Q&A: District 6 candidates for Memphis City Council talk priorities, experience
Longtime Memphis City Council Member Edmund Ford Sr. is facing two opponents in his bid to be reelected to represent District 6 on the council.
All but two seats on the Memphis City Council are contested in this year's election, scheduled for Oct. 5 with early voting running from Sept. 15 through Sept. 30.
The Commercial Appeal reached out to each candidate running for City Council to ask for written answers to questions about background and priorities if elected.
To read responses from candidates for other City Council districts, click here.
To see a full list of all the candidates who qualified for the upcoming Memphis Municipal Election, click here.
Responses have been edited for length and AP style.
Keith D. Austin II
Austin did not respond to emails inviting him to participate in this Q&A.
Edmund H. Ford Sr.
Q: What is your background and any experience relevant to this elected office?
A: Following a decade of service and commitment to the citizens of District 6 and the entire City of Memphis from October 1999 until 2007, Councilman Edmund H. Ford, Sr. was re-elected to the City Council in October 2019. Ford is grateful that his constituents saw fit to return him to office to continue his service to the people of this community. Ford received his Bachelor of Science degree in government and public affairs from The Tennessee State University and a mortuary science degree from John Gupton College in Nashville.
Q: Why are you running for this position?
A: I want to continue serving my constituents.
Q: What would three of your top priorities be for your district if elected?
A:
COMMUNITY REVITALIZATION
BLIGHT
CRIME
Q: What do you believe are the greatest challenges facing Memphis?
A: TOGETHERNESS! We have to be on one accord in order to achieve success for our City.
Larry Hunter
Q: What is your background and any experience relevant to this elected office?
A: As far as background goes, I thought about running for office a few years back. However, I wanted to learn more about the process before officially running which led me to run for office now in combination with wanting to help the citizens of Memphis and be able to hear their concerns and needs for the city. I do have experience with the people meaning that I go to learn their needs and concerns.
Q: Why are you running for this position?
A: I am running for this position (District 6) simply because I want to be able to make a difference. My mother had a homeless shelter in Racine, Wisconsin and that inspired me to help others and be a "guardian" for the people. I am a candidate that has experienced living in poverty so that allows me to not only know but understand the citizens of Memphis’ needs and struggles, especially in District 6.
Q: What would three of your top priorities be for your district if elected?
A: If elected, my top three priorities in Memphis are first to combat poverty, meaning to make sure disadvantaged neighborhoods have the resources needed to be able to live, providing our youth with more opportunities financially and educationally and to work on our public transportation to be able to provide more access to areas in the city.
Q: What do you believe are the greatest challenges facing Memphis?
A: I believe the greatest challenges facing Memphis are definitely crime, our youth and our infrastructure. These three things have been ever present as of late and now is the time to not just address these issues or acknowledge that these issues are present, but to be able to take action and do something about it. Successful collaboration between the community and the City Council and Mayor will be able to combat these great challenges.
Katherine Burgess covers government and religion. She can be reached at katherine.burgess@commercialappeal.com or followed on Twitter @kathsburgess.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis City Council District 6 candidates on crime, infrastructure
