WKNO TRANSCRIPT
CHRISTOPHER BLANK (Host): With the holidays approaching, many of us are out doing a little Christmas shopping. And, of course, in the spirit of the season, we don't like to think about January's credit card statement. Local government has also been doing some window shopping or, at least, dreaming big. With us to talk about those dreams is Memphis political analyst Otis Sanford. Welcome back!
OTIS SANFORD: Thank you, Chris. Always great to be with you.
BLANK: So, Otis, at the top of the wish list are these new high schools for Frayser and Cordova. These are incredibly expensive. And next week the County Commission will vote to add an extra $34 million to an already $122 million budget for just the Frayser project alone. Why is school funding such a hard sell here, as Mayor Lee Harris said at a recent commission meeting?
SANFORD: It's a hard sell just because you've got so many disparate interests when it comes to education right now. Instead of the old days of Memphis City Schools and Shelby County Schools, you now have six separate suburban school districts, and then the Memphis-Shelby County Schools district. So you got a lot of disparate interests. You got some politicians who, you know, are looking out for places where they live rather than other places. Having said that though: I do think that the mayor is showing some pretty good leadership here. He's making a strong case for how important this new school is for Frayser and for other parts of the city, as well.
BLANK: This week, the City of Memphis released a feasibility study for building a new forensic crime lab here. And this came because MPD has to ship evidence to Jackson, Tenn. for state testing. That lab is woefully slow, but a new one for Memphis would cost us upwards of $50 million to open. Is this a good investment?
SANFORD: Well, I think it's a good investment, honestly, because I do think -- contrary to some statements I read from at least one state politician -- I do think that this will help in the crime-solving part of law enforcement. It is a good investment. Having said that, it may be a tough political sell. One alternative that may have some promise is that since the existing crime lab that we use is located in Jackson, one solution could be a designated forensic team at that facility, dedicated only to cases coming out of Memphis and Shelby County.
BLANK: And that seems like it would make sense, especially when you consider the majority of the crimes that need to be tested are coming out of Memphis. They're not coming from the rural areas around Jackson.
SANFORD: I couldn't agree more, and if we can't get the political will to build a $54 million [facility] — I think that was the price tag -- then let's dedicate a group of forensic scientists at the one in Jackson just for Shelby County and Memphis cases.
BLANK: We've talked here before about the need for a new jail. Some estimates put that [price] at over a billion dollars. Now defense attorneys are joining Sheriff Floyd Bonner, calling for a new facility. Where would you put a jail on the priority list?
SANFORD: In terms of pure need, it needs to be near the top. In terms of the political will, it's low. There are a lot of people, Chris, who could care less that it takes hours and hours -- up to 36 and 48 hours -- just to process somebody into the jail and they're languishing there in some intake area. And in one case, you had a person who died while waiting in the intake. But having said that, the priority should be higher. We should be a little bit more humane about how we deal with people -- even criminals, or alleged criminals -- who are arrested and have to spend some time in jail.
BLANK: I know I won't be committing any crimes on Christmas Eve, because I wouldn't want to miss the big day.
SANFORD: And if you get arrested on Christmas Eve, Chris, you can bet that you won't be out until like the 28th of December.
BLANK: Celebrate New Year's in the pokey!
SANFORD: Exactly, Happy New Year, pal!
BLANK: So now, Otis, I guess the last question is: if Santa is on his way, do Shelby County voters deserve some nice presents after this election brought out the lowest percentage of voters since 1968? I mean, what should we have in our stocking this year?
SANFORD: The people who did not vote in this election, Chris, they deserve lumps of coal in their stockings.
BLANK: Which they could donate to xAI to operate their supercomputer, you know, so we don't run out of power.
SANFORD: Exactly. And then, based on the number of people who didn't show up to vote, if you have about four or five lumps of coal in each stocking, that will take care of any power needs that xAI has for the next, I guess, five years.
BLANK: So I guess we say "Santa baby, hurry down the chimney."
SANFORD: Hurry down the chimney tonight!