WKNO TRANSCRIPT
CHRISTOPHER BLANK (Host): A new report is now showing that Memphis crime is half of what it was a year ago. The numbers were presented at a city council meeting this week. With us again to talk about these and other numbers is political analyst Otis Sanford. Welcome back.
OTIS SANFORD: Thank you, Chris. My pleasure.
BLANK: Otis, if these statistics are accurate, President Trump's Memphis Safe Task Force shows that a flood of law enforcement -- and we're talking about a thousand people here -- can take a major bite out of crime. Does this vindicate some of the supporters?
SANFORD: Well, I think it does and that while crime was already going down, it has continued to drop in a very precipitous way since the task force started. They can take a victory lap on this, if we're just talking about the task force working in tandem with the police to arrest dangerous criminals and we don't include the ICE and immigration part of it, absolutely, it has been a benefit for Memphis.
BLANK: Back in the fall, former Memphis police director Buddy Chapman told me that once all this extra help goes home, crime will just trickle back in. So, what are local officials saying about sustainability?
SANFORD: Chief C.J. Davis commented on this recently that they want some assurances, and I think they're getting them from the US Attorney and others in the federal government -- and the governor --to continue to have a strong presence here with various law enforcement agencies at the federal and state level. Gov. Lee is still committed to keeping about 100 or so highway patrol here. So the sustainability here where the city is concerned is keeping at least a generous number to continue to make a difference here. And people do feel safer, I believe.
BLANK: Turning to state politics, State Sen. Brent Taylor, whose district is in East Shelby County, he's running for re-election on the coattails of the Memphis Task Force. The Tennessee Lookout reported this week that he's got almost a million dollars in campaign funding. He's the second-highest funded of any Tennessee Republican this year. Why is that of interest to local voters?
SANFORD: For most voters, it's sort of proof that he is using his megaphone in a very effective way. He politics every day, especially on social media, and it's paying off in terms of getting campaign resources. I think in the long run, while he is not considered for any major leadership in the state senate right now, the fact that he is showing to be a very good fundraiser -- in this case, he provided $600,000 of his own money -- I think that will give him some credibility among state Republicans that he could be headed for even more leadership in Nashville.
BLANK: Is his seat in danger at all? Because if you look at his social media and the way he attacked some of the Democratic candidates who just announced their candidacy, calling them names and really going on the attack, you would think he's really worried about this.
SANFORD: No. He's not in danger of losing the seat. But Brent Taylor's persona over the last couple of years has been a very nasty persona. He calls a lot of people names, including me. And that's the way he has decided to be an elected politician. It's to denigrate people, use sophomoric and juvenile terms. It's really disgraceful, honestly, and it's certainly beneath the dignity of an elected official. But that's his modus operandi now, even though he is not in any danger of losing that seat.
BLANK: A couple of other headlines to think about this week. The position of Germantown mayor could soon be full time. It seems like the city is big enough for it, but there's been a little pushback, right, Otis?
SANFORD: Yeah, it has. And I think the primary pushback has come from the fact that it wasn't clearly explained what they were trying to do. When they came up with this referendum to ask the Germantown voters if they wanted their mayor to be full time, it did not specifically say that anybody who won the seat had to give up any job that they had. It didn't say that. So, that has caused a little pushback. I'm not sure that the current mayor likes it very much. So, that's the reason. It just wasn't clearly explained when it was approved.
BLANK: And circling back around to crime: some recent poll numbers from the Shelby County Crime Commission show that 77% of Memphians are now in support of building a new jail. That's over other priorities like a new Regional One and new schools. Is a new jail going to become a bigger issue for the campaigns for politicians, for maybe even the future Shelby County mayor?
SANFORD: Oh, I think so. And some of that is tied to the fact that the task force has been arresting a lot more people. And I think that's what's driving up the support for a new jail. The new jail has been discussed in some forums, but I think it will become even more of a bigger issue as this campaign moves along. Both in for the primary and for the general election.
