vibinc

Progressive Politics from Memphis

  • Profiles in Cowardice

    Backing off his support of the CLERB isn’t the first time the Mayor lost his backbone at the last second Monday, the Memphis City Council met with key stakeholders to finalize a draft ordinance that would give additional oversight of the Memphis Police Department. The Citizen Law Enforcement Review Board, an entity that has existed…

  • Congratulations Delegates #SCDP

    The Shelby County Democratic Party held the first part of their biennial convention Saturday, and with it comes a fresh crop of delegates to the Convention on March 28th. It doesn’t matter if you’ve already picked a candidate for Executive Committee to represent your House District, or if you’ve settled on a candidate for Chair,…

  • The Caucus is the first step to rebuild the party

    Today, the Shelby County Democratic Party will begin the process of selecting new leadership for the next two years at its Ward and Precinct Caucus. For the first time since 2007, I won’t be there. Truth be told, I haven’t been directly involved with the County Party since I resigned my post back in January…

  • Shakedown 2: Role Reversal

    After the announcement from Memphis City Hall that Jack Sammons would be taking over as the City’s CAO, I wrote this post, pondering the issue as either a shake-up or a shakedown. At the end of the post I posed a question: Is this shakeup the move of a leader who recognizes he’s got a…

  • Education: Tennessee’s Under-Funded Mandate

    The State of Tennessee recognizes the inherent value of education and encourages its support. The General Assembly shall provide for the maintenance, support and eligibility standards of a system of free public schools. The General Assembly may establish and support such postsecondary educational institutions, including public institutions of higher learning, as it determines. –Tenn. Const.…

  • A Shake-up, or a Shakedown?

    Monday’s announcement that Jack Sammons was Memphis Mayor A C Wharton’s choice to take over as the City’s CAO is only surprising in that it took so long to happen. The mayor’s administration has been mired in criticism from city employees, and citizens who don’t feel they’re getting much in the way of anything (tax…