Memphis mayoral candidates address infrastructure, crime and economic development
Four candidates for Memphis mayor shared more about their platforms and how they plan to address the city’s challenges during a mayoral forum held at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church on Saturday afternoon.
The Memphis mayoral forum, which lasted nearly two hours, focused on four main issues – infrastructure, crime, economic development and education/youth.
Candidates J.W. Gibson, Michelle McKissack, Van Turner and Paul Young attended, while attorney Corey Strong served as the forum’s moderator.
Attendees watched from the church’s vast sanctuary as the candidates also participated in a lightning round of questions that featured more lighter topics such as their favorite Memphis Grizzlies player or favorite Memphis barbecue spot.
The forum was sponsored by Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church, The Black Clergy Collaborative of Memphis, 100 Black Men Memphis and The National Bar Association.
The three takeaways include discussion regarding the city's relations with MLGW amid power outages, the prevalence of crime and possible future industrial growth.
City infrastructure, collaboration with MLGW discussed
After another storm on Tuesday night knocked out power for more than 100,000 Memphis, Light, Gas & Water customers in the area, infrastructure has become a more prominent issue in the upcoming election. Previously, a severe storm in June that left some residents without power for a week.
Gibson, a Memphis businessman and former Shelby County Commissioner, said MLGW’s problems date back years ago “due to poor maintenance.” He said that needs to be rectified first and working more collaboratively with MLGW.
McKissack, a Memphis-Shelby County Schools board member and former broadcast journalist, said the current situation is “unacceptable.”
She said while some money has been invested in MLGW for infrastructure upgrades, there is “much more money we can go after” on the state level.
Young, current Downtown Memphis Commission CEO, said it needs to be ensured “people remember this moment when it is time to debate paying for the solutions.” He proposed looking at taking power lines underground, using steel poles instead of wooden poles as other possible solutions.
Turner, current Memphis Branch NAACP president and former Shelby County Commissioner, said preparation must improve for these storms “because they will come.”
In addition to looking at infrastructure improvements, Turner proposed designating certain churches and community centers when the power goes out to offer help to citizens when the needs arises.
Candidates address crime in Memphis
Each candidate spoke about how they plan to find balance between addressing crime in Memphis, implementing crime prevention efforts and holding law enforcement accountable when necessary.
Gibson touted his platform that includes advocating for tougher and stiffer penalties around sentencing and bail, restoring trust between neighborhoods and police officers and investing in crime-fighting technology, as well as how he will “commit to saving our kids.”
McKissack focused on the “three Ps” – crime prevention, partnering with police and providing justice.
For her, that includes getting the police force back up to scale with more detectives and investigators to improve the crime-solve rate and getting “the police force back up to scale.”
Turner said he supports a new Shelby County crime lab to make sure prosecutors have what they need to put “our most violent offenders away for as long as possible.”
He also said children staying on grade level in reading can also help as a form of crime prevention.
Young, the former head of the city’s Housing and Community Development, said his two-fold approach includes criminals being brought to justice, while supporting good police officers and his intent to “root out” the bad ones. He also spoke about helping MPD to be more efficient and not spend as much time on things such as processing.
Candidates state vision for future industry
One of the questions Strong posed to the candidates is what industries they would consider bringing to Memphis in the future.
For Gibson, it is a “toss up” between advanced technology and the music industry.
“The history of Memphis music is so rich, unfortunately all you here about is historically what Memphis used to be about,” Gibson said. “You don’t hear a lot about how we can take that industry to a different level.”
McKissack said she wants to see more investment in the healthcare industry.
“I think we have forward thinking in terms of bolstering what’s already happening here. We have Smith & Nephew, so many other wonderful companies here, and how to help that grow and really focus on our regional medical center,” she said.
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Turner wants to “lean” into two areas that he believes Memphis is already thriving in —tech and logistics. He also wants to see more with art, entertainment and culture specifically focusing on Memphis’ musical history.
“FedEx has been here 50 years, BlueOval City (in Stanton) is right down the street, we need to lean into what’s already here,” Turner said.
Young spotlighted the area’s medical device manufacturing and advanced manufacturing sectors, particularly with BlueOval City expected to begin production in 2025.
“There’s no reason that this region shouldn’t be the hub for innovation around autonomous vehicles and electrification of our grid, so that we are making sure that we are an example to the whole world around EV vehicles,” Young said.
Omer Yusuf covers the Ford project in Haywood County, FedEx, tourism and banking for The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached via email Omer.Yusuf@commercialappeal.com or followed on Twitter @OmerAYusuf.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis mayoral candidates talk MLGW, crime and economic development
