Charter Changes Finally Up for a Vote

Yes, I know it has been a very long time since any of us has posted but hey, we didn't disappear!

Incredibly, the Commercial Appeal has recommended a no vote against Term Limits and Instant Runoff Voting (IRV). OK, maybe IRV isn't well known or well understood by many but clearly Term Limits is needed in this city!

You can read the recommendations yourself here with the feedback.

OK ... Here we go!

I make the following recommendations regarding the Memphis and Shelby County charter amendments on the Nov. 4 ballot:

COUNTY COMMISSION ORDINANCE NO. 364 (Thanks changememphis.net for this): This amendment would fix a glitch in the county's charter by legally establishing the elected offices of sheriff, trustee, register, county clerk, and assessor. The amendment would also take away the ability of those officers to appeal budget disputes they have with the County Commission in court.

I recommend YES. Even tho there is some language in there that shouldn't be there in the first place like in Section 8.03. C "The county charter officers shall not be subject to term limitations unless provided for in Article V herein." and some other garbage but it's really to bring us in line with a court ruling. The sky won't fall if this one doesn't pass.

COUNTY COMMISSION ORDINANCE NO. 365: This amendment would set term limits for the five officers listed above.

I recommend YES. Takes care of the stupid language is the previous ordinance ... maybe they're hoping this one fails. Some of those should probably be changed to appointed positions but until they are ... term limits baby!

CITY COUNCIL ORDINANCE NO. 5232: This amendment would allow a City Council member to be recalled from office.

I recommend YES.

CITY COUNCIL ORDINANCE NO. 5265: This amendment would require appointed city officials to live within the city limits, just as non-appointed employees must.

I don't really care which way you vote on this one. There should be a grandfather clause but other than that ...

CHARTER COMMISSION REFERENDUM NO. 1: With respect to all municipal elections held hereafter for the Office of Mayor, City Council and City Court Clerk, no person shall serve more than 2 consecutive terms in any given office.

I recommend YES. Term limits baby! Unfortunately it not specifically retroactive which means the clock won't start until after the next election and it apparently allows the person to run again after sitting out a term ... like Ricky Peete did when he sat in jail for a while only to be elected again after getting out.

CHARTER COMMISSION REFERENDUM NO. 2: This amendment would stagger the terms of council members, so city elections would be held every two years instead of every four years.

I recommend YES just so we can hold them accountable more often ... but the flip side is that we'll have to go thru the election process every two years!

CHARTER COMMISSION REFERENDUM NO. 3: Any proposed sale of Memphis Light Gas & Water or any of its electric, gas and/or water assets shall not be final until first approved by a majority of duly qualified voters in the City of Memphis.

I recommend YES. Duh!

CHARTER COMMISSION REFERENDUM NO. 4: Any elected or appointed official charged with official malfeasance shall be suspended with pay pending resolution of the charge.

I recommend YES.

CHARTER COMMISSION REFERENDUM NO. 5: This amendment would allow instant runoff voting, a system in which voters rank their preferences in elections rather than choosing a single candidate in each race.

I recommend YES. Unfortunately it only applies to the single district seats which may cause some confusion but it's a step forward.

CHARTER COMMISSION REFERENDUM NO. 6: This amendment would change the process for filling a vacancy in the mayor's office by allowing for special elections to be held.

I recommend YES.

WHAT'S MISSING?

There should an option for NOTA ... None Of The Above.

Reform MLGW

It is time for serious reform of MLGW.

I propose the following reforms (Charter Commission members pay attention!):

Each MEMPHIS residential customer should be issued a share of stock. Each city council member should be able to vote a block of shares (the total number of shares for the city council not to exceed 50% of the total outstanding shares).

Each board member and the CEO recommended by the mayor must be approved by the stockholders. This can take place via a mailing as it does with public corporations.

Each year, MLGW will pay a dividend on any profit it makes that isn't applied to rate reductions. Thus Memphians will get the benefits.

MLGW will issue an annual stockholder's report.

It's time for MLGW to be run like a business rather than a political fiefdom.

Memphis City Councilmen Arrested

Two sitting Memphis city councilmen have been arrested ... Are we surprised??? Ricky "I take bribes" Peete has been down this very same road before. Ed Ford ... well, he's a Ford.

Poster children for term limits:

Is the new Charter Commission a Reform Commission?

The only true reform candidate to win a seat on the Charter Commission was Sylvia Cox in Position 2.

However, four of the seven support Term Limits (Brooks, Cox, Webb, Lowery) and three support a vote before selling MLG&W (Brooks, Cox, Lowery).

Three winners support nothing (Campbell, Fullilove, Brown) ...

Let's look at the winners:

Position 1, Willie Brooks supports:

Term limits and staggered terms for elected city officials to ensure the continuity of experience and knowledge of setting policy for city government.

Clearly defining the scope of power between the executive and legislative branches of government.

Consider inserting a provision in the charter that deals with the potential selling of Memphis Light Gas and Water.


Position 2, Sylvia Cox supports:

No 'sole' contractual authority for the position of mayor.

Term limits for the Mayor and City Council, possibly for other elected positions.

No sale of MLG&W without a voter approval via a referendum.


Position 3, Marsha Campbell supports nothing at the moment:

"At this point, my goal is to study the charter, address and recommend changes that are relevant to the betterment of Memphis and its residents."


Position 4, Janis Fullilove supports nothing at the moment:

After researching, I understood that this newly elected body would study the charter, that contains codes governing parks, taxes, elections and other aspects of life; I knew then that I wanted to become part of this historic body.

The commission would have to understand the roles of the City Council, Office of the Mayor, along with other departments and agencies under the umbrella of the city government, the city charter outlines the various roles.

The commissions' goals are and should be, to review the current charter, to research various types of municipal governments, to examine the impact of possible changes to the charter, to actively solicit the voters comments and suggestions, and then recommend revisions, if necessary, for a more effective and efficient government.

Whiles it's not the mission of the Charter Commission to be responsible for day to day operations of city government, that newly elected body, could assist elected officials by working to help restore confidence in government that many of the electorate had lost due to an asundry of reasons; education, taxes, accountability of local government leader


Position 5, George Brown supports nothing at the moment:

I anticipate that term limits will be a consideration. I anticipate that a major responsibility of the Commission will be to review the present charter and determine what revisions, if any, should be considered and presented to the citizens by referendum.

This task should be approached with an open mind and with no preconceived notions. That is how I am approaching this important job.


Position 6, Sharon Webb supports:

Term Limits for our Elected Officials – The City Charter does not set term limits for the elected officials, however, the charter commissioners can propose a referendum similar to that used for a certain branch of the judicial system where the citizens vote yes or no to keep a Judge on the bench. The voters can decide if an elected official is creditable to run for another term.

Senior Citizens – The City Charter should contain everything allowable to aide in the affordability of the necessities of life in such events as increases in utilities, prescription cost, taxes, etc.

Deterioration of our School System – The City Charter should contain everything allowable to promote Excellence in Education for every child.

Illegal Immigrants – The City Charter should not allow city benefits including employment to illegal immigrants. Anyone hiring an illegal immigrant to work should be held accountable for aiding and abetting in wrongdoing. I also believe the City Charter should have plans in place to aid in the illegal immigrants becoming legal expeditiously.

Eminent Domain is the right of a state to take private property for public use. – The City Charter should greatly restrict the affairs of eminent domain and sift them through the eyes of justice for all.


Position 7, Myron Lowery supports:

Term limits for city officials.

Staggered terms for members of the City Council.

A charter change that will require a referendum for the voters to approve any sale of Memphis Light, Gas, and Water.

Da Mayor's Slate for the Charter Commission

Flash ...

If you're satisfied with current regime and with the way things are, then vote for the Da Mayor's Slate. They are bought and paid for by the special interests running things now.

Here are the rumored picks by Da Mayor:

1. Willie Brooks
2. Dean Dayo
3. Darrell Thomas
4. Janis Fullilove
5. George Brown
6. Reginald Tate
7. ?

Now Da King may be arrogant, but he isn't stupid. His longtime ally and friend, Sidney Chism will present the slate. But we know who the puppet master is.

Kudos to Perry Steele (Charter Commission, Pos. 6) for the scoop.

IT'S TIME TO STAND UP AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT THE CRIME IN THIS CITY

Crime is at its worst in Memphis. Innocent victims are loosing their lives daily in this crime infested city. Memphis is averaging a murder every two days. What do we intend to do about it?

We, the citizen's of Memphis, have got to yell, scream and throw temper tantrums every day all day until Willie, Larry Godwin and the City Council decide to listen to us, the people. Why are we sitting back and waiting for Willie and his crew to do something about crime? We don't have time to wait--we need immediate action NOW, RIGHT THIS MINUTE!!!!! If Willie cared about this city, why didn't he accept the trained and ready, 170 reserve deputies that Mark Luttrell offered in order help Memphis clean up crime? What would it hurt to give these reserves a chance? Could it be that Willie has to be the hero in all of this? The city council and Larry Godwin aren't going to take a stand against King Willie because Willie rules this city. Godwin and the city council are nothing more than Willie's puppets.

Do what's right ------- Stand up and raise hell about the crime in this city--Right Now, before its too late!!!!!!! Innocent children, teenagers and adults are loosing their lives daily. Do something about it-it's not too late!