Environmental justice advocates are demanding xAI officials be held accountable for the operation of gas turbines at the Memphis data center.
Today, the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) sent a letter to xAI notifying the company of their intent to sue over the data center’s permitless gas turbines. The letter was sent on behalf of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
Both organizations have been vocal about their concern for the facility, as well as the harm it poses to the community — specifically those in South Memphis.
The NAACP sent a letter to the Shelby County Health Department and Memphis Light, Gas and Water (MLGW) requesting they cease operations on the facility.
SELC has long monitored the project, sending a letter in April to Dr. Michelle Taylor, director and health officer for the Shelby County Health Department. The organization said they obtained aerial images in March that showed that xAI has 35 gas turbines.
“xAI’s decision to install and operate dozens of polluting gas turbines without any permits or public oversight is a clear violation of the Clean Air Act,” SELC senior attorney Patrick Anderson said. “Over the last year, these turbines have pumped out pollution that threatens the health of Memphis families. This notice paves the way for a lawsuit that can hold xAI accountable for its unlawful refusal to get permits for its gas turbines.”
Officials sent a 60-day notice of intent to sue to xAI saying the gas turbines violate federal guidelines, stating the project is required to “obtain appropriate air permits before operating its polluting gas turbines.”
They say the company also hasn’t confirmed if they would be installing more turbines to power the facility. The letter noted the environmental impact, saying the turbines emit formaldehyde and other chemicals linked to respiratory diseases.
“xAI’s South Memphis data center is located near predominantly Black communities that are already overburdened with industrial pollution from dozens of industrial facilities, including an oil refinery, a steel mill, and a TVA gas plant,” the SELC said.
NAACP president Derrick Johnson said xAI is taking advantage of communities and families in order to advance its corporate interests.
“We cannot afford to normalize this kind of environmental injustice — where billion-dollar companies set up polluting operations in Black neighborhoods without any permits and think they’ll get away with it because the people don’t have the power to fight back,” Johnson said.
Other local leaders have promised to push back against xAI by activating people power.
On Monday, Representative Justin J. Pearson and Memphis Community Against Pollution (MCAP) hosted an environmental justice “dinner and learn” at Mount Pisgah Missionary Baptist Church. Organizers said this event was to keep the public updated on xAI’s while also empowering people to get involved in the environmental justice movement.
“Facts matter and it’s time for the fictions of elected leaders and the chamber to be made clear so we can coordinate our fight even better,” Pearson said prior to the event.
On his social media platforms, the representative recently called out the Greater Memphis Chamber for sending out “misinformation and disinformation” about xAI. He referenced informational sheets from the Chamber, along with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA); Memphis Light, Gas and Water (MLGW); and more.
“We feel that it is important to share with you that xAI — and the supercomputer launched in Memphis in the spring of 2024 — has operated in full compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local regulations and oversight,” a screenshot of the sheet read.
Pearson called this “propaganda,” said the project had not followed federal regulations, and referenced violations of the Clean Air Act.
“We have a responsibility as elected officials — as people — to tell the truth,” Pearson said. “We have to have a baseline of information by which we can be activated and advocates.”
On this week’s Memphis Flyer podcast, Abigail Morici talks about her cover story on fiber arts in Memphis, Chris McCoy discusses the The Phoenician Scheme, and the xAI controversy continues.
The one thing we know for sure about this year’s Pride celebration is that the weather was not kind to it.
There is no question that the thunder and lightning and torrential downpour of early Saturday morning did not augur well for the 2025 parade and festival, scheduled for later that day.
That was one cruel joke played by the elements. A second cruel joke was the rapid and virtually complete clearing of the skies by late morning, by which time, however, the day’s events had been canceled.
A statement from Mid-South Pride, the sponsoring organization, announcing the cancellation, put things this way: “In the hours leading up to the event, we were in continuous contact with emergency management officials and other city departments. … Combined with 50 mph wind gusts, flooding, and unstable conditions for temporary staging and infrastructure, the decision was no longer ours to make — it became a public safety directive.”
The statement attempted to be reassuring, promising that “the celebration will be rescheduled.” Late Monday evening, a press release announced the event would now take place June 21st.
And in the meantime, another kind of foul weather — the metaphorical kind, represented by gossip and social media — had rained on the parade, which has become an annual fixture of the Memphis timeline.
Word was getting around that the office of Mayor Paul Young was to blame for having called things off.
Renee Parker Sekander, the office’s liaison for the event, put out her own statement, which said in part: “Today, I had to make the tough decision to halt our participation in today’s Pride Parade for those city employees who chose to participate.” The weather forecast, she said, had posed “a serious safety risk to our staff, our residents, and our mayor —who was genuinely excited to march alongside our community.” She maintained that “the city did not cancel Pride. The mayor did not cancel Pride.”
A thought: The administration of Mayor Paul Young seems intent on acquiring an evermore self-scapegoating status.
And on that point, Young is becoming a magnet for intensifying community concerns regarding the xAI project.
The mayor is very much in the crosshairs of a significant environmental protest led by the irrepressible state Senator Justin J. Pearson, who held a press conference on the subject of xAI on Monday in conjunction with various NAACP chapters in Tennessee and Mississippi.
Pearson et al want local political leaders, including both Young and his county mayor counterpart Lee Harris, to join with the Environmental Protection Agency in blocking xAI’s current and future applications to operate methane gas turbines at the Shelby County industrial sites where it is now operating.
Harris’ position toward the xAI project, brought here by mega-entrepreneur Elon Musk, might best be described as cautiously ambivalent, whereas Young has declared forthrightly his hope of “exploiting” Musk’s Colossus project in the interests of Memphis’ tax base and the area’s economic future.
Pearson’s response to that has been that “the paltry money xAI has dangled in front of our short-sighted leaders is not worth the cost of breathing dirty, and in some cases, deadly air.”
As for Young’s goal of “exploiting” xAI for Memphis’ benefit, Pearson regards the idea as “ignorant,” suggesting instead that “you can’t exploit the exploiter” and that “Mayor Young should know better.”
Defying the elements on a rain-plagued weekend were Shelby County Democrats keeping faith with the party’s annual Bratfest. Hunkered under a carport on Sunday were (l to r) host Jon Carroll,
Barbara Etheridge, Bob Hatton, Steve Stephens, and Jeff Etheridge. (Photo: Jackson Baker)
It won’t even be possible to pick up a petition from the Election Commission until December, but by now, most of the long-rumored hopefuls for Shelby County mayor in 2026 have taken some concrete steps indicating their candidacy — by appointment of a campaign treasurer, organization of fundraisers/meet-and-greets, or via social media, campaign signs, or ads in play.
Those considered active or about to be, all Democrats at this point, include Memphis City Councilman JB Smiley, Shelby County Commissioner Mickell Lowery, County CAO Harold Collins, County Assessor Melvin Burgess, and businessman/philanthropist J.W. Gibson.
Still keeping her powder dry but regarded as certain to be a candidate is Criminal Court Clerk Heidi Kuhn, also a Democrat.
No mainstream Republican has been heard from so far, but the Reverend Gerald Kiner, not well-known heretofore in party affairs (or elsewhere, for that matter), has indicated he will likely run for the office. Kiner, who heads the nonprofit Daughters of Zion, has taken no formal steps as of yet.
Shelby County’s Republicans enjoyed a brief period of political dominance in the county from 1992, when they ushered in the era of partisan primaries for county office, to 2018, when a Democratic sweep of county offices — the so-called “blue wave” — indicated that demographic changes had put Democrats back in the saddle.
The GOP took what was probably its best shot at a local political comeback in 2022 when it nominated former councilman, now party chair, Worth Morgan for county mayor. But Morgan finished well behind Democratic incumbent Lee Harris, and the Republicans’ perceived weakness was further demonstrated by the party’s failure to nominate a candidate of its own for sheriff that year.
At this writing, the county Republican Party’s plans for partisan primary races in 2026 remain incomplete, though it should be noted that the party’s executive committee recently voted to hold primaries in local school board races — a step prompted by the General Assembly’s vote this year to put school board races on the same four-year grid as county commission races.
And there remains the prospect of a contested gubernatorial primary on the Republican side. District 6 U.S. Representative John Rose is independently wealthy and already running hard, though a race for governor by GOP U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn, long assumed to be a fact, has recently come into some doubt with the revelation that she is apparently soliciting funds for a reelection bid for the Senate, which would not take place until 2030.
And, as was demonstrated in the case of former state Senator Brian Kelsey of Germantown — convicted of campaign finance violations and later pardoned by President Trump — funds raised for state races and federal races are not mutually transferable and must be kept separate.
• First-term Councilwoman Jerri Green is receiving kudos from various sources for her diligent — and apparently fruitful — efforts to find funding sources in the 2026 city budget to pay for raises for the police and for city employees at large.
The council approved the raises last week as a climax to talks sparked by the Memphis Police Department’s sense of being overlooked in Mayor Paul Young’s proposed preliminary budget.
Street organizations are continuing their efforts to sustainably integrate themselves into Memphis’ community, while also improving relationships with each other.
The Community Unity March on Memphis is scheduled for January 20th to commemorate Martin Luther King Day on January 20. Participants will begin their day at 201 Poplar with a brief program at 9 a.m. before marching to the National Civil Rights Museum.
This march is a continuation of the Community Unity initiative that seeks to fix citywide problems while also engaging marginalized groups in Memphis.
Community organizer Keedran Franklin has worked with city leaders and the public to change the conversation around what most people call “gangs.”
“We don’t use the word gangs, right,” Franklin said. “That’s code word for local municipalities to get from the feds to say we have a gang problem. We don’t have a gang problem. What we have is under-resourced and underserved people who are creating their own avenue.”
This distinction prompted Franklin to have some “tough” conversations with people, including Mayor Paul Young.
“Mayor Young and myself had to get through some past issues,” Franklin said. “I used to be hard as hell on Paul, back when he was part of HUD(Housing and Urban Development) and MHA (Memphis Housing Authority), I was hard as f*ck on Paul, because he was with the previous regime. We had to work through our bullsh*t first, which was being open and honest.”
Franklin explained that he also took this as an enrichment opportunity and gave the mayor a copy ofKing David and Boss Daley: The Black Disciples, Mayor Daley, and Chicago on the Edge by Lance Williams, to help him understand that street organizations originated as political ones that were “left behind because of government interference.”
“It’s not about gangs, [the] streets, and killing,” Franklin said. “They’re actually bettering themselves and growing themselves.”
As an organizer across the country, Franklin said his colleagues would call him after these conversations and after spotting Young in places like Mississippi, they spoke highly of him. Franklin said these instances gave Young the opportunity to see these individuals doing work in the community to better themselves, thus helping to change the narrative around them.
“[To Mayor Young] People are all in these spaces man, doing the work that needs to be done,” Franklin said. “That’s it. Just a lot of tough dialogue, and again, just showing and proving that we aren’t as bad as people saying we are.”
Martin Luther King Day not only provides an opportunity for street organizations to continue their work on a more visible level, but an effort to return civil rights to its mission of inclusivity.
Franklin said the day is about both remembrance and community – including that of the streets. He said the initially planned on participating in another march scheduled for that day, but never heard back from organizers when he reached out.
“I was like, well we’ll do our own march,” Franklin said. “You don’t see these types of guys down there. You don’t see the streets at this event. This is to open their eyes to like, ‘hey there’s something that goes on and we should participate in.’ Don’t be afraid to participate.”
The lack of response seemed to work in Franklin’s favor, as it gave way for him and street organizations to create their own event with the support of groups from the community and around the world. He emphasized this is a “multifaceted effort” from both “inside state and federal prisons,” to outside to ensure that all populations are accounted for.
“The idea is us creating this program, creating these new norms, dropping off at 201, and then marching to the Civil Rights Museum where we will also announce these new norms that these organizations have agreed to move by,” Franklin said. “Pushing the effort for us to move, so we can do better by our community.”
Community organizations are urging Memphis Mayor Paul Young to enter a consent decree with the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) in the aftermath of the agency’s findings on the Memphis Police Department (MPD).
The Black Clergy Collaborative of Memphis, Memphis Interfaith Coalition For Action and Hope (MICAH), and Just City released a letter urging Young to sign the agreement. They said the DOJ’s findings found MPD to have consistent practices of discrimination and civil rights violations – many of which citizens had advocated against for years.
In hopes of remedying these issues, the organizations said the city should include the DOJ in its next steps with an “independent monitor.” They also noted Young’s concern for the financial risks a consent decree would impose, which is why he said the city will not enter an agreement.
“[Mayor Young] thinks the city and MPD can correct these abuses without DOJ involvement,” the letter said. “We can think of no instance when a just society allowed the abuser of others to determine how they would fix their behavior. Just societies always intervene and prescribe what the abuser must do, monitors the abuser, and decides when the correction has occurred, which is precisely what a consent decree would aim to do.”
The letter said while they support the mayor, they don’t believe he would be able to supervise officers and conduct and review incident videos while carrying out his mayoral responsibilities.
“We have no trust or confidence in leaving corrections to the people involved in the unlawful conduct, the persons who failed to supervise them, or those who stood by and said nothing while the unlawful conduct occurred. We need DOJ involvement,” the letter said.
Young reported that several cities, such as Chicago and New Orleans, have consent decrees that have cost them millions of dollars with crime rates still on the rise. Organizers said these references imply “ a connection without data or proof.”
While the letter said they don’t know how decrees are calculated or other factors contributing to these numbers, they cannot “use these numbers to compare or estimate the cost of a consent decree in Memphis.”
Organizers said under a consent decree the city must pay a monitor and their team to track their compliance with the DOJ’s plan and recommendations while also providing regular updates based on “agreed-upon metrics.” Memphis will also be required to cover any fines and fees imposed by the federal court if the MPD repeatedly fails to adhere to the consent decree.
“Memphis can limit the financial cost of the decree simply by complying with its requirements,” officials said. “Regardless of the cost, we know that protecting the lives of Memphians, especially persons with disabilities and children is priceless, too valuable not to sign the decree.”
They also referenced citizens who voiced their concern for MPD as they said they work hard with a “short staff” and they are “underpaid, outgunned on the streets, and continue to be beaten down (low morale)” as criminals are emboldened in their practice.
Organizers said there may be validity in these statements, but that doesn’t mean MPD’s behavior described in the report is justified.
“It is possible and necessary to address abusive conduct and establish lawful and effective public safety practices while acknowledging the challenging nature of the work and respecting officers who perform the job well,” they said.
In addition to urging the mayor to sign the agreement, the letter also recommends developing a peacekeeping force to aid in police reform.
“Our confidence in affecting positive, lasting, tailored change is grounded in the DOJ’s authority to secure the reforms of unconstitutional patterns and practices identified within MPD,” the letter said.
Organizers are currently asking citizens to sign a petition to urge Young to enter a decree which can be found here.
MATA Interim CEO Bacarra Mauldin (Photos: Courtesy MATA)
When we spoke to the Memphis Area Transit Authority’s interim CEO Bacarra Mauldin in August, she called the state of affairs at MATA “business unusual.”
This summer, Mauldin and her team were in the process of finalizing the budget for Fiscal Year 2025 (F25). They had promised their board they would present a balanced financial plan after it was announced that the agency was in a $60 million deficit. The balanced budget, with plans for bus route suspensions and more than 200 layoffs, was unanimously passed, and would only further affirm Mauldin’s confidence in her own assessment of the current climate as “business unusual.”
“It’s not everyday that you have your whole board replaced at once,” Mauldin says now, reflecting on the most recent move made by Memphis Mayor Paul Young.“I trust Mayor Young, we’ve partnered, and he has a vision for how he wants this to go. He sent a clear message that he wants things to change — and we intend for them to change — and I support his vision,” Mauldin says.
Young made the move to replace the entire MATA Board of Commissioners in October, following a draft report from transportation consulting firm TransPro. The 117-page recommendation — which one city council member called “scathing” — summarizes recommendations for the agency and analyzes bus usage, ridership, and on-time performance, among other things. Its purpose was to highlight the pressing challenges the agency faced and call for urgent action.
TransPro conducted its analysis from August 19th to October 11th — during which time the board passed the budget without questions. This proved to be a point of concern for TransPro when evaluating MATA. “Existing MATA board fails to provide reasonable oversight,” the report said. “Just a month ago the MATA board unanimously adopted a budget with no questions … for a fiscal year that started more than 100 days prior.”
The consulting firm found only 26 percent of the community believed in the agency’s ability to efficiently handle public funds. In order to gain the public’s trust regarding management of funds, they recommended the entire board be replaced.
“The MATA board as currently constituted should be replaced with new members who will take seriously their responsibility to act as the policy and oversight entity of the agency,” the report said. “New board members should be trained on expectations and responsibilities.”
Mayor Young’s decision exemplified his intentions to start a “clean slate” at the transit authority, which had been at the center of controversy and public discourse for months.
The new MATA board members pose for a group picture following their Oath of Office ceremony at City Hall on November 15, 2024.
In the Interim
In February, Mauldin was named interim CEO following the retirement of former MATA CEO Gary Rosenfeld. Her appointment came a few months after the agency opted to nix their controversial 2023 proposed winter service changes.
These changes were proposed as a way to enhance the agency’s on-time performance and efficiency. This included stopping service after 7 p.m. as well as suspension of numerous routes. After hearing from the public at both board and public meetings, as well as from state leaders such as Justin J. Pearson, the board of commissioners opted to keep service as usual.
MATA touted these adjustments as a way to give the public more reliable service, by addressing their shortage of mechanics and bus repair backlog. At the time, officials said they were missing 20 percent of all of their scheduled trips.
Mauldin took over as interim CEO in the aftermath, and one of the first things she did in her official capacity was retain the services of an external CFO, Hamish Davidson of J.S. Held LLC. According to Mauldin, MATA had not previously had a CFO — a crucial position in stabilizing the organization’s financials.
Shortly after publicly announcing that the agency had been operating in a deficit, officials presented their budget proposal to the Memphis City Council, who has historically been the agency’s primary source of operating funds. The council allocated more $30 million to the agency for FY25. During this time, they also said they would be more involved in MATA’s budget moving forward. Officials instantly began their process of refining the budget. Mauldin said their largest expense was wages and fringe benefits.
In the summer, Mauldin admitted that if they were still operating in the way they had been previously, they would require a budget of $85 million; instead, she proposed a draft budget of $67 million. With this draft proposal, Mauldin acknowledged there would be cuts that would impact routes, staff, and other factors. She added that these changes would “hurt,” yet they would provide the agency with a “solid sustainable foundation” to thrive.
The interim CEO said they had not been able to identify funding for their current operating system, which has caused them to make the proposed cuts. According to MATA, they would also be streamlining staffing and vendor costs, as they prepared to submit the final budget for approval.
Days before the agency presented their balanced financials, officials announced they would be suspending trolley services, after discovering a brake issue which resulted in a “costly recommendation” from Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT). MATA opted to “temporarily suspend the service as opposed to making that spend” at the time. Eighteen employees were laid off as a result. The new budget was approved by the former MATA board at a meeting that same week, which included a plan to lay off more than 200 employees and suspend several ridership routes.
While the new board of commissioners voted to delay the proposed changes until February 2025, several problems have been left unanswered.
In analyzing these problems, many commentators note that these aren’t the result of one administration. Bennett Foster, executive director of Memphis For All, says most of these problems come as a result of previous leadership and people who “lack imagination.”
“Frankly, these white men who have been running MATA and running our city for the past eight years, they not only lack imagination for what MATA could be, but they also lack political will to do anything about it because of who MATA serves,” Foster says. “Black, working-class Memphians are not getting the services they need because of the people in charge and the people those leaders were serving.”
Foster says Mauldin has the “imagination and power to bring in people — both federally and statewide — to help progress the agency forward and bring in revenue.” But barriers remain in getting past these issues.
“Nobody wants to take blame for what happened, and politicians want to point the finger at management and management can’t really respond because [Mauldin] doesn’t know where they kept the receipts — it’s not her fault,” Foster says. “Of course as soon as a Black woman takes over it’s like, ‘Okay, now we need to hold you accountable.’”
Bacarra Mauldin hugs a MATA rider moments before a February 2024 event honoring the late MATA leader, William Hudson.
A Two-Fold Discussion
Conversations about MATA seem to fall in two different categories — evaluation of leadership and funding solutions — with many of the conversations intersecting. Groups such as the Memphis Bus Riders Union and Citizens for Better Service say these cuts sent the wrong message to riders and drivers, and that the changes sent a message that “[the board] was in favor of service cuts and layoffs.” Sammie Hunter, co-chair of the Memphis Bus Riders Union, was quoted as saying the budget was enough of a reason for Mayor Paul Young to “clean house.”
Further criticism of the administration and the board stemmed from a September city council presentation by the agency. Councilwoman Yolanda Cooper-Sutton said Mauldin had been “gifted an issue from her predecessors” and condemned the agency for not asking for help in their budget crisis.
Officials reported they had been operating in an unrestricted budget deficit for the last 10 years, which also caused Cooper-Sutton to call out the board of commissioners, saying they should “share in accountability for the agency’s financial burdens.” Mauldin said the board did not know the state of affairs, and when she was given full visibility over their finances, she shared the information with the board.
“I know that it’s unbelievable,” Mauldin said. “I know that it’s unacceptable, but we have done everything in our power to bring this in-line so that we could provide the service this city needs and deserves.”
But there’s another side — funding — and that doesn’t solely rest on the shoulders of the agency. Much of the public discourse about MATA sheds light on the turbulence, but people like Foster say this doesn’t help procure additional funding.
“The people who are going to be impacted by these conversations are people that actually ride the bus,” Foster says. “It’s being used as an excuse to not take action and protect MATA from crumbling. Protect these riders — it should be talked about as a service, not [to talk about] these people who are in charge. Are we going to save MATA? People are thinking about the management — no, think about the riders. Are you willing to do what it takes to make sure they don’t experience an end to their bus routes?”
L. Rochelle Hubbard depends on MATA’s services for her day-to-day activities,with no part of her life that isn’t impacted by reliance on transit. Hubbard says she doesn’t feel like ridership is a priority in decision-making.
“It comes across that we’re at the bottom when decisions are made,” Hubbard says.
She adds that she’s thankful for advocacy groups such as Better Transit for a Better Memphis who have helped amplify their voices, but she can’t help but feel that, although the agency hears their riders, “very little is done.” Still, Hubbard hopes that the new board, who she says has members that represent the voices of riders, will bring new change.
“Keep the riders at the forefront of this fight to establish a better transit for better Memphis,” Hubbard says.
Cardell Orrin, executive director of Stand for Children, says, in his advocacy work, public transit has consistently been among the top issues people have talked about, by both community members and elected officials.
“We’ve had studies that show how things could be better for people to access jobs, healthcare, food, education, workforce development — almost anything you can think of could get better if we had a better transit system,” Orrin says. “We’ve created a transit system of necessity. Only people who have to ride transit for the most part ride it, even though a lot of people we hear from would like to ride public transit, whether it be for convenience or the environment … but we can’t rely on an ill-functioning and an ill-funded system.”
Ridership has plummeted as a result of Covid-19, playing a major factor in the state of transit, Mauldin said in a previous conversation. Agencies are also in the aftermath of Covid-19 relief funds running out.“That really propelled the state of financial instability for transit agencies across the country, large and small,” Mauldin said.
Mauldin says the agency’s debt has been growing due to the increased cost of doing business, decreased ridership, and flat funding. Officials say funding also impacts on-time performance.
With the city being the agency’s primary funding source, many people such as Foster say the city shares in the responsibility to maintain transit service. Foster says the agency seems to have not been a priority in current and previous administrations.
Fuel to Move Faster
These months of turmoil reached a climax when Memphis Mayor Paul Young said he was looking to start a “clean slate” by replacing all members of MATA’s board of commissioners following the release of a draft report from TransPro.
The analysis indicated that public transportation has its share of financial challenges — which MATA officials have continuously noted, citing lack of funding contributing to their budget woes. However, TransPro said MATAs challenges “are further amplified by a lack of focus on the daily needs of customers, poor financial management and oversight, and the pursuit of major projects that are straining the limited staff and fiscal resources of the authority.”
While many people have applauded the report — as it led to a change in board leadership — it isn’t without flaws. Orrin, for example, says people have problems with public transit and where the money is going. But, he says, the report fails to provide context for how public transit is funded locally as opposed to other cities.
“I affirm that people are concerned about having adequate public transit. I think working back from that, the cause is not necessarily what they relate there about whether [it’s funding] being put toward these bigger projects, because the challenge of making that kind of connection is that the bigger projects they list are supposed to make transit better.”
One example Orrin refers to is MATA’s Memphis Innovation Corridor, the first bus rapid transit (BRT) system in Memphis. BRT is commended as representing the future of public transit, as a bus route that operates like a rail line with 31 stops along the way.
Mauldin says they have not made any decisions to scale back from the project at this time, as they also value the contributions from federal partners such as Congressman Steve Cohen and the Federal Transit Administration.
“The BRT project is the core of the mobility system,” Mauldin explains. “We’re continuing to work with Mayor Young and his administration to see that project through at this point.”
She adds that the report also indicates making a new operation system a priority, a recommendation they are following.
“Overall, the report didn’t reveal anything we didn’t already know,” Mauldin says. “Things were already underway, so it’s good to have that report to validate some of that. We’re using that report as fuel to move us a little faster in that direction that we were going. We’re well aware of some of the problems that existed, but again, those problems didn’t start on February 1st when I became the interim. We definitely are working very hard — from the moment I took over — to try to rectify as many of those as necessary, but the fundamental issue for all of that is a lack of funding. We just don’t have the dedicated funding.”
What’s Next?
Mauldin’s recent appointment as interim CEO comes after being at the agency for three and a half years. Though this year has had its share of controversy and setbacks, Mauldin views it as a valuable step forward in elevating public conversations around transit.
“Public transportation is more of a conversation today than it was when I first got here,” Mauldin says. “People are truly giving it the time and attention that it’s really needed for quite a long time. The fact that we’re talking about it means we’re on the right path to truly fixing it because we all know this community really needs and deserves quality transit.”
Currently, MATA is working on a financial plan to bring the trolleys back, with Mauldin saying they expect to bring something to the board “very soon.”
In evaluating the TransPro report, Mauldin says they are taking a “hard look” and working with Young on solutions, but there are a lot of things the report showed that they already knew.
Moving forward, MATA is looking to work with city, state, and federal partners to get more funding while also working with community groups and riders. And Mauldin says they’re not running from accountability.
“We’re not happy about the state of the transit authority right now and the service we provide,” she says. “We’re working every day, all day, half of the night even, trying to make service better, and I’m actually very proud of our team and what we’ve been able to accomplish so far along the journey.”
In the midst of chaos and discourse, Mauldin says she doesn’t want the work of the operators to get overlooked. While there is work to be done, she says the resilience and commitment of her team is important to address.
“The story of MATA is going to be a story of resilience,” Mauldin says. “We’re going to be the comeback kids. I believe that with all of the attention, all of the interest and development of our system, we’re going to be better on the other side because of this.”
Foster says they’re hopeful about Mauldin and her administration, saying they agree with who should take priority in decisions — the riders.
“I like her. I like the new board,” Foster says. “That’s promising, that’s giving me hope, and I do think what we saw in Nashville with the transit referendum is kind of sending a signal that people want public transit. People want that service, so I think we should prepare for something similar. We can put that on the ballot in 2026 and try to get some dedicated revenue.”
Memphis Mayor Paul Young is looking to start a “clean slate” in city transit by replacing all members of the Memphis Area Transit Authority’s (MATA) board of commissioners.
Young made the announcement Friday evening following the release of a TransPro draft report which comes after months of turmoil for the agency.
The mayor is looking to replace the current board with the following members:
Brandon Arrindale
Cynthia Bailey
Emily Greer
Sandi Klink
Brian Marflak
Jackson McNeil
Anna McQuiston
Dana Pointer
Maya Siggers
“This move is more about creating a clean-slate environment,” Young said. “After months of analysis, we received Transpro’s initial draft report today, which clearly spells out the challenges facing our transit system and the need to move with expediency.
“We believe the reset will help us to move more quickly toward our goal of creating a system that better connects our residents with jobs, healthcare, and essential services.”
TransPro, a transportation consulting business, conducted their analysis from August 19 to October 11. During this time the board had passed a budget that not only included service cuts, but prompted the layoff of more than 200 employees. Board members said these cuts were made to ensure the viability of the agency, as officials had announced a $60 million deficit this summer.
“Existing MATA board fails to provide reasonable oversight,” the report said. “Just a month ago the MATA board unanimously adopted a budget with no questions…for a fiscal year that started more than 100 days prior.”
MATA’s board has been criticized by not only bus riders and community advocates, but city leaders as well. During a September Memphis City Council meeting, Council member Yolanda Cooper-Sutton condemned the board for not speaking up about a problem that had been 10 years in the making.
“No one knew there was a deficiency coming down the pipeline? No one?” Cooper-Sutton said. “I’m going to tell you what my spirit is discerning — someone is lying and not telling the truth. You’re not going to tell me that the educated board with all those alphabets behind their name that no one knew and saw this coming for 10 years? It’s unbelievable.”
The analysis notes that public transportation has its share of financial challenges. MATA officials have continuously made note of this citing lack of funding contributing to their budget woes. However, TransPro said MATAs challenges “are further amplified by a lack of focus on the daily needs of customers, poor financial management and oversight, and the pursuit of major projects that are straining the limited staff and fiscal resources of the authority.”
The organization found only 26 percent of the community believed in the agency’s ability to efficiently handle public funds. In order to gain the public’s trust regarding management of funds, they recommend the entire board be replaced.
“The MATA board as currently constituted should be replaced with new members who will take seriously their responsibility to act as the policy and oversight entity of the agency,” the report said. “New board members should be trained on the expectations and responsibilities that membership on this board entails.
“Furthermore, performance metrics should be established on the operations, finances, and customer satisfaction of the agency for the leadership team to be held accountable to and provide true transparency to the community.”
TransPro’s 117-page recommendation thoroughly summarizes recommendations for the agency, analyzes bus usage and ridership, and on-time performance amongst other things. They said a comprehensive financial review “is currently underway.”
Emcee Otis Sanford, Buddy Chapman, and David Wayne Brown at Brooks book-reading event (Photo: Jackson Baker)
As the Greater Memphis community continues to try to sort out whether it is in the grip of a crime wave or whether, as a recent Crime Commission report indicates, crime statistics are actually on the wane, the subject continues to dominate local attention.
One matter that has remained more or less on the back burner is that of Mayor Paul Young’s proposed director of public safety, a pending position (sometimes referred to in administrative ranks, somewhat less reassuringly, as “public safety advisor”).
Young suggested the new office back in January after the city council declined to endorse his proffered reappointment of C.J. Davis as police chief, and the new mayor, in response, fell back on the expedient of keeping Davis on as interim chief.
From the beginning, it was uncertain whether the proposed directorship was to be a fundamentally new concept or a retooling of a dormant position. Compounding the confusion was the fact that, at some hard-to-pinpoint period in the administration of former Mayor Jim Strickland, the existing title of police director had somehow morphed back into that of police chief, a development making Davis’ currently impermanent position seem all the more tenuous.
But now the suggestion comes from administration sources that the task of filling the new position — however it is to be titled and whatever its scope — is in the “latter” stages and may be just around the corner, with a narrowing down of prospects by mid-June and a likely appointment by July 1st, in time for the new fiscal year.
Meanwhile, coincidentally and maybe usefully, the individual most identified in Memphis history with the erstwhile rank of police director, E. Winslow “Buddy” Chapman, has published his memoir, under the title of Call Me Director: Memoir of a Police Reformer.
Chapman’s service at the helm of city law enforcement came during the administration of former Mayor Wyeth Chandler (1972-1982), and it coincided with conditions that were not unlike those of our present moment.
Mayor Young’s apparent intention with his new directorship is to establish a wide-ranging civilian control over police authority, and that was the mission also of Chapman, who had to fight a protracted battle with the good-old-boy regime of then-Police Chief Bill Crumby to achieve, finally, a workable dominance over local law-enforcement policy.
As Chapman writes in his book, and as he related to an appreciative audience in a book-signing and reading at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art on Monday night, the issues he had to deal with were very like our own these days.
They included instances of police brutality, racism in the MPD ranks, severe financial shortages and under-staffing, and the imperatives of federal supervision. He also had to face down and survive simultaneous police and fire strikes in the crisis year of 1978.
What he strove to impose as an alternative to established practices was a form of what we would call today community policing. And, as he ended his tenure and resumed civilian status, he founded the local CrimeStoppers organization, which he ran as director until recently when he turned the reins over to David Wayne Brown, the co-author and collaborator of his memoir.
The book grapples with the conundrum of finding the right balance between carrot and stick in law enforcement — same as Mayor Young and his soon-to-be public safety director will shortly face — and is well worth their reading and ours.
Renee Parker Sekander Photo Credit: City of Memphis
Renee Parker Sekander is the city of Memphis’ new LGBTQ liaison.
Those duties are additional to her role as executive assistant to Memphis Mayor Paul Young. Former Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland created the LGTBQ liaison position, a role filled in the past by Dabney Ring and Maria Fuhrmann.
Sekander is a native Memphian, a University of Tennessee graduate and has worked as an advocate in Atlanta, Denver, Los Angeles, and more. But they weren’t home, she said. Also, she said she’s motivated to create a Memphis that she wants to live and raise a family in.
“I’m a person who is gay and wants to have a family,” Sekander said. “I also have family that’s gay. I have family that’s trans, I have friends who are trans. I have folks who have left Memphis because they say the state is too harsh, that it’s too hard to be trans, it’s too hard to be gay in this community. So they go to Chicago, or Los Angeles, or Boston.”
Sekander went on to say when people leave the city, it’s hard for Memphis to continue to grow and reach its full potential as it’s losing important talent and voices.
Not only is Sekander dedicated to making sure the city is welcoming and inclusive for the LGBTQ community, she also plans on doing outreach work to “bring people back.” She sees this as an opportunity to “rebrand” and “re-educate” the city.
The Flyer spoke with Sekander about her intentions in her role, how her identity impacts her work and more. — Kailynn Johnson
Memphis Flyer:Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Renee Parker Sekander: My name is Renee Parker Sekander, born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee. I have lived in several different cities over the last six years, but my wife and I made the decision to move back home to Memphis and make this our permanent home again.
I live in the Midtown area with my fabulous but reactive dog, Fox Cleopatra Parker, and we just have an incredible life here in Memphis. A large part of the reason that I am who I am is because this city built me, and I’m excited to just pour back into it with every bit of me.
That’s the “too long; didn’t read” summary of who I am.
Could you talk more about how your identity and background play a role in the work that you’re currently doing?
I’ll say I’ve been doing this work unofficially for a little while, just as a person who’s very passionate about inclusivity, equality, [and] making sure Memphis is really seen and branded as an inclusive and welcoming city so that we don’t lose out on talent, culture, and spirit to other cities because some people perceive us to not be an equal city, an inclusive city.
My goal is to make sure that people feel comfortable living here authentically being who they are and making sure we are all free and able to contribute to building the city the way it should be built.
I think for me it’s been very important that I continue the work that has been done over the past few years. I’m not the first LGBTQ liaison, there were two prior to me, Dabney Ring and Maria Fuhrmann… I’m excited to continue the work but also expand the work, too.
When I started my work in government, I told Mayor Young I was ready to push his vision forward. For him, his vision really prioritizes making sure that every member of our community feels valued, feels seen. So, the charge that he’s given me is to continue making strides and taking steps to making sure our city is represented as an inclusive and welcoming city.
I’m really excited to think through some creative ways but also build on the work that’s already been done and is being done by different community members across the city of Memphis and also working with them to be innovative, figuring out new ways we can keep our culture here, keep our people here, so that our city can be as safe and inclusive as possible.
How would you describe your role and responsibilities?
In quite a few different ways. I think one of the biggest roles is going to be making sure that people outside of city government understand and have closer relationships with those in it, making sure that we’re constantly present whether that be at events, at meetings, brainstorming sessions, making sure that I’m expanding the table, making sure that more people can sit at it, and more voices can be heard as decisions are being made on how to make our city more inclusive.
It’s also about making innovative ways to grow our MEI (Municipal Equality Index) score which is currently 54 out of 100, according to the Human Rights Campaign. [This is] our equality index, like how inclusive, how safe is our city? I’m thinking of ways to grow that score. So, it’s going to be a lot of ensuring our city resources are accessible to the people who use them and need them, and making sure we really rebrand the city as a space that is safe and welcoming for all.
What are some of the things in Memphis that may hinder people from having an authentic experience and how does having someone like yourself in the mayor’s office help make that experience a reality?
I think being able to come from the perspective of a woman wanting to raise a family here. What do I want my Memphis to look like for my family, for my children? Making sure that we continue to protect our community.
We see a lot of times in national news and statewide news a lot of attacks against the LGBTQ community, things that are putting obstacles in the way of folks from being able to access housing, job equity, protections against discrimination. These are things that a lot of people look at our state, and look at our country and we have to be able to say [that] Memphis is not a part of tearing people down based on who they identify as. We are actually welcoming and we embrace it and overall we want to make sure people understand they can come home to Memphis if they are trans, if they are queer. They can make an impact here.
It’s going to take all of us to fix a lot of the problems that we see in our city and we have to make sure that there are no barriers or limits to being able to welcome the folks who want to make an impact here in Memphis to be able to do that. It’s going to take a lot of innovative ideas, a lot of ideas people have been fighting for and working on for years and years, but overall it’s going to take a collective group of voices.
What I’m excited to do in my role is creating that table, making sure that we’re constantly hearing those voices, and that everyone has an active part in the progress we’re trying to make here. It’s going to be some ‘teamwork makes the dreamwork’ for the next few years.
How do you continue the work that’s been done but also expanding so more people can have a seat at the table?
I think the first and most important thing is listening. It means meeting with the folks that have been doing the work and consistently meeting, too, and becoming intertwined in that work.
One of the things I hate the most is the duplication of efforts. I want to make sure that we know what work is already being done, what’s working, what’s helpful, and what gaps are there. Are there ways that the city can be doing more to make sure that people feel seen and heard in hard moments and in strong moments within our community?
Having a presence, too. I’m very excited because our mayor has taken the charge of being a present mayor, an active mayor of being in the community. That’s something that he’s going to continue to do and so making sure that there’s always a presence with our city officials and our city government in those spaces where it’s going to be impactful, where people’s presence might not have been there in the past. We want to make sure we’re filling in those spaces, and that we’re there and that we’re listening.
My first couple of months as the liaison will be learning more about what organizations have been doing this work, meeting with folks and activists who have been doing this work, and making sure they’re at my table as we continue to make these charges and make these changes.
You’ve been in advocacy work for a minute. What keeps you motivated?
I think it’s a combination of “little me” and “big me.” “Little me” was a little girl growing up closeted and gay here in Memphis — scared to come out, scared to be who I am. In that, I was also scared to ever use my voice. I felt like kind of [a] shell of myself sometimes. As I became more comfortable with who I am, who I love, I became more confident in using my voice against the things that are wrong, that are unjust.
For me, I stay motivated by knowing there’s still more work to do. I want to make sure a little Black girl growing up here in Memphis who’s closeted and queer feels more comfortable, more safe, coming out sooner because we need their voice, we need their energy, we need who they are. I think it’s really important we send that message to little girls and little boys.
It’s also about “big me.” I’m not a mother yet, but I want to be a mother, and I always want to be able to look back and say [that] I did good work that’s going to benefit my children’s lives. It’s always about making “big me” proud, too. It’s about doing the work that’s going to be the most impactful, and doing it in my hometown, that really drives me.
