Memphis mayoral race: Michelle McKissack looks to address disconnect between city, community
Memphis-Shelby County Schools board member and Memphis mayoral candidate Michelle McKissack isn't promising a silver bullet or a cure-all for Memphis' matrix of complicated, generational problems. But, if elected, she is promising a governing style that focuses on Memphis as a whole, and how one problem influences another.
And part of that plan is working to stitch together factions of city government and community service organizations, "that aren't talking to each other," McKissack said.
McKissack, the fourth of five children with four children of her own, has lived in Memphis for the majority of her life — leaving only for educational stints at Northwestern University, where she double-majored in city planning and journalism for her undergraduate studies and returning later for a masters degree in journalism.
"I was driven by, 'What makes cities work?'" McKissack said of her decision to also study city planning.
Her career in 1990s broadcast news in Memphis, first at News Channel 3 and then at ABC 24 News, furthered her curiosity about city functions. It also exposed her to the consequences caused by dysfunction, and how those consequences played out in the lives of Memphians.
Parenthood ushered McKissack into education advocacy, and it started with her children attending Downtown Elementary, where there were no public funds to support an art teacher position. So, McKissack began fundraising efforts for the position.
"That was the catalyst," she said.
McKissick successfully ran for the MSCS board in 2018. Midway through her first term, the COVID-19 pandemic demanded public education transform overnight. McKissack and her fellow board members were tasked with overseeing a rapid district pivot to virtual learning — a process that would normally take years, but had to be done in a matter of months, she said.
Recovery from the pandemic's effects has fostered a new set of challenges for Memphis' school district, and McKissack said this time period really highlighted the disconnect between government and communities.
"In my time as board chair, I looked at these 110,000 students, and the families that are associated with them. That makes up the bulk of Memphis. I saw how the school district was really the nucleus of it all, and I saw how the City of Memphis government was... disconnected," said McKissack.
For McKissack, leadership means working quickly to address that disconnect. Her plan for governing, which she calls Whole City Memphis, means thinking about challenges from all angles.
Memphis voter guide 2023: The hub for mayoral, City Council election coverage
"As mayor, what I can promise is to have these conversations," McKissack said. "In my role, if I was to serve as mayor, I would focus on a holistic approach. Because it's not just one thing, you can't just focus on crime. You have to focus on all of it, at the same time."
Micaela Watts is a reporter for The Commercial Appeal focused on issues tied to access and equity. She can be reached at micaela.watts@commercialappeal.com.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Michelle McKissack's Memphis mayoral race focuses on holistic solutions
