Tag: Lee Harris

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Harris Amends County Plan to Fund MATA

CREDIT: Justin Fox Burks

Justin Fox Burks

Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris announced today that he is amending the previously announced plan to invest $10 million in transit here.

Harris presented a plan to the Shelby County Commission last month that would generate $10 million in funding each year for the Memphis Area Transit Authority.

The original plan would have implemented an annual $145 registration fee for households’ third vehicle and beyond. Harris said at the time this would only affect about 17 percent of residents here.

But, after meeting with the public and receiving feedback on the plan, Harris said Thursday that instead of requiring households to pay $145 for each another vehicle over the second, households would only have to pay one yearly $145 fee.

“We have been pleased by the willingness of residents to engage in a conversation about how public transit could help lift thousands out of poverty and preserve our shared environment,” Harris said. “We have had many great suggestions from the residents, including tailoring the plan to have an even more narrow impact.”

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Alternative vehicles, such as motorcycles, trailers, antique cars, and boats will not require fees.

Under the amended plan, Harris said the county will still provide $10 million a year to MATA.

“The investment would still have zero impact in most families,” Harris said. “This plan does not call for a broad tax or fee on all citizens…. Furthermore, the idea is to try as best we can to tie the solution the problem. We know that traffic congestion and car emissions are problems that will only get worse. We believe that households or business with thee cars are using that infrastructure more and producing more wear and tear. Our proposal focuses on that problem or cars on the road while supporting a solution to congestion and emissions, public transit.”

This is the county’s first effort to provide dedicated funding for MATA. The plan is slated to go before the county commission by February 2020.


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Harris Presents ‘Landmark’ Funding Plan for MATA

CREDIT: Memphis Area Transit Authority

Memphis Area Transit Authority

Mayor Harris wants to give MATA $10 million.

Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris presented a plan to the Shelby County Commission Wednesday to generate $10 million in funding each year for the Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA).

In the past, MATA has said it needs an additional $30 million in funding to build a more robust, frequent, and reliable system.


Gary Rosenfeld, CEO of MATA said Wednesday that the mayor’s proposal is a “landmark plan” that would “dramatically change the trajectory of funding for public transit in this community.”

Harris said the plan would have “zero impact” on most families and does not include an increase in property taxes. Instead, the plan would implement an annual $145 registration fee for households’ third vehicle and beyond. Harris said this would only affect about 17 percent of residents here.

“Today I presented out #Future4Transit plan to the Shelby County Commission,” Harris wrote on Twitter. “If adopted it will have a big impact on transit.”

If the commission adopts the plan, the county would also allocate 1.5 percent, or $1 million of its capital improvement budget, to transit.

Harris anticipates the additional funds will be used to implement recommendations laid out in the Transit Vision 3.0 Plan, such as an express route to the airport and increased frequency on MATA’s most popular routes.

The additional $10 million would have an economic impact of more than $40 million, Harris said, citing expanded job access and a reduction in car accidents.

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The mayor also said the plan would have a significant impact on poverty, noting there are 15,000 available jobs in the county: “More frequent transit helps people get a job and keep a job.”

The transit investment would also have a “big impact on our shared environment.” Harris said. With more frequent and reliable transit options, there would be more ridership and a reduction of automobile emissions by thousands of tons.

“Everyone has to play a role in trying to preserve our shared environment, even local officials,” Harris said. “We will all enjoy the benefits of clean air, reduced congestion, and a reduction in poverty. This sustainable investment in transit helps achieve all those objectives.”

Harris is looking for the commission to vote on the plan by February 2020. County approval could be contingent upon MATA giving the county a place on its board.

Earlier this year, the county commission approved $2.5 million of the county’s 2020 budget going toward MATA and related infrastructure improvements. This was the first investment in public transit by the county.

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Politics Politics Feature

Family Matters: It’s Father vs. Daughter in Council District 6 Race

While the Memphis city election was still in the petition-pulling phase, it looked for a while that there might be several family members — mostly named Ford — who might be running against each other in pursuit of the same office.

By the time last month when both the filing and the withdrawal deadlines had come and gone and the Election Commission had certified an official candidate list, however, most of those intriguing matchups had failed to materialize. They were cases, generally, in which various candidates had considered a variety of races before settling on one, and, when the settling occurred, the potential familial rivalries disappeared from the election roster.

There was one exception: the District 6 City Council race, in which two candidates named Bond are competing — Perry Bond and Theryn Bond. They are father and daughter, as it happens, and when the two of them, along with candidates for other offices, turned up at AFSCME headquarters on Beale Street last Thursday for a forum sponsored by various Demoratic Party groups, the only reference to the pairing came from the senior Bond, who noted for the audience, “My daughter is in this race, too, and she has every right to be there.”

Jackson Baker

Theryn Bond Perry Bond

In her turn, Theryn Bond described her race as a venture in courage — appropriately enough, since, as she explained, she has in the last several months faced and overcome cervical cancer. Even before that, Theryn Bond made something of a name for herself at council meetings as an articulate and consistent opponent of the established order of things on the current council.

Alphabetical order being what it is, the two Bonds lead the list of candidates on the October 3rd ballot. That should help their vote totals in a district race which already has some drama. Edmund Ford Sr., the former holder of the seat, is attempting to regain it, and Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris, engaged in a running feud with Ford’s son, Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr., has endorsed yet another candidate, Davin Clemons, a minister/policeman who serves as the MPD’s liaison with the LGBTQ community.

• Yes, it’s true: Steve Cohen has an opponent. The 9th District Congressman, who has knocked off a serious string of Democratic challengers since 2006, when he first emerged victorious from a multi-candidate primary field, now faces a 2020 bid from Corey Strong, the former Shelby County Democratic chairman.

Strong acknowledges that Cohen has made the appropriate votes in Congress, supported legislation that a Democrat should have supported, properly backed up Democratic President Obama, and has correctly opposed Republican President Trump. Further, says Strong, the congressman has successfully become a factor in key national dialogues.

What he has failed to do, Strong maintains, is to bring jobs to a home region that desperately needs them. Strong even finds evidence of this alleged failure in a well-publicized stunt staged by Cohen last spring on the House Judiciary Committee. That was the occasion in May when the congressman ridiculed the failure of Attorney General William Barr to answer a subpoena by wolfing down pieces from a Kentucky Fried Chicken basket at his seat on the committee.

Cohen got headlines, both pro and con, and, says Strong, “I have no problem with that. What I have a problem with is that we’ve got all kinds of local fried-chicken enterprises here in Memphis, and he could have made his point with them if he wanted. But he didn’t.”

Strong is well aware that Cohen, who is white and Jewish, has easily dispatched all previous would-be party rivals in his predominantly African-American Memphis district since that first victory in 2006. He has triumphed over Justin Ford, Willie Herenton, Tomeka Hart, Ricky Wilkins, and Nikki Tinker, all of whom had either name recognition or financial support or both.

He has done so, as Strong acknowledges, by careful attention to the needs of his constituency in most ways — save the aforementioned inability to raise the income level of his district.

Strong believes he can succeed at that task, where, he says, Cohen has not. And one way of demonstrating his prowess will be to raise a campaign budget that will allow him to compete with the financially well-endowed incumbent Congressman on relatively even terms.

“I will do that,” says Strong, a Naval Reserve officer who in 2017 became the renovated Shelby County Democratic Party’s bounce-back chairman after it was decommissioned by the state Democrats a year earlier during a period of internal stress and discord within the local party.

Strong acknowledges that Michael Harris, his successor as local party chairman, has had a difficult problem arousing support from party cadres because of issues stemming from his suspended law practice. But, says Strong, local Democrats have a duty to support their party.

The future congressional aspirations of current Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris have become so obvious as to make Harris’ ambitions something of a public proverb, and a good race next year by Strong, even if unsuccessful, could serve the purpose of setting up a future challenge against Mayor Harris. But Strong insists he is in the 9th District race this year to win.

• The 2019 session of the Tennessee General Assembly is over, but one of the key pieces of legislation that emerged from it — a bill to permit private school vouchers via public money — is apparently still subject to change.

It will be remembered that the bill barely passed the state House of Representatives, and did so only because then-House Speaker Glen Casada held open the vote for an hour, during which time he bargained with members opposed to the measure in an effort to change at least one vote.

That vote turned out to be that of Representative Jason Zachary (R-Knoxville), who succumbed to a pledge from Casada that the voucher bill would be rewritten to exclude Zachary’s home city.

With an eye toward future potential opposition in the state Senate, the bill was rewritten, in fact, to exclude all localities except Memphis and Nashville, which became the sole subjects of what was now styled as a “pilot” program.

A vigorous opponent of the bill, which was a pet project of Governor Bill Lee, was Representative Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville), who has now become Speaker in the wake of a scandal that forced Casada out of the position.

Sexton continues to oppose vouchers and wishes at the very least to delay their onset. Lee, meanwhile, has reacted to the change of circumstance by expressing a desire to speed up the implementation of vouchers from 2021 to 2020. The coming legislative session may well come to focus on the struggle over the issue between the two leaders.

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Corey Strong To Challenge Cohen in the 9th District

Corey Strong

Yes, it’s true: Steve Cohen has an opponent. The 9th District Congressman, who has knocked off a serious string of Democratic challengers since 2006, when he first emerged victorious from a multi-candidate primary field, now faces a 2020 bid from Corey Strong, the former Shelby County Democratic chairman.

Strong acknowledges that Cohen has made the appropriate votes in Congress, supported legislation that a Democrat should have supported, properly backed up Democratic President Obama, and has correctly opposed Republican President Trump. Further, says Strong, the Congressman has successfully become a factor in key national dialogues.

What he has failed to do, Strong maintains, is to bring jobs to a home region that desperately needs them. Strong even finds evidence of this alleged failure in a well-publicized stunt staged by Cohen last spring on the House Judiciary Committee. That was the occasion in May when the Congressman ridiculed the failure of Attorney General William Barr to answer a subpoena by wolfing down pieces from a Kentucky Fried Chicken basket at his seat on the committee.

Cohen got headlines, both pro and con, and, says Strong, “I have no problem with that. What I have a problem with is that we’ve got all kinds of local fried-chicken enterprises here in Memphis, and he could have made his point with them if he wanted. But he didn’t.”

Strong is well aware that Cohen, who is white and Jewish, has easily dispatched all previous would-be party rivals in his predominantly African-American Memphis district since that first victory in 2006. He has triumphed over Justin Ford, Willie Herenton, Tomeka Hart, Ricky Wilkins, and Nikki Tinker, all of whom had either name recognition or financial support or both.

He has done so, as Strong acknowledges, by careful attention to the needs of his constituency in most ways — save the aforementioned inability to raise the income level of his district.

Strong believes he can succeed at that task, where, he says, Cohen has not. And one way of demonstrating his prowess will be to raise a campaign budget that will allow him to compete with the financially well-endowed incumbent Congressman on relatively even terms..

“I will do that,” says Strong, a Naval Reserve officer who in 2017 became the renovated Shelby County Democratic Party’s bounce-back chairman after it was decommissioned by the state Democrats a year earlier during a period of internal stress and discord within the local party.

Strong acknowledges that Michael Harris, his successor as local party chairman, has had a difficult problem arousing support from party cadres because of issues stemming from his suspended law practice. But, says Strong, local Democrats have a duty to support their party.

The future congressional aspirations of current Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris have become so obvious as to make Harris’ ambitions something of a public proverb, and a good race next year by Strong, even if unsuccessful, could serve the purpose of setting up a future challenge against Mayor Harris. But Strong insists he is in the 9th District race this year to win.

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Commission Overrides Harris Natatorium Funding Veto

CREDIT: Jackson Baker

Despite some wishful advance indications that the county government’s division over funding the University of Memphis swimming facility (“natatorium,” in officialese) would end in some de facto kumbaya, the resolution of things on Monday — with the expected near-unanimous override by the Shelby County Commission of Mayor Lee Harris‘ veto — left some nagging questions on all sides.

The university got the $1 million county contribution that would keep the natatorium on course to completion, and former Commissioner George Chism made a case for the advantages of the facility for needy youngsters in Shelby County without current access to a pool.

But the university — as evidenced in the testimony Monday of Ted Townsend, its chief for economic development and government relations — was no closer to having a definitive target date for a $15-an-hour minimum wage for all its employees than it was at the time of the veto that the mayor imposed two weekends ago at the behest of various union and activist groups.

Jackson Baker

Union rep Webster: “To this day nobody has seen a time frame:”

Townsend, affirming that “we are all focused on attaining a living wage,” contended that a fixed date for imposing a universal $15-an-hour standard was difficult because future state contributions to the university were unpredictable, as were enrollment figures. He made a case that the existence of employee benefits could equate to a de facto $16.82 income package.

Jayanni Webster of United Campus Workers, to whom Harris deferred in lieu of remarks of his own, would have none of Townsend’s arguments. She pointed out that women and blacks constituted a disproportionate segment of the 300-odd employees paid less than the $15 hourly figure and said the workers’ “seven-and-a-half years of fighting for a living wage” had been ignored by the university. “You cannot eat benefits or pay your light bill with benefits,” she said, noting, apropos the university’s claimed intentions, “To this day, nobody has seen a time frame.”

Similar arguments were made by Democratic Commissioner Tami Sawyer, a candidate for Memphis mayor, who turned out to be the sole defender of Harris’ veto. She pointed out the discrepancy between University President M. David Rudd‘s $200,000 annual salary and the wages of the university employees making less than $15 an hour. Sawyer was scornful of the university’s promises that “maybe in four to six to eight years” their pay situation would be remedied.

Other Democratic commission members made it clear that their sympathies lay with the workers but suggested that other factors led to their inability to uphold Harris’ veto. Eddie Jones said, “I’ve never voted against unions, but in this instance there was another way to do this before we get to a veto.” Alluding to former County Mayor Mark Luttrell‘s several vetoes of commission actions, all of which were subject to overrides, Jones said, “The last mayor tried it, and it didn’t work so well for him. I would prefer to see if we could work this thing out.”

Commissioner Reginald Milton spoke of “a cast of characters with well-meaning intentions,” including in that definition “the mayor,  the county commission, and the university.” Calling for continued dialogue between the various parties, he said, “I will vote to override but will make sure that promises will be fulfilled.”

Commission chairman Van Turner foresaw a period of continued negotiation that would end in agreement with the university. Hopeful for change, Turner cited the memory of his father, who had been among the first African-American students to desegregate the university back in the early 1960s, a time, said Turner, when communication between whites and blacks was at a minimum.

Harris, who had largely left discussion to others, re-entered the debate to say that, while he had always enjoyed good communication with the commission, things were “not so good” with the university.

They were not exactly perfect with the commission, either. Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr., a persistent foe, released copies of a letter he had directed to Assistant County Attorney Marcy Ingram, asking for a ruling on whether Harris had, as university President Rudd suggested two weeks ago, committed an ethical breach by appearing to bargain with Rudd on the basis of a quid pro quo.

In the end, the 12-1 veto override vote spoke for itself.

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U of M President Says School Will Pay $15 Per Hour in Two Years

A week after the most recent conversation about living wages at the University of Memphis heated up, U of M president David Rudd sent a letter to faculty saying that his commitment to providing all employees with a living wage “remains firm.”

Last week Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris vetoed a Shelby County Commission decision to allocate $1 million for the U of M’s Michael Rose Natatorium because of the school’s failure to pay living wages to some employees.

Harris said then that he won’t support the funding until the university presents a plan to pay livable wages to all employees.

Rudd said that the mayor’s proposal raised “serious ethical concerns” and that the university will forgo the county’s funding offer for the project. Rudd also said last week that the university is in the process of implementing a plan to raise hourly wages to $15 an hour over the next two years.

“We have a definitive plan,” Rudd said. “We’ll be at $15/hour in two years. And in a sustainable manner.”

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In a Monday letter to the university’s faculty and staff, Rudd said over the past four years the university has implemented three “historic increases in our minimum wage from $9.20 to $10.10, $10.60 two years ago, and $11.11 this fiscal year.”

A living wage extends beyond hourly pay and also should account for employee benefits packages, Rudd said. When the new minimum wage of $11.11 goes into place this year, Rudd said, with benefits factored in, wages equal about $16.80 an hour.

University of Memphis President David M. Rudd

The university’s approach to increasing minimum wage is “thoughtful and methodical,” Rudd wrote, touting some of the school’s financial accomplishments, such as implementing four consecutive years of pay increases and keeping tuition the lowest of the state’s public institutions over the past five years.

“Over the past few years, I have repeatedly expressed my support for a living wage,” Rudd wrote. “We’re the only public university in the state with three significant increases in our hourly wage over the past four years. As I’ve also said before, we’re committed to doing it because it’s the right thing.”

Rudd said he believes the university will be able to pay a livable wage to all employees in two years, but in a “manner that is financially responsible and sustainable.”

He did not mention the amount of the proposed livable wage.

“We’ve made significant progress the past two years and I believe we can achieve our goal in two years,” Rudd said. “I will not, however, sacrifice financial discipline and the success of our university for political expediency.”

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What are other universities here paying?

As of July 1st, the lowest-paid employees at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center will earn $15 an hour, according to the university. This is the highest in the area. 

Southwest Tennessee Community College established a living wage plan in 2017 and raised every employee’s pay to at least $10.76 an hour. Since then, the minimum wage has increased to $12.24 an hour. The college said 31 employees currently earn this amount.

Christian Brothers University officials did not disclose its minimum hourly wage, but said the university is committed to a “just and living wage for employees” and that income equality is one of university president John Shannon’s top priorities during his first 100 days in his new role as president.


At Rhodes College, the minimum hourly wage is $12 an hour, but president of the college, Marjorie Hass, said last week in a letter to faculty and staff that the college is in the second year of a multi-year plan to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour.

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Mayor Lee Harris’ Recent Actions Cause a Stir

CREDIT: Justin Fox Burks

Even as most local attention begins to focus on the ongoing city election campaigns, including a multi-candidate race for Memphis mayor, another mayor, namely Lee Harris of Shelby County, is suddenly generating public attention — and controversy.

As the work week began, two actions taken by Harris were front and center in the public discourse. The first was the mayor’s announced decision to veto a budget appropriation of $1 million to the University of Memphis for renovation of the university’s swimming facilities, the Michael Rose Natatorium.

Reprising a debate that was held by Shelby County commissioners during budget deliberations and reinforcing his own call for a $15-an-hour minimum wage for public employees, Harris noted that the university still maintains a top minimum of $11.01-an-hour for some 330 employees.

Justin Fox Burks

County Mayor Lee Harris

“I believe issues of poverty that continue to persist in our community are interconnected to decisions like this one,” Harris wrote in a letter announcing his decision. “Most of the University of Memphis employees in question are women and most are African-American. Many of these workers, no doubt, have children and families who rely on their work.”

Taking note of the University’s incremental raises toward the $15-an-hour goal, Harris held out hope that it should and could be reached. “If we all work together, with level heads and open minds, I trust we can identify a plan and timeline to solve this issue. However, until then, I cannot endorse this budget allocation to the University of Memphis. I realize that my stance here may create some consternation, which is not my intent. I take this stance after deliberation, and I am trying as best I can to follow my conscience. I know that commissioners will, as always, do the same.”

The U of M president responded to Harris’ veto announcement with a letter of his own, addressed to Harris and made public, in which he recounted what he put forth as the University’s conscientious efforts over the years to raise employees’ hourly wages to the $15-an-hour level.

“We are implementing a plan to increase our hourly wage to $15/hour over the next several years,” Rudd said. “We’re doing so because we believe our employees deserve it, because it’s the right thing to do. Our employees are the foundation of our institution and the reason we’re succeeding. We are not doing it because you’ve vetoed $1M in support for the Michael Rose Natatorium. We will do so in a manner that doesn’t threaten the financial stability that we’ve worked so hard to attain, or result in dramatic tuition increases that threaten the success of our students and economic growth of the Memphis region.”

Opting to consider Harris’ letter as offering a quid pro quo fraught with “ethical” issues, Rudd concluded, “[W]e’ll continue with already implemented plans to increase our hourly pay scale, and we’ll do so in a manner that doesn’t raise questions about our compliance with accreditation standards. I appreciate your willingness to provide support for the Michael Rose Natatorium. Given the request to directly influence University policy in exchange for the funding, I will have to decline the support.”

Commissioner Van Turner, the County Commision chair, said the commission would have an opportunity to override the mayoral veto on July 22nd and predicted that the votes would be on hand to do so. But he foresaw conversations occurring in the meantime involving the university, the commission, and Harris that could result in a compromise solution.

“I think President Rudd has a plan to get to $15-an-hour that the mayor isn’t fully aware of, but I think he will come to be aware of it,” Turner said. “I think we can reach an agreement and be able to solve the veto matter amicably.”

Indeed, Rudd and Harris would later exchange messages indicating that they could agree on a new U of M initiative stepping up the university’s goal to reach the $15-an-hour plateau within the next two years.

That could obviate any head-on collision on July 22nd. Commission sentiment had been mixed in any case and contradicted any assumptions of a party-line vote providing an override. Commissioner Tami Sawyer, a Democrat and a candidate for city mayor, had said she was offended by Rudd’s manner and would vote to uphold Harris’ veto. Sawyer said the University head’s letter was “disrespectful” of county government prerogatives and of Harris’ position. “It was just this side of calling him [Harris] ‘uppity,'” she said.

Conversely, Mark Billingsley, a Republican, had said he intended to override the veto and had predicted that other Republicans would do as well.

A Bombshell Endorsement

Meanwhile, a number of commissioners expressed bewilderment privately at another surprise move on Harris’ part, his public endorsement over the weekend of District 6 City Council candidate Davin Clemons. The endorsement, accompanied by a $500 campaign donation, was made through the auspices of the Tennessee Voter Project, a PAC founded by Harris.

To begin with, it qualifies as something of a bombshell that the head of Shelby County government should intervene so directly in a city election. Secondly, Clemons, an openly gay police officer/minister who has served as the MPD’s liaison with the LGBTQ community while simultaneously filing a discrimination suit against the department, is not widely regarded as being competitive in the Distrct 6 race.

Most importantly, Harris’ endorsement of Clemons puts him in direct opposition to Edmund Ford Sr., the former holder of the District 6 seat who is the odds-on favorite to regain it, and who is supported by several members of the commission. The mayor’s action is sure to exacerbate his already strained relations with Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr., the council candidate’s son who succeeded his father for two council terms of his own. The junior Ford has been openly critical of several of the mayor’s actions and recently told Harris in open session, “I can’t respect you.”

That remark was in reaction to a quip made by Harris in a TV interview in which the mayor blamed his problems with Commissioner Ford on the fact that he had beaten two members of the extended Ford family in previous election contests. Harris’ support of Clemons against Edmund Ford Sr. is unlikely to defuse any hard feelings on the part of the Fords.

It is taken for granted by those who know Harris, who served abbreviated terms as a city councilman and state senator before his election as county mayor last year, that his ultimate ambition is to serve in Congress. He actively considered a Democratic primary race against 9th District Congressman Steve Cohen in 2016 before opting not to. The mayor’s current actions — and the response to them — could impact that race or any other potential political ambitions he may have in mind.

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U of M President: Harris’ Request to Hold Funds Raises Ethical Concerns

After the Shelby County Board of Commissioners approved a $1 million allocation for swimming pool renovations at the University of Memphis, Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris vetoed the commission’s decision, citing the university’s failure to pay a living wage of $15 an hour for some of its employees.

In a letter to the commission dated July 7th, Harris said he won’t support funding the Michael Rose Natatorium project until the university devises a plan to increase the employees’ pay to a living wage.

Harris said groups such as the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center and the Memphis Interfaith Coalition for Action and Hope, along with several unions who have been pushing for a wage increases at the university, have contacted him, speaking against the $1 million allocation.

“They believe that, prior to any distribution, the University of Memphis should first present a timeline or plan to bring its lowest-paid workers up to a living wage,” Harris wrote. “They believe Shelby County government should delay this allocation until the issue of low pay for these workers is resolved. I am grateful to these groups because they have brought to light an important issue.”

Harris said that more than 330 employees at the U of M are making $11.11 per hour, “far below a living wage for individuals with children” and “far below the $15 per hour that Shelby County government has repeatedly recommended for public institutions.”

Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris

The mayor said the employees can’t sustain themselves with an $11.11 per hour wage and that the issues of poverty that continue to persist in the community are “interconnected to decisions like these.” Harris said many of the employees not making a livable wage at the university are African American with children and families to support.

“That is to say, for years they have not earned a living wage,” Harris said. “For years they have been working and still living in poverty. These employees include custodians and the very people who will likely have to clean the facility and swimming pool in question, once it is built.”

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Harris said until the university presents a timeline on increasing wages, he “cannot endorse this budget allocation.”

“I realize that my stance here may create some consternation, which is not my intent,” Harris said. “I take this stance after deliberation, and I am trying as best I can to follow my conscience.”

University of Memphis president M. David Rudd responded to Harris on Monday, writing in a letter that the mayor’s letter raises “serious ethical concerns” and that the university will forgo the county’s funding offer for the project.

“Given the request to directly influence university policy in exchange for the funding, I will have to decline the support,” Rudd wrote.

Rudd said Harris’ request could be a “potential serious ethical breach” of the university and a potential violation of a Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges accreditation standard, which states that “the governing board is free from undue influence from political, religious, or other external bodies and protects the institution from such influence.”

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Therefore Rudd said he will decline the county’s support for the natatorium, as the accreditation standards are “very clear.”

“I report to the Board of Trustees, not the county mayor,” Rudd said. “Our Trustees possess the authority to oversee and approve policy changes at the university level.”

University of Memphis President David M. Rudd

Rudd added that the university is in the process of implementing a plan to raise hourly wages to $15 an hour over the next several years.

“We’re doing so because we believe our employees deserve it, because it’s the right thing to do,” Rudd said. “Our employees are the foundation of our institution and the reason we’re succeeding. We’re not doing it because you’ve vetoed $1 million in support for the Michael Rose Natatorium.”

Rudd said the university will raise the hourly wages in a way that “doesn’t threaten the financial stability that we’ve worked so hard to attain, or result in dramatic tuition increases that threaten the success of our students and economic growth of the Memphis region.”

Harris did not immediately respond to the Flyer‘s request for comment.

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Lee Harris Endorses Council Candidate Davin Clemons

Endorsee Davin Clemons and Mayor Harris

In a move that had been rumored for weeks, Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris has intervened directly in the Memphis city election, announcing on Sunday his endorsement of Davin Clemons, Memphis City Council candidate in District 6.

The move can be — and no doubt will be — interpreted as an escalation of the already festering feud between Harris and Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr., whose father, Edmond Ford Sr., is making an election bid to recover the District 6 seat he once possessed.

Harris and the younger Ford have had heated exchanges of late, with Ford assailing the mayor publicly during commission meetings and with Harris apparently appearing to Ford to have taunted the extended Ford family during a recent appearance on local television.

In an interview with Richard Ransom of WATN, Channel 24, Harris jokingly blamed his troubles with Commissioner Ford on his previous electoral wins over two Ford family members

Ford took Harris to task for the TV remarks, telling the mayor at the June 24 commission meeting: “Don’t use any member of my family as backup when you don’t have answers. I can’t respect you.” At an earlier meeting, Ford had done the taunting, accusing Harris of looking beyond his mayoral duties to a projected future congressional race.

In his endorsement of Clemons, Harris may also be engaging in some political outreach. Clemons, a police officer who doubles as a minister, is openly gay and has served as the MPD’s official liaison with the LGBTQ community, encountering controversy here and there.

Clemons once filed a suit against the city for what he said was the department’s discrimination against him on the job, based on his sexual orientation and religion. The suit was resolved via a settlement between the parties.

Technically, the endorsement was not by Harris per se but by the Tennessee Voter Project, which Harris founded. The endorsement statement reads as follows:

Dear Friend,
The Tennessee Voter Project (TVP) invests in candidates who directly engage voters and who promise to expand voter access if elected.
Today, we are proud to endorse Davin Clemmons for Memphis City Council District 6.
It feels like Davin has been in service to this community his entire life. He is a minister, a police officer, a community organizer, and he is homegrown. Davin is a graduate of LeMoyne Owen College and his roots run deep in South Memphis. He is running an aggressive campaign in the same City Council district where he grew up. Because of his stances and proven record of accomplishment, supporting Davin is an easy call. That is why we are endorsing him in this campaign and that is why TVP has already contributed $500.

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Brewing Budget Fight?

CREDIT: Jackson Baker

It’s a complicated business, requiring serious mathematical ability and diplomatic skills. That’s the dilemma facing Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris and the members of the Shelby County Commission, who must decide whether to allocate an additional $2.5 million for add-on pre-K seats and, if so, how to account for that extra funding in an already strapped 2019-20 budget.

County government, already committed to an ambitious pre-K program in tandem with the city of Memphis, faces an excess of demands on its budget — an estimated $78 million in proposed new obligations — coupled with a shortfall in revenues, and the problem is exacerbated by a recent decision by Shelby County Schools to increase the number of planned pre-K seats for the coming fiscal year, as well as the imminent end of a federal grant to help offset costs.There is also the matter of parsing out what Shelby County government is obligated to do to fulfill its share of the pre-K burden, settling on a management partner, and foraging for additional funding from sources outside government.

The dilemma created a rift at Monday’s commission meeting between those, including Harris, who wanted to put off a decision on the funding matter — pending some hard decisions regarding other demands upon the budget — and those who favored an immediate decision.

Jackson Baker

Governor Lee at Memphis Re-Entry Forum

At one point Democratic Commissioner Michael Whaley, co-author with Republican Mark Billingsley of a resolution to add the $2.5 million to the budget, accused Harris of “an absence of leadership” and of seeking a “political benefit” from a show of frugality. Whaley drew applause from attendees with the line, “You don’t get a second chance at being a 4-year-old.”

That refrain was picked up by GOP Commissioner Brandon Morrison. And Commissioner Edmund Ford added to the pressure by picking up on Whaley’s reference to a statement that Harris had made during his 2006 race for Congress. The mayor, then a law professor at the University of Memphis, had boasted about being the only teacher in the field of candidates.

“Did I just hear that the mayor was going to run for Congress next year?” Ford muttered, somewhat audibly, conflating that old contest with frequent rumors about Harris’ future political ambitions.

But in the end, the commission put the matter on hold, pending further discussion at next Wednesday’s regularly scheduled committee meetings. Harris indicated that he would do his best to tap private sources to amplify the amount available.

Meanwhile, the commission approved a first reading of the proposed county tax rate of $4.05 per $100 of assessed value, holding firm at the current level, and passed a resolution, revived from last year, asking Governor Bill Lee and the General Assembly to grant local jurisdictions leeway in assigning penalties for first conviction for possession of modest amounts of marijuana.

• As part of his follow-through on his stated mission to seek criminal justice reform, Lee stopped in Memphis on Tuesday to deliver the keynote address at a forum on re-entry at the University of Memphis, where he shared a stage of the University Center ballroom with Memphis-Shelby County Crime Commission head Bill Gibbons; Dr. Thomas Nenon, the University of Memphis provost; and Beverly Robertson, president and CEO of the Greater Memphis Chamber of Commerce. Lee said criminal justice reform had been a “longtime passion” of his, stemming from his own hands-on experience in mentoring a released prisoner back into the productive workaday world.

“The cost of incarceration is not zero,” he said, denoting one of the main purposes of re-entry reform, that of lowering the cost of imprisonment to society, direct and indirect. Another major aim was that of filling in the blanks of a needy and expanding workforce. The rate of unemployment for newly released inmates was 27 percent, he said — a wasteful and unnecessary statistic given today’s technological means for overseeing prisoner re-entry, including GPS monitoring.

“We can move the needle,” Lee said. “We can lead the nation.”