WKNO TRANSCRIPT
CHRISTOPHER BLANK (Host): Before Ford's BlueOval City came to West Tennessee, the small town of Mason was mostly known for Bozo's Barbecue, Gus's fried chicken, and a prison: the West Tennessee Detention Facility. It closed in 2021 when the Biden Administration quit contracting with prison operator CoreCivic. Now the Trump Administration wants to reopen the prison to house ICE detainees. With us to talk about that and other issues is political analyst Otis Sanford. Welcome back.
OTIS SANFORD: Thank you, Chris. Thank you for having me.
BLANK: Otis, when officials in Mason rushed to approve the new prison contracts on Tuesday, that did not sit well with many residents. And it set off a small-town battle between elected leaders who say it'll bring jobs and tax revenue and locals concerned about human rights violations. Were you surprised at the level of opposition? I mean, this is rural Tennessee.
SANFORD: It may be rural Tennessee, but this is an area that is certainly not in MAGA-world. Mason, Tenn. is majority African American, first of all. Well over 70 percent. And it's next to Haywood County, which is one of only three counties that voted Democratic in presidential elections. And you used the word "rushed," and the proposal was definitely rushed. Nobody had an opportunity to talk about it and debate it before it was decided. So no, I'm not surprised by the opposition at all.
BLANK: CoreCivic says it's creating 250 jobs that pay an annual salary of $55,000. The mayor of the town is, himself, an immigrant who said it's about economics, not immigration. But opponents point to other ICE facilities, like so-called Alligator Alcatraz in Florida. There's also CoreCivic, which has paid millions in fines and legal settlements in recent years over staffing shortages and inmate deaths. When you put ICE and CoreCivic together, are locals right to have, maybe, some ethical questions?
SANFORD: They are absolutely right to have ethical questions, Chris. I mean, the history of CoreCivic, formerly Corrections Corporation of America, is an atrocious one. And, you know, even Republicans didn't like the way things were operated at that facility. I mean, just the broader issue here of what ICE has been doing under the direction of this administration -- snatching people off the streets and throwing them into detention facilities -- if this is allowed to open, which apparently it is, we're going to see a lot more people from West Tennessee being snatched up, and we should be hearing more about this now from people in Shelby County, because we have the most to lose in terms of disruption and controversy because of this.
BLANK: Well, there was also some heated debate at the Shelby County Commission this week. Officials are still trying to figure out what to do about the Memphis-Shelby County Schools Board regarding some politically bad decision-making. Commissioners did agree that term limits would start next year. But let's talk about a couple of other proposals. The first is creating a recall process for board members. What's holding that up?
SANFORD: The primary thing that's holding it up: it's very complicated to do that part of the reform here. Because it could very likely involve a citizen petition to recall school board members and whether there is a violation of the state constitution with all of that. That part of this whole effort needs some more study. They were probably right to hold off on the recall part of this.
BLANK: And the other thing is aligning school board elections with county elections, which some say will engage more voters. Why is that not as simple as it seems?
SANFORD: There's a disagreement about when it should start. Some wanted to start next year when we do have regular county elections. And if that's the case, then you are limiting some of the school board members to just two-year terms. And so there's a real possibility if that happens, you will find a lawsuit there. The others on the county commission wanted to start in 2030 and give the school board plenty of time to sort through this, and there would only be a [single] two-year term -- that people would know about-- before they start campaigning. I mean, it's a very complicated thing here, Chris.
BLANK: And meanwhile, it seems like many people in the community want at least something to happen to the board rather quickly rather than waiting for another, you know, 5 years.
SANFORD: Well, some do, but let's be honest here, Chris. Some of the support that former Superintendent Marie Feagins got early on when they were going through the process of ousting her -- some of that support is beginning to wane primarily because of some actions she has taken recently. Some of it has been pretty irrational. And so, I think that's also playing into what the County Commission is trying to do to bring the school board in line with them and everything else that they're working on as it relates to the school board.
