WKNO TRANSCRIPT
CHRISTOPHER BLANK (Host): Data centers are becoming one of the biggest problems for politicians and government officials today. Memphis Mayor Paul Young is the latest to face growing public backlash. With us to talk about that is political analyst Otis Sanford. Welcome back.
OTIS SANFORD: Great to be back with you, Chris.
BLANK: Well, let's start with the most recent controversy. Many people have been frustrated with Mayor Young's position on Elon Musk and SpaceXAI. And for people who care about the water, the air, the noise, or the energy use, they think that government needs to be more involved. But here's the mayor speaking on a recent panel discussion with black lawmakers in Washington DC.
PAUL YOUNG: This is the biggest thing happening in the global economy. So it's up to us to figure out are we going to just say put a fence around our communities, we don't want to play a part in the global economy or the future? Or are we going to say let's figure this thing out. We had to figure it out in real time.
BLANK: Otis, is the mayor figuring this one out to the satisfaction of the community?
SANFORD: Well, there are a lot of people in the community who would say no. They would say that instead of figuring out, he's giving in. That may or may not be true, but I do think that the mayor needs to be more specific in saying what he is doing to protect the community from the issues that clearly are there involving data centers.
BLANK: Well, so this brings us to, I think, a more Memphis-flavored dispute. And this was when local attorney Henry Reaves really got under Paul Young's skin with a tweet that sort of brought into question the mayor's racial bonafides. And his implication was that Young is in the pockets of big business and not looking out for the Black community. Why did this strike such a nerve with Mayor Young?
SANFORD: Well, I mean, obviously, Mayor Young is an African-American man and he doesn't like being called a sellout. And the fact that Henry Reaves, who I do think went too far, Chris, by using the B-word and some of his other language, that was out of bounds. And of course, the mayor is trying to have it both ways to some degree. This one really ruffled his feathers a lot. And I think it was more the language than it was the criticism.
BLANK: But I do want to dig into the weight of that exchange because the mayor is starting his re-election campaign. And his whole vision until now has been public safety and economic growth. And many would say that these things have improved. But yet, as we saw from his last state of the city address, he didn't quite hit all the right notes with many residents. Why is that?
SANFORD: Even with reduction in crime, even with more revenue from data centers, there's this belief that all of those things came at a cost. The reduction in crime has not been without a lot of problems, especially for the Hispanic community and others. And a lot of people just don't see that the mayor is forceful enough in dealing with that. And the same goes for the data centers as well. So that's what's going on here, and that's why people are critical. And he's going to have to do a lot to shore up his support as we go into the next election cycle, which is really starting right now, honestly.
BLANK: And you you brought up the Memphis Safe Task Force. And a lot of people these days have an issue of transparency. These agencies aren't as transparent as maybe they should be. Mayor Young says he's just trying to be judicious, that he wants a seat at the table, which is why he hasn't been a louder critic of the groups. Politically, though, I wonder, Otis, do you think the mayor is sitting at the right table right now?
SANFORD: Maybe he is sitting at the right table. But I don't think he's doing a good enough job telling us what he's saying at that table. And what people are saying to him at that table that will ensure that Memphians are being looked out for.
BLANK: So when you add up the data centers and the Memphis Safe Task Force, do you think Paul Young is vulnerable to a political challenge during the next campaign?
SANFORD: In terms of people who are going to step forward and try to challenge him, I think he is going to get some competition. And I also understand that next year, which is the city election year, there will be a runoff in the mayor's race. That will be an interesting test as well. So yes, I think the mayor is going to face some challenges. If things don't improve from a standpoint of the community, you know, really believing that he's standing up for them, I think that the mayor will be in for a huge challenge here, depending on who is running in this in this race.
