WKNO TRANSCRIPT
CHRISTOPHER BLANK (Host): If there's one thing local politicians can agree on, it's that the drop in violent crime over the past year has made a huge impact on Memphis. The city is by almost every measure safer than it has been in a long time. But when it comes to who or what gets the credit, officials are a bit more circumspect. With us again to talk about that and other issues is political analyst Otis Sanford. Welcome back.
OTIS SANFORD: Thank you, Chris. Good to be with you.
BLANK: Well, Otis, to start with, Republicans and Democrats obviously have some differences over the Memphis Safe Task Force. And now that we're in campaign season, politicians are looking to cash in on the results. As you know, President Donald Trump plans to visit Memphis on Monday. And in the state legislature, Republicans want to honor Gov. Bill Lee with his leadership in getting all this help. Setting aside all the other issues going on in the country, Can we say now that this level of intense intervention was not only needed, but that it worked?
SANFORD: Oh, I definitely think we can say it worked. Overall, crime is definitely down and you do have to give some of the credit -- and a lot of the credit -- to the increase in law enforcement in this town. You know, when you have people walking around with high-powered guns and uniforms on all over the place, or certainly in key areas, it will drive down crime.
BLANK: Well, why the pushback to Donald Trump coming to the city and maybe taking credit for some of that?
SANFORD: Well, because primarily Donald Trump is coming for a photo op. He needs to be in a place where he can bask in some kind of victory. And he has chosen Memphis for that because he will not get any pushback from coming here. At least, not any from most of the elected officials in the city and county.
BLANK: This week when the legislature went to congratulate Gov. Lee for the Memphis Safe Task Force, why did Democrats have objections to that?
SANFORD: Well, from what I understand, the objections had to do with the lack of discussion or debate about it, because the sponsor, Rep. Vaughn from here in Shelby County, had a motion that went straight to a vote and not any discussion. Let's remember now, Gov. Lee, at first, was not going to send the National Guard to Memphis. He didn't think it was needed. But he then was contacted by the US senators from Tennessee and probably from the White House as well, and he quickly changed his stance on that. So, I think the Democrats just wanted to get on record that this is not some crowning achievement in their view.
BLANK: You know, I wonder if there is a big picture thing happening here, when it comes to the Trump Administration and it's clash with liberal communities like Memphis. This week, for example, Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett spoke at Rhodes College, which is her alma mater. And as Geoff Calkins pointed out in a column, in the past this would have been a huge event. But even Rhodes kind of downplayed it and kept it closed just for students and faculty. What does that say to you about our community's interaction with government and politics.
SANFORD: I do believe that Rhodes was just being careful here to cut down on any possible protest that could overshadow her visit. Where the president is concerned, you know, he has deliberately picked fights with Democratic and liberal cities. So, the fact that he relishes this kind of controversy means that he has no problem with it.
BLANK: Well, let's look at a few other pressing matters this week. Just a few weeks ago, the Memphis-Shelby County Schools Board decided to make Roderick Richmond the permanent superintendent. But they backtracked this week saying now was not the time for that. They are keeping the interim title in place. What's going on there?
SANFORD: Well, first thing that's going on is the school board just cannot get its act together on being decisive. I don't think they ever should have made the decision about making Richmond permanent if they were not going to stick to it. And the reason they're not sticking to it is because the state takeover really is going to happen. And the findings of the forensic audit is probably not going to make the school system look good. And so, if both those things happen, then Richmond could be on the outs permanently and they would have to pay a huge payout to him if he were the permanent superintendent instead of just an interim. So, I think that they looked at what's coming down the road and decided to backtrack, but they never should have done it in the first place because it makes them look very dysfunctional.
