On Jan. 1, Paul Young will become the next mayor of Memphis. He won with 27% of the vote out of just 88,000 voters in a city with more than 600,000 residents.
On the campaign trail, Young promised a forward-looking approach, including investing in the city’s youth, cleaning up the city’s neighborhoods and promoting the arts and culture of Memphis. He also promised to support the Memphis Police Department and to share data with other agencies. Young said he would seek economic stability for Memphians by attracting large companies to the city, as well as growing small businesses.
In October, MLK50 asked local leaders how Paul Young should address poverty in Memphis. Now, as Young is sworn in, MLK50 asked other leaders and organizers what they hope to see from his administration.
Answers have been edited for clarity and brevity.
Jessica Buttermore, board member with the Workers Interfaith Network, an organization that seeks to unite faith and labor communities.
“I think the new mayor should be able to hold companies accountable, that if they are committing wage theft or have some sort of prosecution against them, that the city mayor would have more jurisdiction over when companies come into the city to have stronger protections for their workers. Also, one thing we would like to see is the potential for having a board of workers’ rights, which is something that the city of Durham [North Carolina] has established. Southern municipalities, when they’re trying to do economic development and draw industry to the cities, one of the big selling points is that there’s cheap labor here. I think that does not create strong cities. Especially a city like Memphis, because geographically we’re this tristate city, it just becomes a lot of competition — who is the lowest bidder — then it keeps the city impoverished. It’s not the best strategy to create a strong and prospering city.”
Justin Davis, freelance journalist and poet who formerly organized with the Bus Riders Union and United Campus Workers
“I think we really need an administration that’s going to be committed to being transparent and accessible. In my experience, there’s a lot of distance between the citizens and the political process. Some of that is just because of how things are structured. I think in the past some of that has been intentional, but folks all over the city are full of ideas. So, to me, it feels like if we really want to turn a corner, we need an administration that’s going to create room for people to feel like there’s a place where they can bring those ideas and where people can have a really clear idea of exactly how decisions are being made, who is making them, how are resources being distributed. I’m really hopeful that the full team, not just the mayor but the people he surrounds himself with, are gonna make that easier for people.”
Sarah Houston, executive director of Protect Our Aquifer, which works to sustain the Memphis Sand Aquifer that provides the city its water
“I think we’d like to see his leadership continue emphasizing the importance of managing the aquifer as a shared asset. The city doesn’t own it. The state doesn’t own it. Industries are the biggest users of it, and with the latest science, we’re really seeing the potential for contamination of our drinking water supply is worse than we ever expected. We really are pushing that administration to support incentivizing widespread conservation and actually flipping Memphis Light, Gas and Water’s water rate structures so the more commercial users actually use, the higher the rate per gallon. That tiered rate structure, sometimes called a progressive tiered rate structure, is something you see in other cities, and it’s a way to either incentivize conservation or increase revenue for the utility.
“(We also want) Memphis to really serve as the regional connector and planner, where we’re seeing so much growth across our region. We believe that Mayor-Elect Young can be a leading voice when it comes to sustainable development and sustainable planning, especially over the Aquifer’s recharge zone in Fayette and Haywood counties.”
Charles McKinney, chair of Africana Studies at Rhodes College, whose work focuses on the Civil Rights Movement and Black politics
“So, my hope is that the next mayor takes the problems of the city seriously and understands that complicated problems always require complicated and complex solutions. I hope that the next mayor has the fortitude to forgo what passes for conventional wisdom in the city with regard to policing, with regard to economic development, with regard to education. I hope that the new mayor is bold enough to do the things that he thinks he cannot do.”
Johnnie Mosley, chairman of Citizens for Better Service, an organization that seeks to improve Memphis’ transit services
“What I’d like for him to do in his first 100 days is to take a look at public transportation in our city and see what he can do to improve public transportation. If it means finding dollar bills for Memphis Area Transit Authority to include bus service, that’s fine, but also, I definitely would like for him to get out and meet with the ridership. That could be in formal community meetings or just in the form of riding the bus, just to get the opportunity to engage with them to understand the needs of the ridership. Our city, if it’s going to continue to grow, it has to have an improved public transportation system. There’s a saying, so goes public transportation, so goes Memphis. If you want to see crime go down, provide great public transportation so people can get to work.
“I just want to wish the new mayor success. He has a lot of things on his plate, and the fact of the matter is that we just want to hear from the mayor, and we want to just see what direction he wants to take the system. And we hope that he allows Citizens for Better Service, Memphis Interfaith Coalition for Action and Hope, the Memphis Bus Riders Union and the Sierra Club be a part of the discussion on improving public transportation in the city of Memphis.”
Edith Ornelas, founder of Mariposas Collective, an organization that supports migrant families new to Memphis
“I know (Memphis Mayor Jim) Strickland’s office tried to do some work, but then there were also incidents where the police were very present in our communities and not in a supportive way, but seeing who was undocumented and who was not and working directly with ICE. (We need someone who is) staying connected and listening because that’s one thing the previous administration didn’t do so well, and things got a little messy … I think staying connected and listening to constituents about what our needs and what our fears are in the community will probably support building that trust that’s needed.
“I think most importantly, what the community wants to see is a bill that just got passed in Illinois [that offers expanded drivers license access in July]. … If we were able to pass that bill in Chicago, why couldn’t we in other cities? Why couldn’t that be pushed (by the mayor)?
“Another thing that was brought up is the school district. A lot of (mothers) said, why don’t we have more modern schools? How can we get more funding to have newer schools? … How can the mayor be more connected to the Board of Education, where both can break those silos and listen to parents as to what the needs are in those communities? Without the city’s support or the mayor’s support, our communities and school districts can’t thrive.”
Katherine Burgess is the government accountability reporter for MLK50: Justice Through Journalism. Contact her at katherine.burgess@mlk50.com
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