y'know, plan accordingly.

4 months notice: begin planning your alternate routes now. New St Jude Marathon route. pic.twitter.com/hkL0HInUrx — Holly Whitfield (@ilovememphis) August 1, 2018

Happening today and good reads: Your usual roundup of the day's events is taking a much-needed break today after a late election night, as is the usual roundup of noteworthy stories.

The Fadeout: Devon Gilfillian, a Nashville soul singer who will kick off the Levitt Shell's free fall series on Sept. 6, sings "Well, I don't quite know, baby, how I fell down in this hole." Maybe Shelby County Republicans can find identify and find some solace.