WKNO TRANSCRIPT
CHRISTOPHER BLANK (Host): Early voting for the Democratic primary is five months away now and the top local job on the ballot is the next Shelby County Mayor. Five declared candidates took part in a forum this week in Germantown. With us again to talk about that and other issues is political analyst Otis Sanford. Welcome back.
OTIS SANFORD: Thank you, Chris. My pleasure.
BLANK: First off, Otis, these five Democrats are all seasoned local politicians or government officials. Whose message stands out to you here at the beginning?
SANFORD: Well, it's hard to say because it's so early. Of the five who were at the forum, at least four of them tried to distance themselves from the current county mayor, Lee Harris. And Harold Collins, who is the CAO for the mayor, is sort of embracing him. That was kind of noticeable. But I think the one thing that stood out with a lot of them with the exception of JB Smiley is that they say that they want to try to find a way to work with Republicans both locally and in the state government and we'll see how that goes. Sometimes the Republicans say it's either my way or the highway. But that's really the one thing that stood out. There was nothing of real complete substance this early in the campaign.
BLANK: Given the number of recent arrests by the Memphis Safe Task Force, Shelby County Jail is well over capacity. Not only that, we're seeing that just getting people booked into the jail is nearly a 3-day process. Recently, Sheriff Floyd Bonner says he's been able to find temporary housing and other facilities. But as you know, there's also an enormous backlog of cases, meaning it could take years before some prisoners ever see a courtroom. All of this factors into ongoing talk about a new criminal justice complex. Were you surprised at all that none of the five candidates sees this as a top priority?
SANFORD: I guess I was surprised because it's obvious that it's something that we need, but I guess I was not surprised and that I don't think any of these candidates want to be prioritizing incarceration over, say for example, education or health care. But I do believe that as we get into this campaign, there's going to have to be a meaningful discussion among these candidates about what you plan to do to try to facilitate a criminal justice complex. I mean, I think we can talk about all of those things.
BLANK: So, what do you think is the top priority for Shelby County voters?
SANFORD: Oh, I think crime is the top priority. It was before the task force started and it certainly is top of mind now. So, I think crime is still the number one issue that even though the county mayor does not directly get involved in the crime issue -- I mean, the mayor is not in charge of the sheriff's department, doesn't run a law enforcement agency himself or herself -- but crime is going to be a top issue. I think continued improvement in the educational system is going to be up there. And I do think that healthcare, both with the Shelby County Health Department, which the county mayor is in charge of, is going to be a top discussion as well, but you got to give the nod to crime right now.
BLANK: Well, finally, Otis, on a similar subject of crime and punishment, you recently pointed out in a column that some local politicians have been very loud on criticizing prosecutors for not being tougher on violent crime. But they've also been silent on the fact that President Donald Trump has been pardoning Republican lawmakers convicted of corruption and fraud. And we're talking about former state senator Brian Kelsey and house speaker Glen Casada, both spared jail on the eve of long prison sentences. There was also another pardon of the husband of an East Tennessee representative. Putting party aside, shouldn't every Tennesseean be concerned when their elected officials -- or people connected to elected officials -- convicted in fair trials get released because of politics? And we should say there have been plenty of Democrats convicted of the same things in the past as well.
SANFORD: Well, that's true, but I don't know of many Democrats, especially from Tennessee, who got pardons. I'm not aware of that to any great degree. Tennesseans should absolutely be alarmed about this, especially as it relates to the former House Speaker Glen Casada. The crimes that Glen Casada was convicted of had to do with defrauding taxpayers and basically hoodwinking members of his own party by setting up a sham company to get state money. We should be alarmed about that. And I do believe -- and I said that in the column -- that it's kind of hypocritical for a lot of Republicans to be preaching and parading around about fighting crime and you are not saying anything about Glen Casada, who won't serve a day in jail and they were serious crimes that defrauded all of us. And so yes, we should be completely alarmed about that.
