We published a story today looking at how interim Shelby County Mayor Joe Ford is showing sympathy to the concerns of suburban voters -- despite the fact that an overwhelming majority of voters in the May 4 Democratic primary will be citizens of Memphis.
Ford's explanation: That he's a straight shooter and that as mayor of Shelby County he will make decisions that are best for Shelby County as a whole. A more cynical analysis -- Ford really does believe, as he told us last week, that he's already cruising to a primary win and positioning himself to compete for county votes against Republican Sheriff Mark Luttrell in the Aug. 5 general election.
It definitely creates a sharp contrast for voters sizing up Ford and his most formidable opponent, Shelby County Commissioner Deidre Malone. General Sessions Court Clerk Otis Jackson is also running, but the most attention he has been receiving lately has come from investigators -- including the FBI -- applying scrutiny to his office.
On the issue of single-source school funding for Memphis City Schools, Malone took a leadership role in an ad-hoc committee that eventually recommended Shelby County take over all funding responsibility for MCS by gradually taking over the additional funding the City of Memphis has historically provided (and that courts have ruled must continue to be part of the MCS funding mix). Ford said he is opposed to single-source funding and believes that transferring city responsibility to the county would unfairly raise taxes on county taxpayers (though it would effectively lower them for Memphis taxpayers).
Ford has also come out opposed to consolidation, an issue supported by a majority of Memphis residents but strongly opposed by suburban constituents. Malone was a leader in bringing about the the formation of the Memphis and Shelby County Metro Charter Commission that is charged with creating a charter for a metropolitan government that would merge city and county governments. Malone and Luttrell have each said they will wait until that document is created in August, in time for the Nov. 2 ballot, before making a commitment.
Here is the -- how shall we say? -- money quote from Ford (who now lives in a house in Bartlett worth $391,000):
Ford's explanation: That he's a straight shooter and that as mayor of Shelby County he will make decisions that are best for Shelby County as a whole. A more cynical analysis -- Ford really does believe, as he told us last week, that he's already cruising to a primary win and positioning himself to compete for county votes against Republican Sheriff Mark Luttrell in the Aug. 5 general election.
It definitely creates a sharp contrast for voters sizing up Ford and his most formidable opponent, Shelby County Commissioner Deidre Malone. General Sessions Court Clerk Otis Jackson is also running, but the most attention he has been receiving lately has come from investigators -- including the FBI -- applying scrutiny to his office.
On the issue of single-source school funding for Memphis City Schools, Malone took a leadership role in an ad-hoc committee that eventually recommended Shelby County take over all funding responsibility for MCS by gradually taking over the additional funding the City of Memphis has historically provided (and that courts have ruled must continue to be part of the MCS funding mix). Ford said he is opposed to single-source funding and believes that transferring city responsibility to the county would unfairly raise taxes on county taxpayers (though it would effectively lower them for Memphis taxpayers).
Ford has also come out opposed to consolidation, an issue supported by a majority of Memphis residents but strongly opposed by suburban constituents. Malone was a leader in bringing about the the formation of the Memphis and Shelby County Metro Charter Commission that is charged with creating a charter for a metropolitan government that would merge city and county governments. Malone and Luttrell have each said they will wait until that document is created in August, in time for the Nov. 2 ballot, before making a commitment.
Here is the -- how shall we say? -- money quote from Ford (who now lives in a house in Bartlett worth $391,000):
"Look out in Germantown and Collierville; the sizes of those houses and $300,000, $400,000 and $500,000 homes -- they are already paying triple the taxes citizens of Memphis are paying," Ford said. "County citizens don't ask for much. What do they get for their taxes? Nothing other than the schools."
He went on: "In the county, they don't use the jail. They don't use The Med. They don't use those facilities."
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