How is the rest of the state of Tennessee treating the landslide victory of Shelby County Mayor A C Wharton in the City of Memphis' special election Thursday?
The Tennesseean ran a long Q & A interview with the mayor-elect in its Sunday edition, with one of its pegs that Wharton is from just outside of Nashville in Lebanon, Tenn., and graduated from Tennessee State. Interestingly, Wharton presents himself as a "permanent outsider" in Memphis, despite having presided over the county since 2002 and having lived here since 1973:
"I'm a country boy who kind of made good, who is infatuated with and loves the city of Memphis. I moved here after law school. I'm the guy who sees all the potential here. I almost see the city through the eyes of a child, the way someone coming in from the country would probably do that.
I'm not barnacled down by all of the horrible racial things of the past that occurred in this city. I'm willing to look at each day anew. I'm not in the position of being able to say, well, I would work with you, sir, but your granddaddy once had my granddaddy kicked off a farm or had him arrested or whatever and it was because of his race.
So, I am probably sort of a permanent outsider when it comes to seeing what our city can do. I'm almost naive, and that's by choice. I don't really want to dig up bones and pull off scabs. I'm all into let's just plow forward. Obviously you need to know about the wrongdoings of the past so you won't repeat it in the future. I know that, but I don't let it blind me to the possibilities that lie ahead."
Much of what he says in the interview is a repackaging of campaign themes, though as he did in an interview with us on Friday, Wharton emphasized that it is now indisputable that he has political capital and he intends to spend some of it. Wharton told The Tennessean he'll continue to make the "uphill" push for city-county consolidation, supports finishing a deal with Bass Pro on The Pyramid, intends to continue being an "icon" for open government and will focus hard on enforcing existing legislation on illegal guns and lobbying for harsher punishments for crimes involving guns. He also indicated he may push for a new convention center, but not in the near term.
Wharton sounded optimistic about attracting companies and industries to Memphis who might have been reluctant because of the polarizing racial subtext to so many Memphis issues.
"We have been on the verge of taking off for decades, but our racial divisions have been the ice on the wings of our plane and that has held us at treetop levels, and I think, no, I know we are ready to fly with the big dogs now," Wharton said.
He added: "The people are ready to make some leaps and they want to make these leaps together. They're not black leaps or white leaps ... the city is saying let's make this leap together."
Until two year ago, I had been a resident of Memphis my entire life. Although the primary reason for leaving was career oriented, the way in which the former mayor polarized the city’s inhabitants made my decision to leave clear. I'm very impressed by Wharton's progressive thinking and team-oriented approach to tackling the city's problems. In particular, his non-racial approach will encourage business owners to expand in the city and encourage people to move to the area without fear of embarrassment from its political ramblings as exemplified by the former mayor. In contrast, Wharton’s more modern approach is much more forward-thinking – much like Nelson Mandela’s inaugural quote “We enter into a covenant that we shall build the society in which all South Africans, both black and white, will be able to walk tall, without any fear in their hearts, assured of their inalienable right to human dignity--a rainbow nation at peace with itself and the world.“ After all, Memphis has real problems that affect everyone including crime, low education, lack of opportunity, high taxes, etc… In other words, we’re all in this together. When real progress begins happening, more businesses will begin hiring and new industry will move to the area and it will be a win-win situation for all citizens. More business means more jobs; more jobs means more people; more people means more culture; more culture means a more attractive place to live which can make it easier for companies to find and hire creative individuals – For more on this, read some of Richard Florida’s work. Atlanta, “The city “too busy to hate” (also once the same size as Memphis) is one city who had this progressive vision as far back as the 1950’s. Who knows, if Wharton and his team can make serious progress and Memphis is no longer has the stigma of a racially divided city, I may make even make the decision to return in the future.
It would be unfair to judge Wharton's administration by its ability - or lack thereof - to solve deeply-rooted problems like crime, poverty, poorly educated and unmotivated workers, drug use, etc. These problems have taken generations to grow to their current severity, and will take at least several more generations to subside. Cultural change is measured in decades, not mayoral terms in office.
The most important thing AC Wharton can do for this city is to set a professional, civilized and optimistic tone at City Hall. The former Memphis mayor spent his last 5+ years writing some sad new chapters in the annals of dysfunctional politics. He conjured up almost every imaginable means of dividing the population by race and class, encouraging turmoil and discontent, embarrassing the city regionally and nationally, and forcing even the most proud and loyal Memphis residents to consider moving elsewhere.
At a campaign event last week, Mr. Wharton asked my wife and me if we live in the city. When we replied yes, he said "please stay". What a welcome contrast to Mr. Herenton's suggestion for us to get lost if we weren't happy with him.