In a span of just over two weeks, Memphis mayoral candidate and Shelby County Commissioner Tami Sawyer went from being the victim of a crude caricature on the cover of Memphis magazine to becoming a crude reflection of a progressive candidate. As the media combed though her Twitter feed dating back more than a decade, a picture emerged of a relative newcomer to both politics and political correctness.
Memphis' LGBTQ community quickly condemned her homophobic comments, including one in which Sawyer said she had once outed and bullied a lesbian teacher, causing her to quit her job. Though Sawyer has made apologies and amends with her LGBTQ supporters this week, other tweets remain unaddressed.
Political analyst Otis Sanford says that a tweet about having no respect for police raises questions about her future mayoral relationship with law enforcement in a city where safety and crime prevention is the number one issue with voters.
