I know, a lot of you probably thought I would jump on the Steve Mulroy bandwagon. Why?
I supported Deidre 4 years ago, because I thought she was the best candidate running then, and I still do. She is as solid a Democrat as there is, I served with her on the SCDP Executive Committee, and I was impressed then with her abilities to manage and coordinate while standing up for those issues that we as Democrats support.
She has been involved with large businesses, having served as a Vice President while at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, and small businesses, working with them for her public relations firm the Carter Malone Group. She has served two terms on the Shelby County Commission, chairing the Budget Committee and the Commission itself.
It is one thing to be a good advocate, as Commissioner Mulroy has been, for the most part, and as Reverend Kenneth T. Whalum Jr. was on the School Board. That is what good legislators do, and Deidre did that as well.
It is quite another to build consensus, to manage large projects, and coordinate diverse efforts, and that is why Deidre, in my opinion, stands head and shoulders about the other candidates in the Democratic field. Deidre is the only candidate in the Democratic field that can show her abilities in this skill set, the ADMINISTRATIVE skill set, and she will prove why she can defeat Warden, er, Mayor Mark Luttrell in the August County General Election.
Look, I like Steve Mulroy, he stands up for a lot of the things I believe in, and he 's a great advocate. I appreciate the Kellogg's campout, it's something that all Democrats need to be involved with, supporting our workers.
However, I have a question for him: Do you remember back in October 2011, when Luttrell pulled the Title X funding from Planned Parenthood Greater Memphis Region and got the Commission to approve a contract for Christ Community Health Center, which was about the least-friendly option for reproductive rights for indigent women? Remember how you wound up voting for that, which led to an angry call from me and we talked about it? You even posted your reasoning on Facebook, which appeased a lot of people because you said that you would be able to get oversight for the CCHC operations to ensure that indigent women would get the reproductive services that had been provided by PPGMR.
My question is twofold, Commissioner. First, where's the oversight? I don't remember seeing ANYTHING in the CA, the Flyer, the Daily News, the MBJ or the TV stations about any oversight being done. Has there been any oversight? If so, what happened?
The second part of the question is this: If you were to be elected Mayor, and the contract came up for renewal, would you support giving the contract back to PPGMR? I think a lot of your potential supporters would love to know the answer to that question.
While we are waiting, let's talk about the Reverend Kenneth Whalum, Jr, whom I like and respect as well. He knows how to advocate against something, as his pointed attacks on the poor campaign done by the Memphis Pre-K Initiative sank it. His use of free media overcame the huge sums of money spent by the Pre-K folks, and he was smart about it.
One of the reasons that he is in this race, I believe, is that he is upset with Deidre for her support of the pre-K Initiative and for her support of the MCS-SCS merger, which I also supported and proudly so. Yes, the Reverend has screamed about the $57 million supposedly owed by the City of Memphis to MCS/SCS (Shea Flinn can prove that the schools actually owe the city, but I digress), and he was on the Board when that was going on, so what happened?
It is also important to remember WHY MCS surrendered its charter. The GOP-dominated legislature was going to allow the then-suburban based SCS to draw a hard boundary and create a Special School District, which would have forced MCS to rely on just the tax money from within the city, which would have starved it to death. (yes, I agree that MCS was overly layered with bureacracy, but that's an argument for another day). SCS would have gotten richer, MCS would have gotten poorer, and the downward spiral would have escalated quickly.
Now, since the merger took place, all the schools in MCS receive money from the ENTIRE county as the unified district, while all the folks living in the burbs with their own MSDs have to pay for TWO systems, like Memphis used to do. The problems in SCS now have far more to do with the GOP agenda to force excessive testing on the system in their never-ending attempt to destroy public education. You know that to be true, Reverend, why don't you mention that?
You say you want to retire and replace ineffective politicians; I can appreciate that. So why are you opposing someone who has actually been EFFECTIVE? You have to be more specific in your advocacy and you need to tell us how you're going to do this.
And all of you need to tell us why Luttrell needs to go, because the media, especially TV, seems be in the tank for him. It's one thing for me to tell people why he runs the county like a jail, but you ALL need to do it.
Since I believe Deidre Malone is not only the best candidate for doing just that, by governing this county and working with the Commission to achieve a higher standard, I am supporting her for Mayor, and I hope you will as well.
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Monday, February 17, 2014
We CAN'T let up on Senator Kelsey
As I noted Friday, even though Senator Kelsey may have fooled the ACLU because he dropped sponsorship, the TURN AWAY THE GAYS bill is STILL in the committee that he chairs, Senate Judiciary.
The pressure is not going away; in fact, if you get a chance, call his office or email him here:
R-Germantown
The pressure is not going away; in fact, if you get a chance, call his office or email him here:
Senator Brian Kelsey
R-Germantown
District 31 — Part of Shelby County — Map
district address
110 E. Mulberry St.
Suite 200
Collierville, TN 38017
Suite 200
Collierville, TN 38017
nashville address
301 6th Avenue North
Suite 7 Legislative Plaza
Nashville, TN 37243
Phone (615) 741-3036
sen.brian.kelsey@capitol.tn.gov
www.briankelsey.org
Suite 7 Legislative Plaza
Nashville, TN 37243
Phone (615) 741-3036
sen.brian.kelsey@capitol.tn.gov
www.briankelsey.org
Friday, February 14, 2014
KILL the Bill, Senator Kelsey
You know the one, Senator Kelsey, SB2566.
To paraphrase one of my favorite movie characters, did you think that little farce you played yesterday by dropping sponsorship of this ridiculous, blatantly UNCONSTITUTIONAL bill would fool the LGBTQ community and their straight allies? You have to ANSWER for this bill, Senator.
We know that just because Senator Mike Bell of Riceville picked up the Senate sponsorship, it's still going through YOUR committee, Senate Judiciary. Do you think for one second that those of us who believe in full equality are going to let up on you for even a second? Oh, and if I were you, I don't think I would try to make reservations at Restaurant Iris or Second Line any time soon, you know what I mean?
The ideology may have changed, for the worse, since Ron Ramsey became Lt. Governor, but bills that don't need to see the light of day still get killed by committee chairs, such as yourself. Kill this bill, and let Senator Bell tell his constituents that it was your fault because you got too much heat from YOUR constituents. You know how to do it, you did it to Mae Beavers last year when she had a clearly unconstitutional bill.
Some of the comments in the CA and the Flyer hit a little too close to home, did they? We're still holding YOU accountable, Senator, just like we will for your bill to remove two Shelby County judgeships that are still necessary. Just because you and your $244,000 war chest may not yet have an opponent, doesn't mean you won't face more intense scrutiny, one way or the other. And it's only going to get hotter for you.
We've already got a fundraiser lined up, all we need is a candidate. Sure, a good portion of your 31st Senate District may have Germantown, but the district is far more than Germantown, if it comes all the way over to me in Humes Heights. No matter how prostrate you may be to the Koch Brothers, you can be had, Senator.
Killing this bill would be a good step, Senator. The gas is on medium heat now, if the bill is not killed in committee, who knows how high it could go?
Your move, Senator Kelsey.
To paraphrase one of my favorite movie characters, did you think that little farce you played yesterday by dropping sponsorship of this ridiculous, blatantly UNCONSTITUTIONAL bill would fool the LGBTQ community and their straight allies? You have to ANSWER for this bill, Senator.
We know that just because Senator Mike Bell of Riceville picked up the Senate sponsorship, it's still going through YOUR committee, Senate Judiciary. Do you think for one second that those of us who believe in full equality are going to let up on you for even a second? Oh, and if I were you, I don't think I would try to make reservations at Restaurant Iris or Second Line any time soon, you know what I mean?
The ideology may have changed, for the worse, since Ron Ramsey became Lt. Governor, but bills that don't need to see the light of day still get killed by committee chairs, such as yourself. Kill this bill, and let Senator Bell tell his constituents that it was your fault because you got too much heat from YOUR constituents. You know how to do it, you did it to Mae Beavers last year when she had a clearly unconstitutional bill.
Some of the comments in the CA and the Flyer hit a little too close to home, did they? We're still holding YOU accountable, Senator, just like we will for your bill to remove two Shelby County judgeships that are still necessary. Just because you and your $244,000 war chest may not yet have an opponent, doesn't mean you won't face more intense scrutiny, one way or the other. And it's only going to get hotter for you.
We've already got a fundraiser lined up, all we need is a candidate. Sure, a good portion of your 31st Senate District may have Germantown, but the district is far more than Germantown, if it comes all the way over to me in Humes Heights. No matter how prostrate you may be to the Koch Brothers, you can be had, Senator.
Killing this bill would be a good step, Senator. The gas is on medium heat now, if the bill is not killed in committee, who knows how high it could go?
Your move, Senator Kelsey.
Thursday, February 13, 2014
At Long Last Senator, Have You No Dictionary?
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Bob Corker really, really doesn't like unions, and he's been on quite a tear lately to tell everyone who will listen just how much he wishes they would stop all the complaining about workers' rights and fair pay and just go away. I was probably as surprised as anyone to learn this morning that Senator Bob Corker claimed to have a secret plan to end the Vietnam War inside information about Volkswagen's plans for its Chattanooga plant, but that did not prepare me for the nearly electric shock I experienced when I read that he'd said this:
Our concern is not with the works council and never has been, and Volkswagen knows that very well. U.S. labor relations and German relations are very different. There's some question as to how a works council can be set up in the U.S., and there are various opinions on both sides of the spectrum, one says you have to have a union, one says you don't. But we in no way have been negative relative to the works council. It's really been the fact that the UAW would be the implementing entity. We've even told Volkswagen that, 'why don't you guys create your own union within the plant, if you feel like that is something that is necessary to fully implement this in a way you see fit.' I will say that BMW has implemented its works council without the UAW.
I don't think it's much of a stretch to say that this statement alone demonstrates that Bob Corker has no idea how a union works, what unions are for, or why someone would want to join one.
First of all, company unions were outlawed in the United States in 1935. You might expect a U.S. senator to know that already, but in Corker's case you would be wrong. Volkswagen might also expect a U.S. lawmaker who is presuming to tell them how to do business in Tennessee would be conversant in the relevant laws and statutes, and they would also be wrong.
Secondly, BMW has done no such thing, for the reason outlined above: it would be illegal. Let me reiterate that Senator Corker told a reporter that a company operating in the United States was conducting its business in violation of the law. When asked about this, Corker responded:
Most alarming, however, is the senator's apparent belief that Volkswagen can simply form their own union and put all the Chattanooga factory workers in it, as if that neatly settles the matter. It just so happens that Senator Corker is not the only person with inside information, and a source within his office has revealed to me that next on his legislative agenda are plans to put children in charge of schools, give lunatics the keys to the asylum, and beef up hen house security by hiring unemployed foxes.
First of all, company unions were outlawed in the United States in 1935. You might expect a U.S. senator to know that already, but in Corker's case you would be wrong. Volkswagen might also expect a U.S. lawmaker who is presuming to tell them how to do business in Tennessee would be conversant in the relevant laws and statutes, and they would also be wrong.
Secondly, BMW has done no such thing, for the reason outlined above: it would be illegal. Let me reiterate that Senator Corker told a reporter that a company operating in the United States was conducting its business in violation of the law. When asked about this, Corker responded:
It's not illegal. As a matter of fact, I don't want to debate this, because this is a debate for lawyers, but I believe that it's easier to create a German-style works council without a union.Gee, if only the senator had someone handy who understood the law.
Most alarming, however, is the senator's apparent belief that Volkswagen can simply form their own union and put all the Chattanooga factory workers in it, as if that neatly settles the matter. It just so happens that Senator Corker is not the only person with inside information, and a source within his office has revealed to me that next on his legislative agenda are plans to put children in charge of schools, give lunatics the keys to the asylum, and beef up hen house security by hiring unemployed foxes.
Tuesday, February 04, 2014
West Tennesseans For Progress helping Reginald Milton (and so am I)
For the record, I am openly and proudly supporting the candidacy of Reginald Milton for County Commission District 10, in which I now reside. I hope that you will support him as well. His record of service to the community is beyond exemplary at the South Memphis Alliance. Please join us if you can this Friday at Red Bar.
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Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Pete Seeger. American, dead at 94
One of the greatest American folk singers and songwriters, Pete Seeger, passed away last night after a short hospital stay. We remember his greatness here:
Friday, January 24, 2014
WHALUM! Stirs the pot, enters Democratic race for County Mayor
I wondered what was up a few days ago when the Reverend Kenneth Whalum Jr of the New Olivet Baptist Church announced on Facebook that he had informed presumed Democratic frontrunner Deidre Malone that he could not support her candidacy. Given that, to that point, her only challenger for the nomination was County Commission Chair James Harvey, who had soiled himself among Democratic activists by giving his votes to the GOP in return for their Chair votes, so things looked rather good for her, primarywise.
I knew that the Reverend was not pleased with Deidre for her support of the Memphis Pre-K Initiative, which Whalum busted his butt to defeat at the polls. He took the very poor campaign of the Initiative, used free media brilliantly to overcome a heavily-financed campaign. He is also no stranger to elective office, having served on the MCS Board and arguably had re-election taken from him due to, at the very least, ineptitude of the Shelby County Election Commission.
So, he knows how to run for office, he knows how to marshal support and he knows how to get free media, not even counting his every-Friday-morning appearance on Drake & Zeke on 98.1 The Max. So, does he have a chance to win? Yes. Will he win? Well, let's see how this plays out.
This battle is going to be fought in a May 6 County Primary, which is traditionally one of the lowest-turnout events that we have in this County. With that in mind, if you are a candidate, your job is to A) find YOUR voters, B) get them out to vote for you, while C) NOT waking up your opponent(s)' voters so that they go out and vote for THEIR candidate. Tricky? Yes. While I have no doubt Reverend Whalum can pull off A and B, C may be more difficult, as he is not subtle and is good at stirring things up, which is not a bad thing at all, usually.
I do not think Harvey has that much of a chance, as the story of his election to the Chairmanship is made known to the Democratic electorate. The would-be coronation of Deidre Malone has been put on hold for now, and she has to wonder how this keeps happening. She was the pre-emptive favorite to win the primary four years ago until Joe Ford stunningly was named interim Mayor of the County. When Joe decided to run for re-election, his name still had enough clout in a Democratic Primary to knock off the outgoing Commissioner Malone.
This race just got real interesting real quick. It's time for everyone who supports these candidates to crank it up NOW!
I knew that the Reverend was not pleased with Deidre for her support of the Memphis Pre-K Initiative, which Whalum busted his butt to defeat at the polls. He took the very poor campaign of the Initiative, used free media brilliantly to overcome a heavily-financed campaign. He is also no stranger to elective office, having served on the MCS Board and arguably had re-election taken from him due to, at the very least, ineptitude of the Shelby County Election Commission.
So, he knows how to run for office, he knows how to marshal support and he knows how to get free media, not even counting his every-Friday-morning appearance on Drake & Zeke on 98.1 The Max. So, does he have a chance to win? Yes. Will he win? Well, let's see how this plays out.
This battle is going to be fought in a May 6 County Primary, which is traditionally one of the lowest-turnout events that we have in this County. With that in mind, if you are a candidate, your job is to A) find YOUR voters, B) get them out to vote for you, while C) NOT waking up your opponent(s)' voters so that they go out and vote for THEIR candidate. Tricky? Yes. While I have no doubt Reverend Whalum can pull off A and B, C may be more difficult, as he is not subtle and is good at stirring things up, which is not a bad thing at all, usually.
I do not think Harvey has that much of a chance, as the story of his election to the Chairmanship is made known to the Democratic electorate. The would-be coronation of Deidre Malone has been put on hold for now, and she has to wonder how this keeps happening. She was the pre-emptive favorite to win the primary four years ago until Joe Ford stunningly was named interim Mayor of the County. When Joe decided to run for re-election, his name still had enough clout in a Democratic Primary to knock off the outgoing Commissioner Malone.
This race just got real interesting real quick. It's time for everyone who supports these candidates to crank it up NOW!
Ladies and Gentlemen, SPEAK TO POWER has returned!
Out of nowhere, Steve Ross and Trace Sharp resurrected SPEAK TO POWER this week, just in time to cover the insanity that is the GOP-controlled Tennessee General Assembly. It's time to add them back to your RSS feeds and bookmarks, they are rolling harder than ever to document the atrocities taking place in NashVegas!
Welcome back, SPEAK TO POWER! Hey, I wonder if they need anyone else????
Welcome back, SPEAK TO POWER! Hey, I wonder if they need anyone else????
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Looks like I missed an interesting Kennedy Day...
As Jackson Baker noted, there was a good showing for the 2014 Kennedy Day dinner, put on by the SCDP at Bridges on Saturday night, I hate that I missed it.
After a good speech by Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA), a panel involving several women with great history within the party was held, including Judge Camille McMullen, former Public Service Commissioner Sara Kyle, former Senator Beverly Marrero, former NAACP head and current Representative Johnnie Turner, and longtime former school board member Sara Lewis.
However, it was a woman not on the panel who made the loudest comments. Former State Representative and City Councilor Carol Chumney (full disclosure for those newer readers: she has been a friend for over 20 years and I co-managed her County Mayor campaign in 2002) said that in addition to the Democratic and Republican parties, there was a "Republi-Democratic" party filled with Democrats who support Republicans. She then called out Congressman Steve Cohen for not supporting her during her unsuccessful race for Attorney General in 2012.
Sigh.
Should the Congressman have supported her? It wouldn't have hurt, but let's be serious here, it wouldn't have helped that much, either. Her campaign started too late, didn't raise enough money, and I'm not sure that if he had supported her as he supported Assessor Cheyenne Johnson and now-General Sessions Court Clerk Ed Stanton, that she would have won. One other thing that I have to note: It never seemed to me that she went after Amy Weirich with the same vigor as she had AC Wharton (twice, in 2002 and 2009) and Dr. Herenton (2007). I don't get that, either, because Weirich had and still has vulnerabilities with regard to the operation of her office. Carol never brought those up and I just don't get that.
Carol just is no longer the strong candidate she was during her legislative days. I hate that, as her days in the state House were terrific for her constituents and the City in general. It just takes a hell of a lot of time and money to win city or countywide, and you have to start a year in advance. THAT is how you get Democrats not to support Republicans, by making sure you are in early and by doing pre-emptive strikes on Democratic donors.
My own rant: Why does no Democrat want to take on and attack Attorney General Amy Weirich, who refuses to discipline her lead prosecutor, Tom Henderson, who was censured by the state last week? She will be in FOR EIGHT YEARS if we don't beat her this year, and that's not good for anyone. If you believe it doesn't matter who the AG is, you are deluding yourself, it's arguably the most important office in the county. Rant over.
For you old timers, remember when, during the 70s and 80s, Mark Flanagan would run against Harold Ford, Sr, in the 9th District primary just so people whom Senior had pissed off for whatever reason could vote against him? Of course, they would return to the fold for November, because none of them would be caught dead voting GOP.
This is what Ricky Wilkins' candidacy represents to me, the latest in a longline of Flanaganesque campaigns that result in a massive landslide for the incumbent. This is because our Congressman takes EVERY candidate who runs against him seriously, even Charlotte Bergmann. It's the same group of people who have been pissed off for years, who pretend as though they have the pulse of the city, only to see their candidate lose like the 1962 New York Mets.
One of the problems that they have with him is that he won't be the boss. The city's Democrats have been used to a machine at several points in the last century, most notably EH Crump from the Oughts to the late 40s, and the organization of Harold Ford Senior in the 70s, 80s and early 90s. It's true that Harold Senior had a crack team of people throughout the city, many of them veterans of the civil rights movement to whom organization was second nature.
However, when Senior gave up his seat to Junior in 1996, Junior didn't do that much to maintain that organization, which was being decimated by age and death. What remained of it through his ill-fated 2006 Senate campaign was maintained by family friends and friendly local legislators, who were also starting to be decimated as well, by age and the Tennessee Waltz scandal. However, that came to an end.
Congressman Cohen won his first primary in 2006 with a combination of white Midtown liberals, some of the civil-rights veterans remaining along with African-Americans he had served during his 24 years in the State Senate. He has retained the seat with an epic work ethic and solid constituent service despite campaigns from African-Americans who have implied that he can't truly represent their community. Of course, as you know, each election, 70-75 percent of the African-American electorate show their disagreement with those campaigns by renominating and then re-electing the Congressman. So, the Flanaganesque campaigns will continue, and as always, ending in a rout of the challenger. It would be nice if he had a break, but since Senior never got one, I doubt Steve will, either.
Steve has his organization, to be sure, but it doesn't seem like anyone other than AC Wharton (and his is nonpartisan, not really Democratic in nature) has bothered to build an infrastructure for phone-banking and canvassing. Van Turner started, and Bryan Carson is trying his damnedest to raise enough money for the August and November elections, hence the two big fundraisers of note.
I think there are those that believe Steve needs to be like Senior and carry the County Party on his back, but I don't think that's really possible any more, because it's not 1992 any more. As I noted earlier, many of the old hands of the Ford campaigns are gone, and many middle-class African Americans have left the city for Desoto and other counties; go look at the census numbers if you don't believe me. THAT, as much as anything, is why the old and fallacious belief, that all you need to do is turn now the African-American vote and you are a sure winner, has been an abject failure. How's that worked so far?
So, what do we do now? Give me a day to think about it, and I will have more for you, I gotta go to bed.
Stay tuned!
After a good speech by Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA), a panel involving several women with great history within the party was held, including Judge Camille McMullen, former Public Service Commissioner Sara Kyle, former Senator Beverly Marrero, former NAACP head and current Representative Johnnie Turner, and longtime former school board member Sara Lewis.
However, it was a woman not on the panel who made the loudest comments. Former State Representative and City Councilor Carol Chumney (full disclosure for those newer readers: she has been a friend for over 20 years and I co-managed her County Mayor campaign in 2002) said that in addition to the Democratic and Republican parties, there was a "Republi-Democratic" party filled with Democrats who support Republicans. She then called out Congressman Steve Cohen for not supporting her during her unsuccessful race for Attorney General in 2012.
Sigh.
Should the Congressman have supported her? It wouldn't have hurt, but let's be serious here, it wouldn't have helped that much, either. Her campaign started too late, didn't raise enough money, and I'm not sure that if he had supported her as he supported Assessor Cheyenne Johnson and now-General Sessions Court Clerk Ed Stanton, that she would have won. One other thing that I have to note: It never seemed to me that she went after Amy Weirich with the same vigor as she had AC Wharton (twice, in 2002 and 2009) and Dr. Herenton (2007). I don't get that, either, because Weirich had and still has vulnerabilities with regard to the operation of her office. Carol never brought those up and I just don't get that.
Carol just is no longer the strong candidate she was during her legislative days. I hate that, as her days in the state House were terrific for her constituents and the City in general. It just takes a hell of a lot of time and money to win city or countywide, and you have to start a year in advance. THAT is how you get Democrats not to support Republicans, by making sure you are in early and by doing pre-emptive strikes on Democratic donors.
My own rant: Why does no Democrat want to take on and attack Attorney General Amy Weirich, who refuses to discipline her lead prosecutor, Tom Henderson, who was censured by the state last week? She will be in FOR EIGHT YEARS if we don't beat her this year, and that's not good for anyone. If you believe it doesn't matter who the AG is, you are deluding yourself, it's arguably the most important office in the county. Rant over.
For you old timers, remember when, during the 70s and 80s, Mark Flanagan would run against Harold Ford, Sr, in the 9th District primary just so people whom Senior had pissed off for whatever reason could vote against him? Of course, they would return to the fold for November, because none of them would be caught dead voting GOP.
This is what Ricky Wilkins' candidacy represents to me, the latest in a longline of Flanaganesque campaigns that result in a massive landslide for the incumbent. This is because our Congressman takes EVERY candidate who runs against him seriously, even Charlotte Bergmann. It's the same group of people who have been pissed off for years, who pretend as though they have the pulse of the city, only to see their candidate lose like the 1962 New York Mets.
One of the problems that they have with him is that he won't be the boss. The city's Democrats have been used to a machine at several points in the last century, most notably EH Crump from the Oughts to the late 40s, and the organization of Harold Ford Senior in the 70s, 80s and early 90s. It's true that Harold Senior had a crack team of people throughout the city, many of them veterans of the civil rights movement to whom organization was second nature.
However, when Senior gave up his seat to Junior in 1996, Junior didn't do that much to maintain that organization, which was being decimated by age and death. What remained of it through his ill-fated 2006 Senate campaign was maintained by family friends and friendly local legislators, who were also starting to be decimated as well, by age and the Tennessee Waltz scandal. However, that came to an end.
Congressman Cohen won his first primary in 2006 with a combination of white Midtown liberals, some of the civil-rights veterans remaining along with African-Americans he had served during his 24 years in the State Senate. He has retained the seat with an epic work ethic and solid constituent service despite campaigns from African-Americans who have implied that he can't truly represent their community. Of course, as you know, each election, 70-75 percent of the African-American electorate show their disagreement with those campaigns by renominating and then re-electing the Congressman. So, the Flanaganesque campaigns will continue, and as always, ending in a rout of the challenger. It would be nice if he had a break, but since Senior never got one, I doubt Steve will, either.
Steve has his organization, to be sure, but it doesn't seem like anyone other than AC Wharton (and his is nonpartisan, not really Democratic in nature) has bothered to build an infrastructure for phone-banking and canvassing. Van Turner started, and Bryan Carson is trying his damnedest to raise enough money for the August and November elections, hence the two big fundraisers of note.
I think there are those that believe Steve needs to be like Senior and carry the County Party on his back, but I don't think that's really possible any more, because it's not 1992 any more. As I noted earlier, many of the old hands of the Ford campaigns are gone, and many middle-class African Americans have left the city for Desoto and other counties; go look at the census numbers if you don't believe me. THAT, as much as anything, is why the old and fallacious belief, that all you need to do is turn now the African-American vote and you are a sure winner, has been an abject failure. How's that worked so far?
So, what do we do now? Give me a day to think about it, and I will have more for you, I gotta go to bed.
Stay tuned!
Friday, January 17, 2014
You still have time to get your Kennedy Day tickets, but you need to HURRY.
The Shelby County Democratic Party is having it’s John F. Kennedy Day DinnerSaturday, January 18, 2014.The theme of this event is “The Year of The Woman.”
Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-California, 13th District) is the confirmed speaker.
After Rep. Lee’s talk, there will be a panel discussion made up of elected/appointed women primarily discussing the challenges of public office, the grit needed to achieve and maintain those offices and the challenge women face running for/being appointed to public office.
The 2014 Kennedy Day Dinner will be at BRIDGES, 477 N 5th St, Memphis, TN 38105.
Judge Camille McMullen previously served as a state and federal prosecutor in Memphis, Tennessee. She served as an Assistant District Attorney for the Thirty Judicial District from 1998 to 2001. She then served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee from 2001 to 2008. In 2008, Judge McMullen was appointed by Governor Phil Bredesen to the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals. She made history as the first African-American woman to serve on an intermediate appellate court in Tennessee. She has also served as a member of the Memphis, Tennessee, and National Bar Associations; Tennessee Lawyers Association for Women; the National Association of Women Judges; and as a Master with the Leo Bearman Sr., Inn of Court.
Sara Kyle served as a public defender before her election to the Memphis City Court bench in 1991. Ms. Kyle resigned from her City Judge’s position in March of 1994 to run statewide for the Public Service Commission, the predecessor to Tennessee Regulatory Authority. The Public Service Commission was dissolved in 1996 and replaced by the TRA. Ms. Kyle was appointed to the TRA February 29, 1996, becoming one of the first three members, and served as a Director on the regulatory authority until March 2013. Recently, she considered a 2014 run against current Governor Bill Haslem – she changed her mind about running due to the illness of her mother who just passed. Ms. Kyle is married to state Sen. Jim Kyle.
State Rep. Johnnie R. Turner was appointed to complete the term representing House District 85 in January 2010 after her husband, State Rep. Larry Turner’s untimely death. He represented the 85th District for 25 years. She ran for election to the 85th District seat in 2010 and won. At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Rep. Turner served on the Consumer and Human Resources,Government Operations, Children and Family Affairs, Consumer and Employee Affairs committees. She is also the Treasurer of the Tennessee Black Caucus of State Legislators. A civil rights advocate, Rep. Turner is a former Executive Director of the Memphis Branch NAACP and a retired educator of Memphis City Schools.
Sara Lewis has been a classroom teacher, curriculum developer, grant writer, Title I Project Director, an area specialist, elementary school principal and Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction. She retired from the Memphis City Schools to become the Executive Director of Free The Children Inc., a demonstration program that addressed the root causes of poverty in selected census zones in North Memphis. In 1991 Lewis became the first African-American to be elected to an At-Large Position on the Board of Education of the Memphis City Schools. Lewis retired from the Board of Education on December 31, 2006 after completing her fourth term. She was re-elected to the Board of Education, representing District 6, on December 7, 2010. Her term of office ended August 31, 2013.
Beverly Marrero was first elected to the 103rd General Assembly in the Tennessee House of Representatives by-election
Moderator: Deidre Malone served eight years as a Shelby County Commissioner. She became the first African-American woman to serve as chair of the Shelby County Commission and budget committee chairwoman. In 2010, Malone made an unsuccessful bid for Mayor of Shelby County. This year, Malone will again seek the Democratic nomination for Shelby County mayor, hoping to win the right to challenge the incumbent, Republican mayor. She is the Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Carter Malone Group, LLC (CMG), a public relations, marketing and advertising firm headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee. Prior to opening CMG in 2003, Malone served as Vice President of Marketing Development for ALSAC/St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and Director of Public Relations for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital for 10 years.
Tuesday, January 07, 2014
Rally for LOCKED OUT Kellogg's Workers this Saturday!
Thanks to Representative GA Hardaway for the information:
*RALLY IN SUPPORT OF LOCKED OUT KELLOGG WORKERS*
Memphis A. Philip Randolph Institute and Community Partners Supporting BCTGM Local 252G Workers
WHEN: Saturday January 11, 2014
3:30 p.m. til 4:30 p.m.
WHERE: Airways at Dunn Avenue, Front Gate of Kellogg Company
3:30 p.m. til 4:30 p.m.
WHERE: Airways at Dunn Avenue, Front Gate of Kellogg Company
ONE HOUR FOR WORKERS JUSTICE
"If Not Now WHEN"
"If Not Now WHEN"
This is an attack on all workers. A profitable company wanting to replace middle-income jobs with casual,part-time workers. Injustice to One is Injustice to All. A company that received PILOT for our city and county guarantee middle-income wages and benefits. Ignoring a Master Agreement it has with BCTGM local unions representing cereal workers at four plants: Memphis, TN; Battle Creek, Michigan; Omaha, Nebraska; and Lancaster, PA.
It has been 78 days since Kellogg Company locked out its Memphis workers. It is time for the community to stand with the members and families of BCTGM Local 252G and demand that Kellogg open the doors and bargain in good faith. Over 200 working men and women no longer can support their families.
Contact Kermit Moore, President Memphis A. Philip Randolph Institute at kermit.moorejr@gmail.com or 901-351-1973
Thursday, January 02, 2014
Happy New Year, and let's prevent a mistake!
I had heard rumors for a month now that the Cooper-Young Community Farmers Market was being wooed by Loeb to move from the parking lot of First Congregational Church at Cooper and Walker to the new parking garage at Overton Square. Today, Toby Sells of the Flyer has an article about this possibility.
CYCFM is the only year-round Farmer's Market in the city that sources from local growers and vendors; the others in the area are seasonal. From what I am hearing, the vendors are not agreed as to whether this would be a good move or not, and I tend to think that it will not be as positive as one would suspect.
First, while the bottom floor of the Garage would provide cover for the Market, its' accessibility would be reduced, as well as its visibility from the street. Second, will food trucks be allowed, or would the local restaurants surrounding the Market raise a stink? Third, while this is a nice addition to the Square, how knows long Loeb will stay committed to what has always been a COMMUNITY market? Loeb, for all the great things they have done, is a BUSINESS, and if the Market becomes more of a problem or out grows its space, could get dumped for something more profitable. CYCFM, you KNOW that won't happen with First Congo.
And lastly, but most importantly, what about the COMMUNITY in the Cooper-Young Community Farmers Market? You serve the whole of Midtown in your great space in the First Congo lot, and it is a COMMUNITY meeting spot for that area. There is lots of parking surrounding your current location, the irony of moving to the Square Garage is that there might actually be LESS surrounding parking for your customers.
CYCFM, you are one of the city's greatest assets, please consider this carefully before you leave your home at First Congo. Your intentions, and those of Loeb, may be good, but like my daddy used to say, the road to Hell is paved with good intentions.
Thanks for reading.
CYCFM is the only year-round Farmer's Market in the city that sources from local growers and vendors; the others in the area are seasonal. From what I am hearing, the vendors are not agreed as to whether this would be a good move or not, and I tend to think that it will not be as positive as one would suspect.
First, while the bottom floor of the Garage would provide cover for the Market, its' accessibility would be reduced, as well as its visibility from the street. Second, will food trucks be allowed, or would the local restaurants surrounding the Market raise a stink? Third, while this is a nice addition to the Square, how knows long Loeb will stay committed to what has always been a COMMUNITY market? Loeb, for all the great things they have done, is a BUSINESS, and if the Market becomes more of a problem or out grows its space, could get dumped for something more profitable. CYCFM, you KNOW that won't happen with First Congo.
And lastly, but most importantly, what about the COMMUNITY in the Cooper-Young Community Farmers Market? You serve the whole of Midtown in your great space in the First Congo lot, and it is a COMMUNITY meeting spot for that area. There is lots of parking surrounding your current location, the irony of moving to the Square Garage is that there might actually be LESS surrounding parking for your customers.
CYCFM, you are one of the city's greatest assets, please consider this carefully before you leave your home at First Congo. Your intentions, and those of Loeb, may be good, but like my daddy used to say, the road to Hell is paved with good intentions.
Thanks for reading.
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
In which I lead a round of cheers for......Wyatt Bunker?????
I am just as shocked as you, my friends. I have been opposed to this person holding office, well, ever since he has HELD office. I now admit freely that I took pictures used in a TV spot for EC Jones when Mr. Bunker ran for a City Council position from a storage space on Highway 64. Mr. Bunker lost that race, but was elected to other offices, including the one he is vacating on the County Commission and the one he is moving to as the newly-elected Mayor of Lakeland.
So, why, pray tell, am I leading hosannas for someone whose politics I find abhorrent 99.9% of the time? Because only he, among all elected Republicans in Shelby County, realizes the damage that Shelby County Elections Administrator Richard Holden is doing to the elective process, and secondarily, to the image of the Shelby County Republican Party. On his way out the County Commission door to Lakeland, Mr. Bunker is trying to get a VOTE OF NO CONFIDENCE from the Commission in the abilities of Mr. Holden as Administrator.
One can speculate at will as to Commissioner/Mayor Bunker's motives all you want, but I salute him for doing what no other Republican has had the guts to do: recognize the absolute mess that Holden has made of the Election Commission, resulting in a lack of confidence that they can hold an election free of doubt and controversy.
Of course, getting the SCEC to do something about Holden is another matter entirely. Election Commissioner Dee Nollner, per the linked Jackson Baker article above, has attacked Bunker and defended the indefensible Holden, leading Bunker to suggest that Nollner has "drunk the Kool-Aid". One expects in an Election Commission populated by three Republicans and two Democrats that the GOP will receive the benefit of the doubt. However, when the Commission has been shown to be downright incompetent and inept, and the SCEC ignores its Democratic members and does what it wants, that does NOT provide confidence to the public that they know what they are doing or that we will have safe, secure and accurate elections.
For whatever reason Commissioner/Mayor Bunker is doing this, I still salute him for his actions, because this needs to happen, and YESTERDAY, if possible.
So, why, pray tell, am I leading hosannas for someone whose politics I find abhorrent 99.9% of the time? Because only he, among all elected Republicans in Shelby County, realizes the damage that Shelby County Elections Administrator Richard Holden is doing to the elective process, and secondarily, to the image of the Shelby County Republican Party. On his way out the County Commission door to Lakeland, Mr. Bunker is trying to get a VOTE OF NO CONFIDENCE from the Commission in the abilities of Mr. Holden as Administrator.
One can speculate at will as to Commissioner/Mayor Bunker's motives all you want, but I salute him for doing what no other Republican has had the guts to do: recognize the absolute mess that Holden has made of the Election Commission, resulting in a lack of confidence that they can hold an election free of doubt and controversy.
Of course, getting the SCEC to do something about Holden is another matter entirely. Election Commissioner Dee Nollner, per the linked Jackson Baker article above, has attacked Bunker and defended the indefensible Holden, leading Bunker to suggest that Nollner has "drunk the Kool-Aid". One expects in an Election Commission populated by three Republicans and two Democrats that the GOP will receive the benefit of the doubt. However, when the Commission has been shown to be downright incompetent and inept, and the SCEC ignores its Democratic members and does what it wants, that does NOT provide confidence to the public that they know what they are doing or that we will have safe, secure and accurate elections.
For whatever reason Commissioner/Mayor Bunker is doing this, I still salute him for his actions, because this needs to happen, and YESTERDAY, if possible.
Monday, December 09, 2013
Why Democrats Have Problems Winning CountyWide Elections, Part the Infinity
Yes, I partially stole that title from Charlie Pierce, but it seems to work.
For almost twenty years, there has been a myth that has plagued our Party here; namely, that there are enough African-Americans here to ensure victory in any race.
Are African-Americans the majority in this county? Certainly. So, why does it seem like our Democratic candidates only win in Presidential election years in November? Because our African-American base only shows up then. Go ahead, look it up, but it's true.
If such a monolithic vote were true, we would have every County office. The truth is that the Republicans have more money (and they ALWAYS will, despite our efforts); even more importantly, they are far better ORGANIZED than we are. Bryan Carson is doing his damnedest to try and change this with the SCDP, and I appreciate all that they are doing.
Democrats, of course, are famous for NOT marching in lockstep, but the lack of organization hurts us in off-year elections, and not just here in Shelby County, but nationally as well. We need, if anything, to be MORE organized than the GOP, not less.
So, we can't afford to make mistakes. For Countywide races, we need people who can raise at least $50,000 because you need to send mailings and have phone-banking operations; door-to-door just does not work Countywide. If you have lost more than once before, you don't need to run because the electorate has already told you more than once that they would prefer someone else and you are not likely to win Countywide, even if you won a Democratic Primary because of name recognition.
If you are running to unseat an incumbent, you must do TWO things. First, you must make the case that the incumbent is doing a such poor job that they must be removed. Second, you then have to convince the electorate that YOU are the person to take the job and turn it around. Complicating this task is the knowledge that you are asking the electorate to admit that they made a mistake in the prior election, something few people want to do. That is the major reason it is so hard to dislodge an incumbent, unless they have done such an obviously poor job that the electorate is enraged at that incumbent.
Note: that is why I continue to be amazed that people continue to primary Steve Cohen, as his re-election numbers continue to reflect a growing satisfaction with his representation of the 9th District. But I digress.
Another problem that Shelby County Democrats have is that there are people who make money off these quadrennial elections even though there has never been ANY indication that they have provided one iota of value to any of our candidates: the ballot creators. They charge candidates to be on their ballot and pass it out at the polls and claim to be the difference on those rare occasions when one of our candidates wins an election. These people are leeches upon our party and we need to find a legal way to be rid of them, because they cause more confusion than clarity and hurt our candidates more than they help.
We need candidates who can make a case that the person whose office they seek is causing injury to the taxpayers in Shelby County and can afford to get that case out to the public. We still have no candidate to oppose Amy Weirich, who has continued the failed policies of Bill Gibbons; frankly, it's almost too late as she has amassed a war chest. To be honest, of all the county offices the Republicans hold, I believe it's more important to hold the AG's office than even that of the Mayor, even though I certainly support a Democratic County mayor.
Yet, we never seem to find a candidate until it is too late and they are inevitably underfunded, and we lose, time after time. This must stop.
We seem to have good candidates at the County Commission level, but we need solid Countywide candidates with good name recognition (like, say, Deidre Malone) who know how to fight against the GOP. If you have lost Countywide more than once, do the Party a favor and get out unless you have the time AND money AND organization to win the race.
Rant over.
For almost twenty years, there has been a myth that has plagued our Party here; namely, that there are enough African-Americans here to ensure victory in any race.
Are African-Americans the majority in this county? Certainly. So, why does it seem like our Democratic candidates only win in Presidential election years in November? Because our African-American base only shows up then. Go ahead, look it up, but it's true.
If such a monolithic vote were true, we would have every County office. The truth is that the Republicans have more money (and they ALWAYS will, despite our efforts); even more importantly, they are far better ORGANIZED than we are. Bryan Carson is doing his damnedest to try and change this with the SCDP, and I appreciate all that they are doing.
Democrats, of course, are famous for NOT marching in lockstep, but the lack of organization hurts us in off-year elections, and not just here in Shelby County, but nationally as well. We need, if anything, to be MORE organized than the GOP, not less.
So, we can't afford to make mistakes. For Countywide races, we need people who can raise at least $50,000 because you need to send mailings and have phone-banking operations; door-to-door just does not work Countywide. If you have lost more than once before, you don't need to run because the electorate has already told you more than once that they would prefer someone else and you are not likely to win Countywide, even if you won a Democratic Primary because of name recognition.
If you are running to unseat an incumbent, you must do TWO things. First, you must make the case that the incumbent is doing a such poor job that they must be removed. Second, you then have to convince the electorate that YOU are the person to take the job and turn it around. Complicating this task is the knowledge that you are asking the electorate to admit that they made a mistake in the prior election, something few people want to do. That is the major reason it is so hard to dislodge an incumbent, unless they have done such an obviously poor job that the electorate is enraged at that incumbent.
Note: that is why I continue to be amazed that people continue to primary Steve Cohen, as his re-election numbers continue to reflect a growing satisfaction with his representation of the 9th District. But I digress.
Another problem that Shelby County Democrats have is that there are people who make money off these quadrennial elections even though there has never been ANY indication that they have provided one iota of value to any of our candidates: the ballot creators. They charge candidates to be on their ballot and pass it out at the polls and claim to be the difference on those rare occasions when one of our candidates wins an election. These people are leeches upon our party and we need to find a legal way to be rid of them, because they cause more confusion than clarity and hurt our candidates more than they help.
We need candidates who can make a case that the person whose office they seek is causing injury to the taxpayers in Shelby County and can afford to get that case out to the public. We still have no candidate to oppose Amy Weirich, who has continued the failed policies of Bill Gibbons; frankly, it's almost too late as she has amassed a war chest. To be honest, of all the county offices the Republicans hold, I believe it's more important to hold the AG's office than even that of the Mayor, even though I certainly support a Democratic County mayor.
Yet, we never seem to find a candidate until it is too late and they are inevitably underfunded, and we lose, time after time. This must stop.
We seem to have good candidates at the County Commission level, but we need solid Countywide candidates with good name recognition (like, say, Deidre Malone) who know how to fight against the GOP. If you have lost Countywide more than once, do the Party a favor and get out unless you have the time AND money AND organization to win the race.
Rant over.
Friday, November 22, 2013
Reflections on 50 years ago, a loss and a win
I was four years old that Friday afternoon a half-century ago, and my mother had As The World Turns on TV when Walter Cronkite broke in with the news that President Kennedy had been shot, and he stayed on the air for hours, announcing the President's death. My mother cried and cried, as she and my grandparents had worked for Kennedy's campaign in my hometown of Dixon, Illinois. A picture of John F. Kennedy stayed in my grandparents and parents' house in Dixon and in Trumann, Arkansas until I sold it after their death.
In many ways, the US has not recovered from that assassination, which ended a bubble of good feelings that had begun after the end of World War II. The Warren Commission reports, rather than clarify the situation, created more confusion and doubt than it solved, and we may never know what really happened. It started the distrust of government that leads to where we are as a people today, fueled by 30 plus years of right-wing propaganda that began with the end of the Fairness Doctrine, which would have kept right-wing hacks like Rush Limbaugh and Fox News off the air. Because of this, real government problem solving, which can and has happened (NEW DEAL, FAIR DEAL, etc.) is no longer considered to be an option.
All of this means that when you DO propose a governmental solution to a problem, such as the supporters of the Pre-K Initiative, you had damned well better do it right. That is NOT what happened, and that's why it went down to defeat last night despite a campaign funded primarily by the Chamber of Commerce and retired AutoZone founder Pitt Hyde.
Reverend Kenneth T. Whalum, Jr. led the campaign against the initiative, not because he was against pre-K, but because he correctly pointed out that this would be funded by raising the SALES TAX option one half cent, essentially maxing it out under state law. Sales Taxes are clearly the most regressive, because on a percentage basis, the poorer you are, the higher percentage of your income is paid out for basic necessities that cannot be avoided. In short, the benefit would be paid by the people supposedly benefiting from this the most but WHO COULD AFFORD IT THE LEAST. Reverend Whalum had little or no money behind him, but he didn't need much help to defeat this measure; the way this campaign went about its business did most of the work for him.
As Reverend Whalum pointed out, NO ONE is opposed to Universal Pre-K; it was against the funding mechanism, for the reasons listed above. So, where did the supporters make their mistake(s)? Where DIDN'T they make a mistake?
Jim Strickland and Shea Flinn are good people and I respect and admire them. Truth be told, it was Shea Flinn who finally convinced me to vote for it yesterday after having lots of questions about it. I appreciate Jim Strickland listening to my concerns and trying to answer those concerns, many of which can be found in my comments here at the Smart City Memphis blog a week ago.
Strickland has pointed out, quite correctly, that you pay property taxes whether you own or rent your residence, and that Memphis has the highest property taxes in the state. However, what is not mentioned here is that when property tax relief is given to property owners, the landlords, rarely, if ever, pass those savings to their tenants; they put the money in their pockets. And the RENTERS are the very people who were being asked to subsidize this relief for their landlords under the guise that the money would go to PreK. Given that ANY tax increase at this time faces an uphill battle with voters, is it any wonder why this went down to defeat?
So, tying this vote to property tax relief (even if I personally believe that Pre-K would have taken ALL the money raised and then some, but we'll get to that in a minute) was a HUGE mistake. However, it was not the only one, as we will see.
Drinking Liberally Memphis hosted Strickland, Kathy Buckman Gibson and Steven Reid in October to discuss the matter, and we all agreed that the concept of Universal Pre-K was unassailable as a benefit for the city's 4-year-olds. However, I noticed that when I asked what would happen if the money raised by the sales-tax increase was not sufficient, since there would be no way to raise that tax any higher, I was told that would be a great problem to have, but not how it would be solved.
Also, as my Smart City questions noted, while a Pre-K commission was created by the Mayor and appointed by him, there was no public accountability to anyone OTHER than the Mayor. I don't care how great these people were and are, you cannot ask the citizens of the city to appropriate funds without direct accountability.
I asked Kathy Gibson that night what the criteria for selecting the vendors for Pre-K, and if I remember correctly, she said that there were criteria but that it had not been written down. Further questioning revealed that while they had established the NEED for Pre-K, they did not have many of the details on how it would be operated or WHO would be operating the Pre-K centers. The general response that I received was that they would take care of that AFTER they got the money.
This approach reminds me of an old Memphis recording term: "We'll fix it in the mix!" That may work great when you're recording an album, if if you are asking the citizens to spend money, you had damned well better have your plans up front and center. As my wife Susan noted, it was like asking for a business loan without having a BUSINESS PLAN to show your funders. How'd that work out, eh?
Next, in campaigning for the measure, Steven Reid said that they wanted a low turnout, as it was the voters who voted most often (which, frankly, are usually higher-income people) who would be more likely to vote for this measure. Well, hell yeah, as it was THEIR property taxes being reduced! Notice that the very people who were supposed to be benefiting from this measure (lower-income people with young children) were NOT being targeted and were NOT being encouraged to vote for this proposal. Can you see now how that led credence to the idea that this was more about tax relief for the wealthy and less about Pre-K for poorer children? They couldn't have sabotaged their own campaign any better if they had PLANNED it that way.
Personally, I truly believe that Flinn and Strickland deeply wanted Universal Pre-K for our city and perhaps thought this was the only way it could be done; I will give them the benefit of the doubt.
Now that we are here, with the referendum having gone down in flames, where do we go from here? Even Reverend Whalum supports Universal Pre-K, so, I am issuing a call to him, as well as to the erstwhile Pre-K Commission and the City Council, to sit down and figure this out. I want ground rules. First, to the Pre-K supporters, you need to go out and LISTEN to the people that you want to help and spend more time among people unlike yourselves and your social circles, and listen to Reverend Whalum, too.
Reverend Whalum, two things: NO GLOATING, and do not mention the $57 million, because that is in the courts, and they will take care of it. And ALL of you, bring SPECIFICS to the table, and realize that while Universal Pre-K is a terrific idea, it is only a BEGINNING for what needs to be done to address poverty in this city.
Also, understand that until the day comes when we have a new legislature that will blow up our tax system and institute a state income tax, we are going to have high property taxes. PERIOD.
I want to end by offering my congratulations to newly elected State Representative Raumesh Akbari, who succeeeds the late, incomparable Lois Deberry in House 91. She defeated Libertarian Jim Tomasik with 89 percent of the vote. Great work, folks!
UPDATE: Stop what you are doing and go read Steve Ross at VIBINC; you can thank me later!
In many ways, the US has not recovered from that assassination, which ended a bubble of good feelings that had begun after the end of World War II. The Warren Commission reports, rather than clarify the situation, created more confusion and doubt than it solved, and we may never know what really happened. It started the distrust of government that leads to where we are as a people today, fueled by 30 plus years of right-wing propaganda that began with the end of the Fairness Doctrine, which would have kept right-wing hacks like Rush Limbaugh and Fox News off the air. Because of this, real government problem solving, which can and has happened (NEW DEAL, FAIR DEAL, etc.) is no longer considered to be an option.
All of this means that when you DO propose a governmental solution to a problem, such as the supporters of the Pre-K Initiative, you had damned well better do it right. That is NOT what happened, and that's why it went down to defeat last night despite a campaign funded primarily by the Chamber of Commerce and retired AutoZone founder Pitt Hyde.
Reverend Kenneth T. Whalum, Jr. led the campaign against the initiative, not because he was against pre-K, but because he correctly pointed out that this would be funded by raising the SALES TAX option one half cent, essentially maxing it out under state law. Sales Taxes are clearly the most regressive, because on a percentage basis, the poorer you are, the higher percentage of your income is paid out for basic necessities that cannot be avoided. In short, the benefit would be paid by the people supposedly benefiting from this the most but WHO COULD AFFORD IT THE LEAST. Reverend Whalum had little or no money behind him, but he didn't need much help to defeat this measure; the way this campaign went about its business did most of the work for him.
As Reverend Whalum pointed out, NO ONE is opposed to Universal Pre-K; it was against the funding mechanism, for the reasons listed above. So, where did the supporters make their mistake(s)? Where DIDN'T they make a mistake?
Jim Strickland and Shea Flinn are good people and I respect and admire them. Truth be told, it was Shea Flinn who finally convinced me to vote for it yesterday after having lots of questions about it. I appreciate Jim Strickland listening to my concerns and trying to answer those concerns, many of which can be found in my comments here at the Smart City Memphis blog a week ago.
Strickland has pointed out, quite correctly, that you pay property taxes whether you own or rent your residence, and that Memphis has the highest property taxes in the state. However, what is not mentioned here is that when property tax relief is given to property owners, the landlords, rarely, if ever, pass those savings to their tenants; they put the money in their pockets. And the RENTERS are the very people who were being asked to subsidize this relief for their landlords under the guise that the money would go to PreK. Given that ANY tax increase at this time faces an uphill battle with voters, is it any wonder why this went down to defeat?
So, tying this vote to property tax relief (even if I personally believe that Pre-K would have taken ALL the money raised and then some, but we'll get to that in a minute) was a HUGE mistake. However, it was not the only one, as we will see.
Drinking Liberally Memphis hosted Strickland, Kathy Buckman Gibson and Steven Reid in October to discuss the matter, and we all agreed that the concept of Universal Pre-K was unassailable as a benefit for the city's 4-year-olds. However, I noticed that when I asked what would happen if the money raised by the sales-tax increase was not sufficient, since there would be no way to raise that tax any higher, I was told that would be a great problem to have, but not how it would be solved.
Also, as my Smart City questions noted, while a Pre-K commission was created by the Mayor and appointed by him, there was no public accountability to anyone OTHER than the Mayor. I don't care how great these people were and are, you cannot ask the citizens of the city to appropriate funds without direct accountability.
I asked Kathy Gibson that night what the criteria for selecting the vendors for Pre-K, and if I remember correctly, she said that there were criteria but that it had not been written down. Further questioning revealed that while they had established the NEED for Pre-K, they did not have many of the details on how it would be operated or WHO would be operating the Pre-K centers. The general response that I received was that they would take care of that AFTER they got the money.
This approach reminds me of an old Memphis recording term: "We'll fix it in the mix!" That may work great when you're recording an album, if if you are asking the citizens to spend money, you had damned well better have your plans up front and center. As my wife Susan noted, it was like asking for a business loan without having a BUSINESS PLAN to show your funders. How'd that work out, eh?
Next, in campaigning for the measure, Steven Reid said that they wanted a low turnout, as it was the voters who voted most often (which, frankly, are usually higher-income people) who would be more likely to vote for this measure. Well, hell yeah, as it was THEIR property taxes being reduced! Notice that the very people who were supposed to be benefiting from this measure (lower-income people with young children) were NOT being targeted and were NOT being encouraged to vote for this proposal. Can you see now how that led credence to the idea that this was more about tax relief for the wealthy and less about Pre-K for poorer children? They couldn't have sabotaged their own campaign any better if they had PLANNED it that way.
Personally, I truly believe that Flinn and Strickland deeply wanted Universal Pre-K for our city and perhaps thought this was the only way it could be done; I will give them the benefit of the doubt.
Now that we are here, with the referendum having gone down in flames, where do we go from here? Even Reverend Whalum supports Universal Pre-K, so, I am issuing a call to him, as well as to the erstwhile Pre-K Commission and the City Council, to sit down and figure this out. I want ground rules. First, to the Pre-K supporters, you need to go out and LISTEN to the people that you want to help and spend more time among people unlike yourselves and your social circles, and listen to Reverend Whalum, too.
Reverend Whalum, two things: NO GLOATING, and do not mention the $57 million, because that is in the courts, and they will take care of it. And ALL of you, bring SPECIFICS to the table, and realize that while Universal Pre-K is a terrific idea, it is only a BEGINNING for what needs to be done to address poverty in this city.
Also, understand that until the day comes when we have a new legislature that will blow up our tax system and institute a state income tax, we are going to have high property taxes. PERIOD.
I want to end by offering my congratulations to newly elected State Representative Raumesh Akbari, who succeeeds the late, incomparable Lois Deberry in House 91. She defeated Libertarian Jim Tomasik with 89 percent of the vote. Great work, folks!
UPDATE: Stop what you are doing and go read Steve Ross at VIBINC; you can thank me later!
Thursday, November 21, 2013
I still don't know how I will vote for pre-K
While I agree with the concept of universal Pre-K, I don't like the way the Memphis Pre-K initiative is going about it, there no accountability for this commission, it's elitist as hell and they insist if we don't give them the half-cent sales tax increase, Pre-K will NEVER happen in Memphis. Their website is here, but they sound to me like this:
The Anti-Sales Tax website is here, and I agree with a lot of what they say, except for the bogus $57 million argument (and yes, Reverend, I am talking to YOU here). I think the Antis are on point when they say that the most important time in a child's life is from birth to 3, before the time Pre-K would exist. Also, the Pre-K side conveniently neglects how important environment is to a child, so even if they get the full benefits of Pre-K, if their homelife is unstable, how long can it last? Even if we do this, it is not the game-changer that it is made out to be. We have to address poverty from birth to adulthood, and if we as a city, a county, a state, a region or a nation are not willing to do this on the massive scale that it needs to succeed, this is just a way to say "SEE, WE TRIED, BUT THEY ARE INCORRIGIBLE, LET'S JUST LET THEM DIE" if it fails. I feel like I am being guilt-tripped into voting for this, I won't know until I get off the bus at my polling place at 5:40 tonight how I am going to vote. Check out both sites and decide for yourself.
The Anti-Sales Tax website is here, and I agree with a lot of what they say, except for the bogus $57 million argument (and yes, Reverend, I am talking to YOU here). I think the Antis are on point when they say that the most important time in a child's life is from birth to 3, before the time Pre-K would exist. Also, the Pre-K side conveniently neglects how important environment is to a child, so even if they get the full benefits of Pre-K, if their homelife is unstable, how long can it last? Even if we do this, it is not the game-changer that it is made out to be. We have to address poverty from birth to adulthood, and if we as a city, a county, a state, a region or a nation are not willing to do this on the massive scale that it needs to succeed, this is just a way to say "SEE, WE TRIED, BUT THEY ARE INCORRIGIBLE, LET'S JUST LET THEM DIE" if it fails. I feel like I am being guilt-tripped into voting for this, I won't know until I get off the bus at my polling place at 5:40 tonight how I am going to vote. Check out both sites and decide for yourself.
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
One Hundred Fifty Years Ago Today
The greatest President this country has ever known gave a brief, two-minute address at the Gettysburg National Cemetery on this date in 1863. If you have never been to Gettysburg, I urge you to visit.
He noted in the address that "The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here"; how wrong he was. Here, featuring all living Presidents, among others, is that address:
He noted in the address that "The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here"; how wrong he was. Here, featuring all living Presidents, among others, is that address:
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
This, my friends, is how you LEAD.
BRAVO to the House Democratic Caucus for working with the Nashville LGBT community for a fundraiser for the Caucus. They correctly perceived that the community should be natural supporters of the Democratic Party and that by standing with your friends, your friends will stand with you.
Now it's time to do that here in Memphis and other urban areas across the state. This is a sign that SOME PEOPLE in the Democratic Party understand where our future lies and where the population is growing.
Great work, House Democratic Caucus, big props to Leader Fitzhugh, Caucus Chair Mike Turner and the entire Caucus for their forward-thinking leadership!
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
I couldn't say it any better than Michael does
The shutdown will end today, and the fools in the House GOP will get LESS than if they had done nothing, per the Atlantic's Molly Ball, via Slate Magazine:
The GOP will actually get less out of the final deal being brokered than the party would have gotten had House conservatives never staged their revolt on Obamacare. In fact, the drama is likely to end with Republicans ceding policy concessions to Democrats. ... The "concession" extracted by the GOP in the deal, the sole change to the health-care law, is purely cosmetic: a reinstatement of the requirement that people seeking subsidies under the Affordable Care Act furnish proof that they qualify. That requirement was in the original law, but the administration delayed it when implementation hit snags in July. ... Democrats will get the government funded at levels they (grudgingly) sought in the first place, for longer than they originally sought, and without the looming threat of default.
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