Tag: Shea Flinn

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Politics Politics Feature

Money vs. Grit ‘n Grind

CREDIT: Jackson Baker

If, as so many people declaim, money is the “mother’s milk” of politics, the fact is, there are some determined candidates who are virtually lactose-free and decline to be poor-mouthing about it. Others are letting their gross receipts and checkbooks speak for them.

As a sample case of such contrasts, consider the five-candidate race for Super District 9, Position 2. It is, like the races for mayor and City Court clerk, an at-large race. The two Super Districts, 8 and 9, represent a compromise dating from a 1991 judicial settlement, when the city’s electorate was roughly half white and half black.

In blunt terms, District 9 was the white half, more or less, while District 8 was predominantly African-American. Population shifts since then have altered the makeup of both districts, but the rough division still holds.

And there are clear distinctions between how candidates might run in an at-large race and how they can run in district races.

As Shea Flinn, the former councilman from 9, 2, and now an executive with the Greater Memphis Area Chamber of Commerce, put it, “You can walk a district race.” (That is, go door-to-door.) “You can’t do that to nearly the same degree in an at-large race. The territory is too large.”

That fact would seem to militate against an at-large candidate without a budget big enough to do radio, TV, and newspaper advertising. That doesn’t necessarily mean that the candidate with the most money wins in an at-large race, but ample funding certainly conveys an advantage.

On the other hand, the same judicial settlement that created the current district structure ordained that, unlike the case in district races, there would be no runoffs in any of the at-large races. That fact gives even cash-poor candidates the hope of winning a plurality, if they can bring some other advantage to the winner-take-all scramble.

Stephanie Gatewood, for example, a former Memphis School Board member who now aspires to the Super District 9, Positon 2, seat, reported exactly $671.45 on hand in her second-quarter financial disclosure, covering the period April 1st to June 30th. She listed two contributions, each for $500.

Gatewood’s expenditures for the period totaled $338.95, which she laid out to Perkins Productions for some “4 x 6” wallet cards.

At a recent meet-and-greet/fund-raising affair held at Acre Restaurant (after the last reporting deadline), Gatewood boasted that her election to the old Memphis City Schools board had been achieved by grass-roots and word-of-mouth efforts without much of a budget and, after engaging with attendees in a kind of quiz-’em-on-the-issues dialogue, she asked those present to notify their Twitter or Facebook networks where they were and whom they were listening to.

Clearly, Gatewood hopes that her former school board incumbency, and the contacts that came with it, can generate some turnout.

That prospect may loom even larger with another name candidate and former school board member in the same race, Kenneth Whalum Jr. Whalum, who is something of a master at using social media and attracting press coverage, has made it clear, too, that his efforts will not depend on raising a huge amount of campaign cash.

In addition to his considerable name-recognition, gained most recently from a good showing at the 2014 Democratic primary for Shelby County mayor, Whalum intends to engage in serious networking — emphasizing the theme of education and coordinating his own efforts with those of like-minded candidates for other council positions.

As a late entry, Whalum was not required to post a financial disclosure for the second quarter.

Another entry in the 9, 2, race is Lynn Moss, a novice candidate with no prior incumbencies and no name-recognition factor. Her financial receipts are also lacking — with second-quarter receipts of $1,745, mainly from personal friends, and cash-on-hand of $1,173.48.

Moss would seem to be unusually handicapped against her opponents, but she has one ace-in-the-hole, affiliation with a group of grass-roots activists who meet frequently to challenge the precepts of various civic establishments. In particular, she is running on a ticket of sorts (with Robin Spielberger in Super District 9, Position 1, and Jim Tomasik in District 1) that advocates de-annexation from Memphis of relatively recently annexed suburbs such as Cordova. To the extent that she and others can make that issue prominent, she has prospects.

The campaign of Paul Shaffer, longtime business manager for the IBEW (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers), is intermediate between the position of determined do-it-yourself campaigns and those that are backed by numerous and significant donations.

Shaffer has benefited from large donations from union-oriented Political Action Committees (PACs). His cash-on-hand amount of $11,735.22 in his second-quarter report derives almost entirely from such sources, which are, however, relatively limited in number. They run the gamut from $500 to $5,000.

Shaffer can depend also on voluntary grass-roots support from union members and from the Democratic Party rank-and-file activists who have known Shaffer for years (many of them, as candidates, having benefited from IBEW’s own financial generosity).

And then there is Philip Spinosa, a new name to most Memphians, including the majority of voters residing in Super District 9, 2, but one not destined to stay that way for long. Already motorists along several of the city’s major thoroughfares — Walnut Grove being a case in point — are seeing Spinosa’s yard signs in great quantity, often in tandem with those of Reid Hedgepeth, the incumbent council member in Super District 9, Position 3, and Worth Morgan, a candidate in District 5, a Midtown-East Memphis enclave.

Like Hedgepeth and Morgan, Spinosa, a sales executive with FedEx, has the kind of youthful image that is made-to-order for television advertising, and his connections with influential members of the city’s business elite are similar to theirs as well. His second-quarter receipts were a whopping $164,940, and his cash balance was $149,133.75.

Resources like that (Morgan is similarly fixed, by the way) are almost on a par with those of the two mayoral-race titans, Mayor A C Wharton and Councilman Jim Strickland, and, over the long haul, obviously give Spinosa the potential to close and overcome the name-ID factor currently owned by a couple of his opponents.

Jackson Baker

The family of late civil rights icon and National Civil Rights Museum founder D’Army Bailey acknowldged the Shelby County Commission’s vote on Monday to rename the Shelby County Courthouse in his honor. From left: son Merritt Bailey, wife Adrienne Bailey, Commission chair Justin Ford, son Justin Bailey. At right is Commissioner Terry Roland, sponsor of the re-naming resolution.

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News The Fly-By

Music Commission Again Targeted for Possible Budget Cut

Each budget season at Memphis City Hall brings a new bullseye for the Memphis & Shelby County Music Commission.

The group is an annual target for Memphis City Councilmembers Shea Flinn and Jim Strickland. Each has called for the commission to be completely cut from the city’s budget each year for the past few years. Flinn’s voice on the matter has been dampened as he resigned his council seat last week. But Strickland’s voice has been amplified in his roles as chairman of the council’s budget committee and as a front-runner candidate for the Memphis mayor’s seat.

Strickland called the music commission an example of non-essential spending during a mayoral candidate forum last week hosted by The Commercial Appeal. He’s been calling for the cut of the commission from the city’s budget at least since 2012 when he told The Memphis Flyer that a private group would better serve the commission’s mission.

Memphis & Shelby County Music Commission

Memphis Mayor A C Wharton has funded the group with $250,000 for the past few years and has the same amount included in his proposed 2016 budget that totals more than $656 million.

“The Memphis Music Commission serves an important role in supporting and furthering the city’s world-renowned music heritage,” Wharton said in a statement. “Through programs like the Musician Healthcare Plan, Memphis Music Monday, and Music Business forum, the commission is making it possible for musicians to develop their careers and showcase their music and learn about the business side of the music industry.”

Tracking the music commission’s funding is tough. In the 2015 budget, the commission is listed under “special services” in the city’s Parks and Neighborhoods budget, not in the expected “grants and agencies” section alongside budgets for the Memphis Film & Television Commission, Urban Art, the Black Business Association, and more. Budgets for the commission, Second Chance, and Community Affairs are lumped together, making it hard to determine exactly which group gets and spends what.

According to the city’s human resources department, the commission’s executive director Johnnie Walker’s salary was a little more than $92,000 in the 2015 budget. Her office assistant’s salary was nearly $37,000. The rest, it is believed, is spent on running the office, buying supplies, and making grants.

The commission is comprised of 22 commissioners appointed by the mayors of Memphis and Shelby County. It “preserves, fosters, and promotes” Memphis music “through education, networking, advocacy, and professional and industry development.” The 2015 budget claims the commission operates 15 programs, though its website lists only nine. One of them — the Memphis Trolley Unplugged series — is on hold until trolley service resumes.

Walker said music is essential to Memphis tourism, and funding the commission puts the city’s money where its mouth is.

“A city that markets itself as ‘Home of the Blues, the Birthplace of Rock-and-Roll,’ that alone says that the city should be involved in the protection of that legacy and providing resources so that legacy can continue,” Walker said.

Walker said the commission does that with legal clinics, a health-care plan for musicians without insurance, weekly radio and television broadcasts of Memphis music, a weekly Memphis music showcase at Hard Rock Cafe, and more.

Strickland said the music industry is “huge” to Memphis but the music commission does not operate efficiently or effectively. He has said the group does not quantify “what it’s doing,” and groups like The Consortium MMT [Memphis Music Town] could do better.

“Their purpose is to develop a viable music industry in Memphis and from all indications they’re doing a very good job,” Strickland said. “Who knows Memphis music more than David Porter and Al Bell [of Consortium MMT]? No one. We ought to get behind their effort, which is privately funded.”

Budget hearings began Tuesday and are scheduled to wrap up on Tuesday, May 26th.

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News News Blog

City Council Discusses Adding Cateria Stokes to Homicide Reward List

Cateria Stokes, the 15-year-old girl who was killed during a drive-by shooting at her house on April 10th, may be the next name added to the city’s reward list for information on homicide suspects.

Cateria Stokes

The Memphis City Council’s Public Safety Committee discussed adding Stokes’ name to the list in their meeting Tuesday morning, and the resolution will be voted on in the full council meeting Tuesday night. If passed, tipsters with information on Stokes’ killer, who remains unknown at this time, could be given a $100,000 reward.

Other names on the city’s homicide reward list include former Memphis Grizzly Lorenzen Wright, Larry Joseph Larkin, Joey Lacy, Cora Gatewood, Calvin Riley, Napoleon Yates, Marco Antonio Calero, Jack Lassiter, and Deryck DeShaun Davenport.

The Public Safety Committee also heard the monthly rape kit update. A member of the rape kit task force told council members that the construction storage room for DNA evidence was moving along and “seeing lots of progress.” As of March, there were 5,246 rape kits that remained untested. That’s down from 5,246 untested in February.

Council members also discussed an ordinance to give the Civilian Law Enforcement Review Board (CLERB) more teeth, including the power to subpoena officers and information. The CLERB, which is currently inactive, is designed to provide oversight for citizen complaints against police wrongdoing. Both Director Toney Armstrong and Memphis Police Association President Mike Williams took issue with the idea giving the board subpoena power, claiming that it could impact the officers’ Fifth Amendment rights.

But City Council member Shea Flinn, who once served on an earlier incarnation of the CLERB, urged the council to take action soon and give the CLERB more power.

“All politics aside, this board is about when things don’t go right. And the reason this board wasn’t taken seriously by the city council [in its past incarnation] is because the board wasn’t serious. It had no power,” Flinn said. “And in these economic times, when we’re paying staff [to serve on the board], we cannot do nothing.”

Flinn said a CLERB with more power could help build trust between citizens and law enforcement. The CLERB amendment will be heard in its first reading at Tuesday night’s council meeting.

Categories
Politics Politics Feature

The Council District 5 Race

The District 5 City Council seat, which has been occupied for two terms by Jim Strickland, who is vacating it to make a mayoral run, is a crucial one for several reasons, including the fact that the Midtown/East Memphis district contains both substantial commercial and residential turf and several different hotbeds of politically active citizens.

It bears repeating that it will be a solid month before April 17th, the first date on which candidate petitions can even be drawn, and that any list of candidates is, of necessity, only a preliminary one. But there are several individuals who are campaigning already and have to be taken seriously.

There is Mary Wilder, for example, a veteran political and civic activist and longtime presence in the Evergreen Vollintine neighborhood, who has political credibility and name recognition from a previous race or two and from having served as an interim state Representative in state House District 89.

Wilder was the beneficiary last Thursday of a well-attended fund-raiser at Annesdale Mansion, hosted by former state Senator Beverly Marrero (whose vacated House seat Wilder assumed temporarily in 2007), and longtime progressive activist Happy Jones, who noted that Annesdale was an ancestral home. Between the two of them, Marrero and Jones symbolized the broad appeal Wilder hopes to demonstrate along the Poplar Corridor.

In brief remarks, Wilder cited her 11 years as United Methodist services director and her work on behalf of preservation initiatives and environmental causes. She also served as facilities director at MIFA.

A candidate with similar appeal and who, like Wilder, was an early entry is Charles “Chooch” Pickard, an architect who also has evinced a strong interest in preservationist issues and strategies for dealing with blight. Pickard has served as executive director of the Memphis Regional Design Center and currently serves on the MATA board. He has signed on some seasoned campaign pros to help his race.

In her introduction of Wilder last week, Marrero challenged Wilder’s supporters to work hard because, as she said, “there’s a lot of money on the other side.” 

There are several candidates that remark could describe, but one of them is certainly Worth Morgan, a member of a well-known brokerage family, if at this point still something of an unknown quantity. Morgan is an executive at SunStar Insurance of Memphis, and word is that his campaign will be well-endowed financially.

In that sense, with his themes unspoken to so far, his campaign could resemble the one successfully run in 2007 by current Councilman Reid Hedgepeth, whose race was in a sense under the radar but who had similar sources of support.

Another candidate who can count on significant financial backing and whose political profile is somewhat more developed, is Dan Springer, who has served as an aide to both Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell and U.S. Senator Bob Corker.

Springer, who currently serves as communications director for Evolve Bank and Trust, has begun making the rounds of local civic and political clubs to introduce himself.

Coming from a totally different political corner is Paul Shaffer, business manager for IBEW Local 474 and a long-established presence in local Democratic Party politics. The well-liked Shaffer can count on serious backing from organized labor, but his support does not end there. In past races for a council super-district, he has enjoyed good across-the-board support from Democratic political figures of note, and he could well get a lion’s share of them this time, too.

As other political observers have noted, the District 5 picture could be complicated by the recently much-rumored prospect of a retirement from the Council by Super District 9 member Shea Flinn, to assume executive duties with the Greater Memphis Area Chamber of Commerce. If that should come to pass, several of the names mentioned here, along with various others, could well end up on the ballot as potential successors to Flinn.

In any case, the District 5 field indicated here is likely to experience both pluses and minuses, and several other potential candidates have floated preliminary trial balloons. (Candidates omitted in this list should fear not; as indicated, we’ve got time, and they shall get their due.)

One of those who talked about making a District 5 race early on but who has been dormant of late is Mike Ritz, the former two-term county commissioner from Germantown who, as commission chairman, played a major role in important stages of the school merger/de-merger controversy.

On the eve of a move into Memphis last year, Ritz, a sometime businessman-banker with a long-term pedigree in both city and county governmental affairs, discussed his desire to seek the District 5 seat in the event that Strickland, as expected, chose to vacate it for a mayoral run.

Ritz has, however, decided against a council race. The reason? “I couldn’t find much interest out there — not only for my race but for anybody’s race.”

On the supposition that all of you reading this are sitting down, I can announce that, er, somewhat to my surprise, I was informed this week that yet another contestant — and an unexpected one, at that — is waiting in the wings with a definite hankering to enter the already crowded District 5 City Council race.

Joe Cooper.

Wow, that was noisy — all those chairs falling! Well, pick yourselves up, and I’ll say it again. Joe Cooper.

“I don’t want anybody thinking this is a joke” said Cooper, on the telephone. And I can assure you, Cooper is no joke.

Yes, Cooper has taken some hits — more than his share, maybe. He has two felony convictions, and there’s no hiding that. The first one, back in the 1970s, when he was a ubiquitous and influential member of the county court, is regarded in some quarters as having been payback for breaking ranks with a local Republican Party that was just beginning to feel its oats as a political force.

The offense was technically a species of mail fraud, in which Cooper, clearly hard up for cash, arranged some personal loans for himself in the name of friends, many of them influential government players. Irregular, to be sure, and he (but not they) got nailed for it by an unsympathetic D.A.’s office.

Cooper did some time, and for several years afterward divided his time between attempts at reestablishing a political career and several business start-ups, none of which endured for very long. He remained knowledgeable about government, however, and served in other people’s campaigns and offices and as a man-to-see about working the system and as an all-purposes resource — “the world’s greatest concierge” — as he called himself.

Do you need an autographed picture of President Chester A. Arthur by 2 p.m. tomorrow? Cooper is your best bet to get it. And much else.

In 2008, he got nailed again for selling Cadillacs to drug dealers, who paid cash for contracts that bore other people’s names — money laundering. While Cooper ended up doing more time, his punishment was mitigated by his subsequent assistance to the FBI in making bribery cases against local officials, and his cooperation netted him a sentence of only six months on the money laundering charges.

Besides treading these dangerous legal waters, Cooper has survived some significant physical ailments in recent years, and he, unquestionably and in a very unique sense, bears the aura of a survivor. For all his derogators — and they are many — he has his defenders, also numerous, although many of them, perhaps most, may be loath about boasting the fact publicly.

Cooper is what he is. He can make the case that he’s learned the hard way about staying on the beaten path, and it’s a path that he knows something about. He isn’t likely to win, but, in the crowded field that the District 5 race is becoming, who knows? He can at least hope to make a runoff (permitted in district races, though not for at-large positions).

Categories
News The Fly-By

Council Gets First Look at MATA Trolley Plan

CREDIT: Justin Fox Burks

Changes may be ahead for the Memphis trolley system as city leaders weigh in next week on the plan to bring the trolleys back.

The trolley system was shut down last June after two trolley cars caught fire on the Madison Line in separate events only seven months apart. Trolley 452 caught fire in November 2013. Trolley 553 caught fire on April 7th of last year. Both trolleys were burned beyond repair.

After the shutdown, the Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) brought in a team of rail and transportation safety experts to review the system and help get it back on track. MATA leaders have said they would reveal the trolley plan to the public once the consultants finished their work. But the plan hasn’t surfaced yet.

Even though trolleys haven’t rumbled past Memphis City Hall in nearly eight months, they were on the minds of Memphis City Council members last week. 

Justin Fox Burks

MATA President Ron Garrison

MATA President Ron Garrison asked council members to approve the use of $1.1 million in pre-approved capital funds last week for rail facility improvements. But council members asked Garrison to bring his request back to city hall next week, along with his plan for the trolley system.

Councilmembers Harold Collins and Shea Flinn expressed concerns about the system, especially the Madison Line. Flinn said he and Collins were “far from alone” about questions of trolleys on Madison and called the route a “difficult situation.”

Flinn said there have long been problems with trolley utilization overall but especially on the Madison Line. 

“While we’re in repair and rebuild mode, we should be in rethink mode,” Flinn said. “The city has exhausted a lot of resources on this amenity, and I’m not sure we’re getting the bang for the buck from it that we could be. As we have this forced stoppage, we need to try and think of how we can make this a more-utilized asset.”

Collins said he’s seen and heard about problems of dependability on the trolley system. Any continuing trolley service needs to simply work for the citizens of Memphis, tourists, and business owners, he said.

“If we’re thinking about investing an enormous, no … if we’re going to reinvest potentially an enormous amount of money on this project [we should see a plan],” Collins said. “But nobody seems to agree on or like what they’re doing now.”

When asked what potential changes he’d like to see in the trolley system, Collins said he wanted better connectivity across the city. He recalled a former plan to take a trolley or even a bus from the end of the Madison Line all the way to the corner of Madison and Cooper. The move would help better connect downtown and Midtown.

MATA’s work is focused now on the repair and recertification of five trolley cars, all of them the larger cars. MATA says those are in the best condition and can also carry the most people. 

When they are ready for service, the trolleys will bring service first to the Main Street Line. As more trolleys are repaired, they will be launched on the Riverfront Line and the Madison Line. 

Garrison is scheduled to bring MATA’s trolley plan to city hall next Tuesday, February 3rd for a review by the council’s Public Works and Transportation Committee at 8:45 a.m.

Categories
Cover Feature News

The World of Memphis Twitter

Last year, the Flyer staff decided to do a “Who’s Who in Memphis Twitter” issue. It was a lot of fun, generated some buzz, and made us think, “Hey, we could do this every year.” Except, we can’t. We tried, but really, who wants to read a list of names that would mostly be repetitive from the prior year? Plus, Twitter has become so ubiquitous that picking “Who’s Who in Memphis Twitter” would be like picking “Who’s Who in Memphis Facebook.” Impossible. All we would be doing is picking the people we follow.

Twitter is now so mainstream, potential employers ask for your handle in job interviews. It’s a very rare politician, journalist, comedian, musician, sports figure, etc. who isn’t all over Twitter these days. It’s become an invaluable tool for businesses and for link sharing and breaking news. And if you haven’t watched a Grizzlies or Tigers game with your Twitter peeps, you’re missing half the fun. Twitter is everywhere and all of you deserve prizes. Except for that one guy. We hate him.

Soooo, instead of a “Who’s Who in Memphis Twitter,” this year we decided to do a bit of a potpourri. We picked some local twitterers and asked them to talk about how they use the medium; we interviewed some local celebs 140 characters at a time; we picked some of our favorite tweets and twitterers. Memphis Twitter is a rich world of information, snark, and news. We’ve barely scratched the surface.

— Bruce VanWyngarden

Carrie Brown-Smith, Early Adapter

Long before Twitter evolved into the ubiquitous social network and microblogging service it is today, Carrie Brown-Smith was dishing out tweets. An associate professor in the University of Memphis’ journalism department, Brown-Smith got wind of the tool early and decided to incorporate it into numerous courses she teaches. She continues to maintain a strong presence on Twitter.

Flyer: How did you get introduced to Twitter?

Carrie Brown-Smith: A friend of mine was working for Apple at the time; he loved it and kept telling me to use it. Like most other people, I set up an account then didn’t use it for the next two months. It was like, “Okay, now I’m on here, but I don’t see why anybody would want to use this.” Much later, I realized it was really useful.

How often are you on Twitter?

I try to limit myself, because you can get sucked in and end up spending your whole day there. Usually, when I’m taking a little break in the middle of the day, waiting in line, or doing something where I can hang out on my phone a little while, I might spend 10 minutes scanning through my feed. If I come across a link or photo or something that I think is interesting, I’ll just hop on there and share it. At least once a day I’m hopping on there — sometimes more.

In what ways has Twitter evolved since you began using it years ago?

A lot more people are using it now. At the beginning, I think it was kind of this big stereotype that people were only going to use it to tell other people what they had for breakfast. But as time went on, people started to see the utility of it for news and information and for connecting with other people. If you look at a lot of job descriptions today, often they include, “This person should know how to use Twitter and social media.” It’s more mainstream than it was a few years ago.

Does it matter what your avatar looks like?

That’s really important, because I think when people see that little blank egg, they also think that it could be a spam account. Even if it’s not your own picture, [it’s good to] have something there that personalizes it; it just makes you a lot more legitimate and credible.

Any advice for making the best out of those 140 characters?

Obviously, a lot of links get shared on Twitter, but I think some people forget that they can do that. If you want to share longer thoughts, you can share a link to a blog post or an article. People have really short attention spans today, so I think it can be a good discipline to practice writing something that catches people’s attention, even though you don’t have a lot of characters.

— Louis Goggans, @Lou4President

CA Commenter‘s Greatest Hits

“Memphis is a war zone of thugs, crooks in suits, and cyclists. I ain’t too fond of Barry Obummer neither. I am the Commercial Appeal commenter.”

So reads the online bio of the most trenchant Memphis satirist on Twitter. This anonymous wit has perfectly nailed the Memphis-hater set. It’s almost scary, it’s so brilliant. That’s my opinion, anyway. Judge for yourself, libtard:

• Lyft sounds like left so I’m starting Ryght, car service for conservatives. Hannity & Limbaugh on the radio non-stop. Burb travel only.

• Maybe on the ballots they could put pictures of the candidates, you know, to see if they have trust-worthy eyes…that’s all…ahem.

• It’s perfect that the trolleys will return this Autumn, right when it starts to get cooler & a nice fire will be warm & inviting.

• Been doing the 30 day #CarFreeMemphis challenge. 1, by using my Hummer which is an SUV not a car & 2, by not actually going into Memphis.

• Sen. Kelsey: What about a bill to have tornado sirens blare Dixie? You’re welcome.

• It sucks that Bring Hannity to TN & Turn Gays Away bills are fine but my Let Duck Dynasty Hunt Peabody Ducks idea was “too out there.”

• Hey @MemphisFlyer, I left the Memphis Press-Scimitar box at your place so you could learn what a real newspaper looks like.

• I wish I would be hired as a coach of a Memphis basketball team because it means you’re guaranteed to leave Memphis in a few years.

• So keeping a building from the 19th Century is a noble cause, but keeping an attitude from that era is wrong? Hypocrites.

• 10 years ago Hurricane Elvis swept through Memphis and Obama did nothing about it. #NeverForget

— Bruce VanWyngarden, @sylamore1

Beth Spencer, Animal Rights Activist

With more than 1,800 followers, Beth Spencer has made a name for herself on Twitter. For more than four months, Spencer has been tweeting every day about the changes going on at Memphis Animal Shelter (MAS) — to the Shelter and Mayor AC Wharton. We sat down with Spencer and asked her how she thinks Twitter can bring about social change.

Flyer: How often do you use twitter?

Beth Spenser: It depends on my mood, I’d say anywhere from 3 to 100 times a day. If something really makes my eyes roll, then my number of tweets increases. The amount of time I spend on Twitter also varies with every time my eyes roll, but on average I’d say about four to six hours a day. When I’m not on Twitter I’m either working or I’m watching Frasier.

What do you normally tweet about?

Normally I tweet about animals, pop culture, and social issues. Today I tweeted about Miley Cyrus and I tried to get the mayor to talk to me. I’ve been tweeting to the mayor for four months now, every day, and I’m not doing it to aggravate him or to harass him, but a lot of times people will retweet what I send to him and it raises social awareness.

Do you think Twitter can bring about social change?

I think it helps people band together. I don’t think it happens in Memphis as much as it does in other places, but a lot of times people can get direct answers on Twitter, and I think ideally it holds those in power more accountable. Twitter gives people a platform that otherwise wouldn’t have one, and I think that’s key to bringing about social change.

Once I sort of “catfished” Memphis Parks, because they run Memphis Animal Shelter. They had been avoiding my tweets as myself so I made a fake name called Mark in Memphis. I made the photo a black male and tweeted them asking about the hour change at MAS. They weren’t responding to any of my tweets or any of the activists that had been asking them questions, but when someone they didn’t recognize tweeted them they answered my questions right away.

Who are you following? Who do you rely on for up-to-the-minute information?

I follow the Memphis Flyer, of course, Miley Cyrus, Jen Sized, the fake Prince Mongo account, and some other local parody accounts like the Midtown Kroger one. I also follow a lot of the usual Memphis media accounts.

— Chris Shaw, @ShawMemphis

Two Funny Twitterers

Twitter is funny (well, y’know, sometimes). Follow the right folks and laughs cascade down that Hootsuite column like Niagara Falls. Twitter, with its 140-character limit, is best for quick hits and one-liners, not for long, story jokes. Think Mitch Hedburg not Bill Cosby.

Ed Arnold and Katrina L. Coleman are two very funny Memphis Tweeters. Arnold is a journalist with the Memphis Business Journal and social media bon vivant. Coleman is a comedian and founder of the Memphis Comedy Fest. 

I interviewed them both, on Twitter, of course. Those conversations started fine but were hijacked by friends, other comics, a paranormal mystery writer, and a Memphis City Councilmember. 

Of course when I say, “hijacked” that just means Twitter worked exactly as it was designed.

Katrina L. Coleman
(with Shea Flinn, sort of)

Flyer: So, you‘re a comedian and a mover in Memphis comedy (in real life). Why Twitter?

Katrina L. Coleman: It’s a public sketchbook, and a great exercise in brevity, as well as exposure. I have (five minute) bits that started with one dumb Tweet.

Also, constant input. I’m like fuckin’ Johnny 5. News, information, entertainment 24/7. It’s magical for someone like me.

Your style seems tough and self deprecating. True?

KLC: Hell yeah, it is, and I’ll fight you to prove it, but not like in a winning way. (P.S. That’s going in my bio.) 

Sounds pretty Memphis to me.

KLC: Totally. Affects all of our arts. (Full disclosure, grew up in West Memphis, which smells like poo. Memphis is home.)

Shea Flinn: I just want to state: the fact that I am NOT being interviewed for the comedy part of Twitter hurts. Hurts bad.

KLC: NOT EVERYTHING IS ABOUT YOU, FLINN. Ugh. D-I-V-A

SF: Sure take the “funny” crown and then hurl insults. Standup comedy tax, up next!

What‘s it take to be funny in 140 characters in the huge social environment?

KLC: Good spelling, largely. I go the way of sincerity, post what I like. Some people are more jokey joke. Just … entertain yourself.

Ed Arnold

Flyer: So, is brevity the biggest key to being funny on Twitter?

Ed Arnold: It’s not crucial, but it helps. I think a good stand-up comic needs at least a laugh per minute, often more. Twitter forces that. As a consumer of comedy, I love guys who could kill with a sentence. The best Twitter accounts nail that.

Who‘s that in your profile pic?

Spud Web and Manute Bol, two of the best unintentionally funny NBA players of all time.

Is Memphis funny on Twitter? Are Memphians funny?

We’re a tough group. The #ImSoMemphis tweet game had as many terrifying jokes as playful ones.

I think it‘s that underdog thing we do/love so well here. Finally, where are you on the whole Nancy Kerrigan/Tonya Harding thing?

Look, no one deserves a stick to the kneecap, but if I’m getting drunk … Tonya all the way.

— Toby Sells, @tobysells

Let’s Go Kroegrs-ing!

There’s something universal about discussing your neighborhood grocery, and perhaps that’s what makes the Midtown Kroegrs (misspelled on purpose, but the handle is @midtownkrogers) parody account so appealing. Written from the perspective of a faux Kroegrs social media team for the Union store and filled with misspelled words and often-nonsensical tweets, the daily musings fill us in on what’s going on with faux employees (like the day Tony vomited by the cereal boxes because of his nervous stomach or the time Janice had to get a tattoo “cut off her chest”) and faux specials.

Shortly after the account went live last fall, the real Kroger corporate headquarters ordered the account suspended. But with a little misspelling of the store name, it quickly bounced back and garnered a fanbase of more than 2,500 followers.

The Kroegrs social media team took a few minutes to answer some of our burning questions. (All misspellings are intentional.)

Flyer: What makes Midtown Kroegrs so special?

Midtown Kroegrs: We dont know just its so special here its a good mix mash of folks her excapt new Glenn in truck docks he tranferred from nasty Cleavelands.

Recently, you announced that you were hiring because your employees were “sooo old.” What do you look for in a potential employee?

Yes were still allways needing #fresh employs faces who can work late and have a Go get him attitued just apply upfront by the Rug Doctors.

The employees get a lot of shout-outs on Twitter. Have any complained about the exposure?

Lol no if you remember Steve he got fired she said he told Karen he was going to sue her haha yeah right but he works at Mapcos now.

Captain Jerry gets the #freshest fish! Where does he get it from?

Thanks all Krogers #freshcatch is local fish that Jerry finds it somewere, the rest is China freezer samlon then of course theres lobster.

What’s the craziest incident King Don, the security guy, has dealt with there?

Guess what old Don got caught clowning off on the heart pressure chair at Rite Aids Danny tried to fire him but Mr Charley said no you cant.

Janice recently got an old tattoo “cut off her chest.” Has she made a full recovery?

Yes shes is back! But no shes gone she came by and pickedup a box of #otter pops they help out her sad depression mindgrain head aches :).

What‘s been your all-time favorite find from the Manager‘s Special shelves?

Ok well we found 1 Lady Sped Sticks some a bunch of pinchless can Crab’s meat, 2 tore up puff cereal kid bags and a sorted color hair comes.

Tell me about your store specials this week. Any must-have items?

Yes you can defiantly saveon our Morning Farm Vegatrian grill chops, baby freezer cobs #fresh skimp milks and Carpi Suns metal pouch juices.

— Bianca Phillips, @biancaphillips

Politicians, Thought Leaders, and Trolls

On Monday, July 14th, the Commercial Appeal‘s Wendi Thomas posted to her blog about the dress codes at the Montreal, Quebec, location of Bar Louie. The Memphis franchise had been through a controversial revision of its own dress code after allegations that the code was targeting African Americans. Thomas wrote about how people of color feel welcome or unwelcome in spaces based on their race. She linked to the post on her Twitter account, and several people joined in, including Memphis City Councilman Shea Flinn. By Monday evening, it appeared that the two were engaged in a digital kerfluffle. The points of the argument aside, their back and forth and the chorus of folks who were jumping into the conversation revealed the good and the bad of the Twittersphere.

The two primary participants are sharp-witted public figures who were using Twitter to talk about an important social issue in real time. There were no editors to guide the dialog. There were no advertisers or campaign managers to stop what was happening. There was a distillation of opinion that few established media can foster or deliver.

“I was thinking about this,” Thomas said. “One of the reasons that exchange worked — if we can say it worked — is that he and I know each other in real life. If we ran into each other on the street, we say, hey, the side-kind of church-hug greeting. In discussions that I’ve had — and even people who entered that discussion — who I didn’t know, I’m much more leery of what the intent is behind the questions. Are they honestly trying to engage? Or are they trolling?”

“At least from my point of view, we were just having a conversation,” Flinn said. “The weird part about having it in that setting is that there were people on both sides who were interjecting and making it more argumentative than it was between us. We were just having a discussion.”

Wendi C. Thomas: So when you‘ve been in an environment where you felt unwelcome, what was it that made you feel that way? @FlinnShady

Shea Flinn: @wendi_c_thomas lots of reasons. A certain establishment never thought I was “hip” enough. Didn’t like preppy me.

WCT: So I get how that could be uncomfortable, @FlinnShady. I do. But…

WCT: It seems untoward to compare preppy/hipster to a legacy of racial discrimination/modern-day racially charged dress codes. @FlinnShady

SF: I was talking about feeling unwelcome as opposed to discrimination. I see them as very different.

It went on from there. Thomas and Flinn are unlikely to stop with the Twitter.

“Maybe we should have a Twitter chat where people can tune in,” Thomas said. “Wendi and Shea and who ever else is polite can join in. Appointment Twitter.”

— Joe Boone, @Memphidelity

#ilovememphis

Seeing the #ilovememphis hashtag on Twitter might be just another way to join a local conversation, but for some, it means much more than that. Holly Whitfield, who took over the blog about a year ago, said while she wasn’t around for the inception of the hashtag, she’s noticed how local Twitter users have utilized it.

Users will see everyday Memphians, businesses, and organizations all contributing to the conversation through the hashtag, spreading the love through photos, musings, and event postings. Even City Councilman Harold Collins gets in on the action.

“I see people using it in two different ways. One way is when they want to share on Twitter about an event or show. I think they use #ilovememphis because they know that their event is contributing to the cool things in Memphis to make it loveable,” Whitfield said. “The second way I see people use it is when they’re doing something fun that makes them genuinely love Memphis. It’s usually a photo of people having fun — like people at a pool party in Midtown.

“On my Friday post, I remind people to use #ilovememphis to share their pictures over the weekend. I think people are still using it to contribute to the idea that Memphis is loveable,” Whitfield said. “When somebody uses that hashtag, of course their followers will see it, and maybe they’re curious as to whether it’s an official hashtag — which it kind of is — and maybe they’ll look into it a little bit more.”

The I Love Memphis blog will celebrate its fifth birthday on August 17th at Wiseacre Brewing Company.

“When I first started, in my very first post, I said, ‘It’s no longer revolutionary to say I love Memphis,’ which is amazing. When the blog first started, it was. No one was saying that in such an outspoken way,” Whitfield said. “I no longer think it’s a ground-breaking thing, but I do think it’s important. Especially for Twitter. Sometimes it can get really heavy, so being able to see a simple, positive hashtag that is usually accompanied by actual content can be inspiring.”

— Alexandra Pusateri, @alexandrathegr8

Categories
News The Fly-By

Green Arrows and Red X’s Once Ruled Traffic on Union Avenue

CREDIT: credit: ANdrii larygin | dreamstime.com

From the 1970s to 2001, the mighty, six-lane Union Avenue flowed four lanes west in the mornings and then four lanes east in the evenings. Reversing the flow of this urban behemoth needed only the flip of a switch. 

That switch produced cold, unyielding green arrows or red Xs above the street. They told Memphis motorists which lanes were paths to the promised land (the green arrows) and which lanes were highways to hell (the red Xs). And those could switch immediately (and they did every day, twice a day). 

“You know, it was the time before video games, and we had to make our own fun,” said Memphis City Council member Shea Flinn.

Formally, they were called “reversible lanes,” and, before Interstate 40 was completed here, they made perfect sense. An additional lane on Union was opened up to carry the swell of commuter traffic heading in one direction at peak times, in the mornings when commuters were headed to work and in the afternoons when they left. 

Lights strung above the street changed to tell drivers which lanes were heading in which direction. If it sounds confusing, that’s only because it was confusing.

In 1997, the Flyer had a Best of Memphis category called “Best of Memphis Drivers,” in which one of our on-the-scene readers explained the confusion of the times. 

“Oh, the horror! You can see them coming from blocks away,” the reader said. “You check to see if you have an arrow or an ‘X.’ Sure enough, you’re in the right [lane], involuntarily sucked into a deadly game of chicken.”

Flinn said the reversible lanes confused his Rhodes College classmates. If their questions about the sanity of such a scheme came as they were behind the wheel, Flinn’s advice was quick and urgent: “Just trust me. You want to get over right now!” 

John Vergos, co-owner of Charles Vergos’ Rendezvous, was on the city council when those reversible-lane lights came down. Traffic engineers were wary of removing them, he said.

“They told us it would be all doom and gloom and wanted to study it for six or eight months,” he said. “In the end, the council just forced them to change it. They told us all kinds of horror stories, but it worked perfectly from day one.”

Now, the mighty Union Avenue runs three lanes east and west all day long. But changes are afoot. 

John Cameron, director of the city’s engineering division, said a left turning lane will soon be installed between Cleveland and Bellevue. It will help alleviate some of the traffic trying to turn onto Bellevue to Methodist University Hospital. Also, the lane and a new light will allow left turns for the “first time in years, and years, and years” from Union onto Cleveland. 

“If [the left turning lane] works, we’ll look at moving farther east and making some of those other signalized intersections in places where you can turn left,” Cameron said. “It may even help folks getting in and out of businesses along Union to have that left turn lane.”

Categories
Cover Feature News

For the Kids

A sales-tax increase in Memphis could raise millions every year to fund a program of pre-kindergarten education that supporters say could help break the chain of crime and poverty here, but first it’s got to fly with tax-weary voters.

Memphians will decide next Thursday, November 21st, if they want to raise the city’s sales tax by a half-cent. The idea is one of only two ballot measures before city voters that day. (The other vote will determine who will fill the state House District 91 seat, left vacant by the death of former state representative Lois DeBerry in July, and will be limited to voters in that district.)

If the increase is approved, the Memphis sales-tax rate will rise to 9.75 percent, the highest rate allowable in Tennessee by state law. The resulting new sales-tax rate would be equal to those of the six incorporated Memphis suburbs, which have already passed equivalently sized tax-increase referenda in order to pay for new school systems.

Some things would not change. If approved, 7 percent of each sale made in Memphis will be routed directly to the state coffers, and 2.25 percent will continue to go to the city, as before.

But the new tax, that additional one-half cent, is expected to raise $47 million annually, all of which would go to a new fund to be used only for a pre-kindergarten program. Once the program is up and running, any money left over from operations would revert to the city coffers for the sole purpose of reducing the city’s property-tax rate. Leak-proof escrow funds (or “lock-boxes,” in the sense made famous by presidential candidate Al Gore in 2000) would be created to fulfill both purposes.

The pre-K initiative is the brainchild of two Memphis City Council members —Jim Strickland, a six-year member, a two-time budget chair, and the body’s new chairman, and council colleague Shea Flinn, a former budget chair.

Shea Flinn

Strickland boasts a long personal history of fighting tax increases in city government but says he has supported the new sales-tax increase and co-sponsored the enabling ordinance for it because the use of the money is strictly defined in the ordinance so that it can’t be tapped for other city budget needs.

Beyond the arithmetic is the simple rock-bottom fact that many city schoolchildren aren’t performing like they should be.

“If I was a magician and I could do anything I wanted in Memphis, I would wave the wand and every third-grader would read at third-grade level, 100 percent,” Strickland said. “Pre-K is not going to make 100 percent of the kids read at third-grade level, but only 28 percent of them read at third-grade level now in the former city schools.”

There are conflicting studies on the long-term effects of pre-K, a few skeptical ones appearing to suggest that the differential boost in learning provided by pre-K might begin to even out after students pass the third-grade level. Strickland discounts this and says that it stands to reason that the ability to read at a third-grade level is a skill which, once acquired, is far more enabling for future purposes than reading skills that never reach that level.

The Urban Child Institute, a local nonprofit organization which has done yeoman-like research into the issue and is four-square in support of the tax referendum, recently quoted a teacher with experience in pre-K: “It’s very polarized in the classroom, between the ‘ready’ and the ‘not ready’ group. Those who are kindergarten-ready are on a whole different level than the kids who still need to know the basics, like letter names and numbers.”

The new pre-K program would be available for every 4-year-old in Memphis. Strickland said nearly 8,000 children in Memphis would be eligible for the program but estimated that only 5,000 of them would actually become new participants, as some are already in existing programs and others might not seek enrollment for one reason or another.

For example, an estimated 3,300 children are already being served locally in federally funded Head Start programs. Head Start, as both Strickland and co-sponsor Flinn acknowledge, overlaps somewhat with their proposed pre-K initiative and establishes a means-tested income threshold based on the poverty-line indices.

But even in the unforeseen event of 100 percent participation — 8,000 children — Strickland says the new sales-tax rate would generate enough money for all eligible children to go to pre-K.

As it happens, the current Head Start program is in flux, with Shelby County government, which has operated it locally for several years (mainly by outsourcing it to various agencies), discontinuing its administrative role. The unified Shelby County School District has applied to the federal government to take over that function in Shelby County, as has Porter-Leath, a privately funded nonprofit institute specializing in child care.

In any case, the proposed city pre-K initiative is designed to fill gaps in coverage which Head Start cannot fill — for example, to offer programs to children from families whose income exceeds poverty-line levels but cannot afford the tuition required by private pre-kindergarten institutions.

The exact number of pre-K children who might need to be served in the next few years is complicated by two more factors, Flinn points out: the cumulative effect of federal sequestration on previously endowed programs and the phasing out of Race to the Top funding in 2015.

Jim Strickland

Flinn said he and Strickland, who hatched the idea for the pre-K issue and were successful in gaining the support for it of their colleagues and Mayor A C Wharton, consulted numerous sources in coming up with their initiative. They relied on the formidable pre-K research of the aforementioned Urban Child Institute. Said Flinn: “They investigated every aspect of the matter and left no doubt of the lasting value of pre-K.” They also independently looked into model programs in Texas and Oklahoma.

“We talked directly with Mayor [Julian] Castro of San Antonio and others who had programs under way,” Flinn said. Castro, a rising political star who delivered the keynote address at the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, has achieved national renown for his “Pre-K 4 S.A.” initiative.

Flinn acknowledges that “the default position” of a tax referendum is no, but, noting the yes votes of the six Shelby County suburbs — Germantown, Collierville, Bartlett, Arlington, Lakeland, and Millington — for a tax increase to underwrite their school systems, he expresses confidence in a similar answer when the ballots of Memphis voters are counted on November 21st.

One aid to passage has been a blue-ribbon pre-K commission appointed by Mayor Wharton [see list below] to help in the referendum campaign and, if successful, to oversee the distribution of pre-K franchises among local agencies, existing and ad hoc, which will bid for the opportunity to execute the program.

More help has come in the form of print ads, mailouts, broadcast commercials, and fast-proliferating yard signs stemming from a well-organized publicity campaign overseen by public relations maven Steven Reid. The Greater Memphis Chamber of Commerce has put significant money into the campaign, as have other prominent local givers such as AutoZone’s J.R. “Pitt” Hyde.

There are opponents, too, of course, including veteran self-appointed fiscal watchdog Joe Saino of memphishelbyinform.com, who expressed doubts about the bona fides of the pre-K commission appointed by Wharton. “Do you trust such a commission?” Saino asked in his emailed newsletter, going on to express, without elaborating, his disbelief in the long-term benefits of pre-K, as well.

Saino’s pièce de résistance: “There should be no new taxes until the city of Memphis and the city council reform pensions and health care costs and get on a path to reduce unfunded liability as pointed out by the state of Tennessee.”

Co-sponsors Strickland and Flinn know they’re up against the usual suspects and the usual suspicion when a tax referendum is before the people (a Shelby County half-cent tax initiative failed badly last year), but they’re optimistic that this time is different and that help will soon be on the way for their intended beneficiaries, the children of Memphis.

MEMBERS OF THE PRE-K COMMISSION


Appointees named by Mayor A C Wharton are: the Rev. Keith Norman, pastor of First Baptist Broad Ave. and president of the local NAACP chapter; Brad Martin, well-known industrialist/philanthropist and interim president of the University of Memphis; Barbara Hyde, chair and president of the philanthropic Hyde Foundation; Barbara Holden Nixon, associate of the Urban Child Institute and member of the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth; Elsie Lewis Bailey, former principal of Booker T. Washington High School and awardee of the National Foundation for the Humanities; Kathy Buckman Gibson, chair of the board of Buckman International and of the Memphis Chamber of Commerce’s initiative to promote and support early childhood education; Kirk Whalum, president and CEO of Stax Music Academy; and Dr. Reginald Coopwood, president and CEO of the Regional Medical Center at Memphis.



CENTRIST STRICKLAND IS POTENTIAL MAYORAL CANDIDATE

It may come as a surprise to many people that new city council chairman Jim Strickland, a practicing attorney who has crusaded in recent years for economy in city government, along with reduction in property taxes and cutbacks in “non-essential” programs, is not a Republican. The 48-year-old Strickland certainly is simpatico to the habitués of the monthly Dutch Treat Luncheon, that haven of local Tea Party-hood, which Strickland addressed last summer to enthusiastic approval and to urgings that he run for mayor in 2014.

The genial giant (he stands 6′ 5″) needs little persuasion to seek the job of Memphis’ chief executive. A family man who resides with wife Melyne and two children in the University of Memphis area, Strickland has been meditating on a mayoral race for years — probably since his first city council race in 2003 — and in earnest since he won his current seat, representing District 5, in 2007.

A loser in his first council campaign (to former state legislator Carol Chumney in a field that also included radiologist/broadcast magnate George Flinn), he won the second time and was reelected in 2011 without opposition. His gospel of fiscal conservatism and social moderation seems clearly to resonate with his broadly middle-class, Midtown-based constituency.

Strickland is, in fact, a Democrat, having served a term in the mid-1990s as chair of the Shelby County Democratic Party. Back then, even before he emerged as an apostle of fiscal conservatism, his pro-life position on abortion, stemming in large part from his active Catholic faith, had caused him some grief in a Democratic Party teeming with pro-choice advocates, but he has remained loyal to the party and its candidates.  

As he expressed it cautiously this week, invoking the names of Tennessee’s most recent Democratic governors, both centrists, “Like Ned McWherter and Phil Bredesen, I am a fiscally responsible Democrat. Local issues and city elections, however, are not partisan. In my last two elections, I have received support from Democrats and Republicans.”

Strickland has expanded his political reach in more ways than one. In his 2003 council race, the first-time candidate jested to friends, with reference to his fund-raising support, “I’ve got the Catholics and the Jews. Now all I need is the Protestants.” The demographics of his electoral and financial base in his next two races indicate that he got them — and in quantity.

From the point of view of his future political ambitions, the question is whether Strickland can expand his across-the-board base to the city’s majority African-American population. Ninth District Democratic congressman Steve Cohen, beginning with a geographic and ethnic base similar to Strickland’s, seems clearly to have won the loyalty of his black constituents, winning over name African-American primary opponents with majorities ranging from 4 to 1 to 8 to 1.

But Cohen’s template, based in large part on the congressman’s attention to social programs of benefit to his African-American constituents, may not be the model for someone like Strickland, who hews closely to doctrines of fiscal austerity and has been a skeptic regarding proposals to provide pensions to sanitation workers and to lavish city funds on refurbishing Whitehaven’s Southbrook Mall.

Meanwhile, Strickland has passed muster with his council mates well enough to win the chairmanship, as of last week. His basic middle-of-the-road outlook seems an acceptable fit on a body which is elected on a nonpartisan basis. Even his professional life is politically ecumenical. His law partner is David Kustoff, the former U.S. attorney and state chairman of George W. Bush’s 2000 presidential campaign. (Strickland and Kustoff, before becoming law partners, had both served as chairs of their respective political parties.)

Strickland’s current posture as co-sponsor of the city sales-tax referendum might surprise those who have followed his recent career, especially those mindful of his boast earlier this year that he had never supported a tax increase or voted for one.

His justification for what might in some ways seem an about-face is simple: The sales-tax increase is coupled with a commitment for a corresponding reduction in the city’s property-tax rate, and the cause of pre-K education is something he believes in. “I enrolled my children in pre-K programs, and I can see with my own eyes the benefits,” he says.

If the referendum succeeds and there are political benefits to him as well, he’ll happily take them, too. — Jackson Baker


Q&A WITH NEW CITY COUNCIL CHAIRMAN STRICKLAND

Why did you want the council chairman job?

The position itself does not have a lot of authority or power. It’s not like Washington or the state government in Nashville, where the speaker of the House or speaker of the Senate has a lot of authority. Chairman of the council does not. So, [that part of the job] is not that enticing.

The chairman can appoint who is chairman of each committee, and the chairman can appoint the members of the committees. If [a law] could fail in committee, that would be pretty powerful because you could load up a committee, and things could be killed there. That’s what they do in Nashville and Washington. But we don’t have that authority, so the chairman basically runs meetings and administers the office, because there is a staff of 14 or 15 people.

I wanted to do it because it’s a new experience. I think I’ll learn a lot. I’ll be exposed to a lot more information that’s going on in all the committees as opposed to just one committee.

 

What do you hope to change?

The thing I want to change a little bit is to try to get the good things that the council does out more. We get knocked a lot. But there are a lot of good things we do that don’t get out there. I still have disagreements on the council, and I’m not going to back off those. But I am proud to be a member on the city council. When I tell people that, they’re a little surprised.

I’m not going to be able to change that completely. But I think the full story is that we’ve got a group of people — for the most part — who are honorable and in it for the right reasons. Even if we have differing views on things, we handle it professionally. They don’t get the credit they deserve for some things they do.

 

What other chairman privileges do you intend to use?

I think [current council chairman Edmund Ford Jr.] has had weekly or bi-weekly meetings with the mayor. When big things come up, the first person they call is the chair and they leave it to the chair to sort of disseminate the information.

I think I’ll deal more with the administration and directly with the mayor. I think I’ll learn and be exposed to a lot more information and deal with a lot broader issues than just the budget.

 

Will you also be able to direct the tone of the proceedings?

I think so, because you can rule people out of order. You can also make rulings and they stick, unless seven members of the council want to overrule your ruling.

I would like to emphasize that to the entire council for next year. I think Edmund has started this process with the three-member [rules and procedures] committee he started, that we treat people who come before the council, whether they are the public or people who work for city government, with courtesy and respect and not threaten them.

 

Do you have any other goals for your year as chairman?

If the pre-K [trust-fund tax] gets passed, I want to help get that kicked off in the right way. Next fall, kids will be going to pre-K and that is huge. In my mind, it would be the most significant thing this council has done.

Another thing I’d like to do as chairman is to have the council as a whole develop a relationship with the county commission, the state legislature, and even the other municipalities. We don’t interact enough. A lot of times shots are fired back and forth. I think we ought to communicate more. — Toby Sells

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Categories
Opinion

The City Budget Explained in Ten Points, Sort Of

CREDIT: John Branston

conv_center.jpg

Talk to City Council members, go to meetings, read the handouts, put a pencil to it, and here’s what I think about the budget, with one more meeting scheduled for June 25th.

1. This is complicated stuff. No wonder the council met for seven hours Tuesday. And no wonder that last-minute decisions are the new normal, as they are in Congress. On the 4.6 pay increase for city employees, the council split 6-6, with one member (Lee Harris) absent. Every member is a potentially crucial seventh vote on every big issue.

2. The once-and-for-all fix is an illusion. Shea Flinn challenged his colleagues to come out for a cover-everything-with-no-layoffs tax rate of $3.91, an increase of 80 cents over the current city tax rate. “We can all go home,” he said. No takers, even with the Heat and Spurs in Game Six. Several years ago, former Mayor Willie Herenton came to the council with a long-range fix that would have raised the tax rate a lot less than 80 cents. The council declined. But even if it hadn’t we would probably be about where we are now.

3. Putting a pencil to the 80 cent non-starter (using the property tax calculator on the Shelby County Assessor’s website), if you own a house worth $100,000 it would cost you an additional $200 a year in city property taxes. A $200,000 house would be about $400, and so on. You have to add county taxes to that. The Commission is looking at a 9 percent increase. On the $100,000 house, that’s an additional $90, or $180 on a $200,000 house, and so on. Added together, the 80-center and the 9 percenter would be about $290 for the $100,000 house and $580 for the $200,000 house.

4. To put that another way, at $580 a year, we’re talking low-end season tickets for the Grizzlies or a new washing machine every year. More than a dollar a day. Less than full-service cable television or most cell phone charges. Not saying that is a lot or a little. Just comparing.

5. Some will say the house valuations I used are too rich. You can find sources that put the “median” home below $100,000 depending on whether that is “value” or “sales price” during a particular time frame and this may or may not include foreclosure sales. According to a Kiplinger survey, Memphis is one of the ten least expensive places to live in the U.S. Kiplinger uses “median home value” whatever that is, and pegs it at $99,000. I don’t think many if any elected officials live in houses worth less than $100,000, but I know several who live in houses worth a lot more than that.

6. On the 6-6 vote on the 4.6 percent raise, Council chairman Ed Ford voted against it, along with five white council members, as he told me he would. White councilman Bill Boyd joined five black colleagues in voting for it.

7. If property taxes are a big factor in where people live then why isn’t Lakeland, which has no city property taxes yet, growing faster than Collierville, Germantown, and Arlington (where Lakeland high-schoolers go to school)? Obviously, schools and other factors come into play.

8. The biggest mistake the council can make, or one of the biggest anyway, would be cutting back on trash pickup. It’s a cliche to say that legendary big city mayors and bosses like E. H. Crump and Richard Daley, whatever their faults, got the trash picked up. Cities that work pave the streets and pick up the garbage at a minimum; broken cities don’t.

9. Tourism Development Zones (TDZs) like the one at the fairgrounds are toast, if not this year then next year or the year after. Bottom line: The tax money they funnel into big underused public buildings and capital improvements in places where people don’t live is needed more for general operating expenses in places where people do live.

10. The Riverfront Development Corporation didn’t use $317,000 in federal funds for a walkway behind the Pyramid so the feds are taking it back. The grant was issued 13 years ago. It would have built 4,350 feet of walkway from the existing walkway over the cobblestones to the bridge to Mud Island. Any marketer with a minimum of imagination could have dubbed this stretch and the adjoining Greenbelt walkway and Tom Lee Park walkway going up the hill to the lovely overlook at Martyr’s Park “The Great Mississippi Bike and Pedestrian Path.” It could have been open 10 or 11 years by now, hosting annual events ala Joe Royer’s canoe and bike races, but for the uncertainty of Bass Pro Shops in the Pyramid and the RDC being the RDC. Instead we have, in various stages of planning and construction, a boat dock for more than $40 million, a Bass Pro superstore for about $200 million, and a Main Street to Main Street Connector for more than $30 million. Probably $300 million in all, if and when it is finished. Think of all the things that could be done for $3 million, or one percent of that. Swinging for home runs has a price.

Categories
Opinion

Council Members Clash over Fullilove’s Claim of Norris Meeting

1259860950-janis_fullilove.jpg

At a Budget Committee meeting Tuesday morning, Council member Janis Fullilove criticized her colleagues for “allegedly” meeting with Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris to sic the state comptroller’s office on Memphis.

Fullilove did not name the colleagues at the meeting where Mayor A C Wharton and some of his directors briefed council members on the budget. When I ran into her in the City Hall parking garage 30 minutes later, she identified them as Shea Flinn, Jim Strickland, and Bill Morrison.

All three of them denied meeting with Norris.

“Bless her heart. That’s 100 percent untrue,” said Strickland.

“I have not met with him at all,” said Morrison.

“I have not met with Norris since 2007 when I was in the Senate,” said Flinn. “It shows how pathetically unprepared she is.”

The full council meets Tuesday afternoon to see if members can agree on a budget for the next fiscal year. Fullilove’s comment referred to a letter from State Comptroller Justin Wilson to Wharton threatening to take drastic action if the council does not act on a balanced budget.