MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The war of words between State Senator Brent Taylor and Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy continues as Taylor continues his efforts to oust Mulroy.

Taylor has accused Mulroy of not doing his job by not prosecuting violent or repeat offenders. Mulroy claims Taylor is “playing politics” and said that he won’t go down without a fight.

However, by creating an ouster hotline, Taylor is giving Shelby County residents the chance to leave a message on record or anonymously to give their thoughts on Mulroy.

“Quite frankly, I expected somebody to push back and say look this is kind of drastic I don’t think we need to go down this road, but I got no pushback,” Taylor said.

Taylor set up the hotline hoping to gather more evidence following his announcement last week that he’s trying to remove Mulroy from office.

The State Senator has been critical of Mulroy, referencing the I-240 shooting that injured one man and four children in a recent press conference as an example of Mulroy’s mistakes.

One of the suspects involved was out on bond from a previous gun charge.

“Let’s face it, the District Attorney is not doing his job,” Taylor said. “And that is why it is important that Memphians cancel our subscription to this madness.”

Taylor told WREG that the hotline has been busy, getting dozens of calls and texts and more than 10 emails in less than 24 hours.

Taylor said his office would fact-check all messages and emails sent to the hotline. Whatever is deemed credible may end up in the pending resolution to remove Mulroy.

When WREG spoke with Mulroy about the hotline, he said that he and his office are used to receiving input from their constituents.

“Well we get input from the public both positive and sometimes critical on a regular basis and we are always open to that input,” Mulroy said.

He said there is no record of misconduct in his office and no credible reason for his removal.

“All due respect my friend Brent, this is clearly all politics,” DA Mulroy said. “But at the end of the day, I just have to say we have a fundamental question to ask, should the voters of Shelby County choose their DA or should politicians in Nashville do it?”

Both Mulroy and Taylor have acknowledged they are or have been good friends outside of this political tension.

While Taylor said it’s not personal, Mulroy said he perceives the situation differently.

“You know there is an old expression that says, ‘(With) friends like these, who needs enemies,” Mulroy said. “In the meantime, I’m not going to be distracted by all this talk. We prosecute thousands of cases, a thousand cases every day. I am working hard on it, my staff (are working) hard. We are just going to continue to do our work because the absolute top priority of this office is public safety.”