tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12509286.post7268058464267609547..comments2024-03-01T07:43:16.529-06:00Comments on Smart City Memphis: Old Path Of Memphis Politics Makes Case For Young LeadershipUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12509286.post-14855616973815149102007-11-07T14:44:00.000-06:002007-11-07T14:44:00.000-06:00Those out of control people at M-Pact Memphis bett...Those out of control people at M-Pact Memphis better stop those threatening political actions of theirs - registering voters and telling them that they need to care about campaigns. Even trying to get people to exercise the basic tenets of good citizenship is too much for some politicians, I guess.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12509286.post-85576293959208830352007-11-07T13:53:00.000-06:002007-11-07T13:53:00.000-06:00SCC,There is an important postscript that needs to...SCC,<BR/><BR/>There is an important postscript that needs to be added to your post.<BR/><BR/>At the County Commission meeting earlier this week, the County Commission voted 8-1, with 3 abstentions (Chism, Brooks and Avery), to fund Memphis Fast Forward on the condition that no County funds go to MPACT's role in the plan (the same restriction applies to the City Council's funding authorization, by the way), and that no other Memphis ED funds go to fund MPACT's few political activities listed in the Fast Forward plan - otherwise, other Fast Forward plan funds CAN go to fund MPACT's role in talent recruitment and retention.<BR/><BR/>While it is unfortunate that the county chose to restrict its funds this way, it's significant that 8 County Commissioners voted to allow other Fast Forward plan funds to be used by MPACT for non-political purposes.<BR/><BR/>As you point out, the funding resolution that came before the Commission would have prohibited any Fast Forward funds from going to MPACT at all...as you say so well, an old path and a dysfunctional one, since it was clear that corporate funders of Fast Forward could have simply funded MPACT outside the plan.<BR/><BR/>JW Gibson offered an amendment restricting just the county's appropriation, and Steve Mulroy refined the wording to address Chism's and Brooks' stated purpose, to make sure that if the county approved the funding, it made sure that no Fast Forward plan funds from any source were spent on political activity. <BR/><BR/>Once the Commission voted 8-4 for those amendments - i.e., not to allow Chism and Brooks and, for that matter, the Chamber, to throw MPACT under the bus, Brooks and Chism had no choice but to come clean and admit that their real motivation was to destroy MPACT (and by association New Path).<BR/><BR/>We should be proud that 8 of our County Commissioners, 5 Democrats and 3 Republicans, didn't settle for letting those two regressionists make them look foolish and petty. They cast a vote for progressive young people this week, and we should lift that up.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12509286.post-19785745474377678982007-11-07T12:35:00.000-06:002007-11-07T12:35:00.000-06:00Basically, I think we just need to understand some...Basically, I think we just need to <A HREF="http://55-40.blogspot.com/2007/11/simple.html" REL="nofollow">understand something</A>:<BR/><BR/>Here in Memphis, we all live on the Plantation. If we don't want to get whupped, we just need to get with the program and be nice, and we'll be taken care of. Those of us who aspire to someday go up the big hill and live in the plantation house, well, there are organizations we can join, ways we can serve. The other choice, of course, is to catch a train.bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14730299223683907051noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12509286.post-31313813080127805832007-11-07T11:09:00.000-06:002007-11-07T11:09:00.000-06:00This is truly depressing. I’m one of the many youn...This is truly depressing. I’m one of the many young people who moved to Memphis and left soon after. A variety of circumstances contributed to my departure, and not all of them had to do directly with Memphis. But what I can say is that Memphis didn’t make a very strong argument for staying. Mobility and option for young workers like me are incredibly tempting. We don’t have to stay and make a situation better. We can leave, and leave quickly. I’m not endorsing that sentiment, and MPACT and NEW PATH clearly want to stick it out and create change, but Memphis has something a lot of struggling cities don't have: A solid core of young, creative talent that wants to stay. <BR/> <BR/>But in my short time in Memphis, I saw, both in the private and public sectors, an entrenched group of leaders who, while supportive of bringing younger more creative talent to Memphis, were simultaneously threatened. On some level this is human nature. I still believe a lot of these people want more young talent to migrate to the city. Increased spending, increased revenues, increased housing values, increased profit from hiring talented people, the benefits are numerous. But I also got the feeling that everyone in Memphis was one job away from waiting tables, one job away from losing their house, one job away from packing it in--and that covering your ass was the most important skill to have.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12509286.post-76104113348476817122007-11-07T10:54:00.000-06:002007-11-07T10:54:00.000-06:00Well, I'm black and I know it. In this city, who'...Well, I'm black and I know it. In this city, who'd ever let you forget it? But at MPACT, it's a nonissue. We want to improve Memphis, which means we want to improve the lives of African-Americans caught in poverty. <BR/><BR/>And we're not trying to blur the lines between Democrats and Republican. Neither of the parties are contributing to the kind of city we want to live in so the kind of rhetoric of black and know it may sound smart, but it's as irrelevant as the politicians of both parties here.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12509286.post-41642829319724005322007-11-07T10:51:00.000-06:002007-11-07T10:51:00.000-06:00So these hack politicians get a pass because "no r...So these hack politicians get a pass because "no rational politican is going to fund his/her opposition." Anonymous is just wrong. First, who would say they're rational, but second, this isn't their opposition. If Mpact is supposed to be a group of elites, they don't vote in their districts anyway. And if they want to quit giving money to organizations whose members oppose their positions, there's nobody left.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12509286.post-50078107622083763862007-11-07T10:47:00.000-06:002007-11-07T10:47:00.000-06:00There's so much BS about keeping young people in M...There's so much BS about keeping young people in Memphis, how important we are to the future, and why we should spend our lives here. Then, there's the reality. We're given no real voice, we recycle the same old faces on public boards, we aren't asked to get involved in any real way in decisions, and when we do try to have a say, we get slapped by actions like this. Every day, most of us ask ourselves why are we here. It gets harder to answer.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12509286.post-27986231477532208662007-11-07T10:39:00.000-06:002007-11-07T10:39:00.000-06:00"Black and Know it" is on to something. There is a..."Black and Know it" is on to something. There is a trend to blur the line between republican and democrat because of changing demographics. But there is another thing to keep in mind. Memphis/Shelby county politics doesn't line up along ideological lines, rather it is all about race and class. It is one of the reasons when people outside memphis look at our politics things don't seem to line up as in other places. <BR/><BR/>Since race and class are the primary drivers of Memphis politics, it is no surprise that Brooks and Chism aren't very receptive to MPACT Memphis and New Path. To a lot of folks, New Path looks like an astroturf organization for Memphis Tomorrow. Which would explain the class side of the political equation. It smells like rich elites are continuing to try manipulate their control over the course of the city. In fact, the old banner on the New Path website had in pale lettering "Memphis Tomorrow" written on it. That's not exactly subtle. <BR/><BR/>In politics, you measure a person by the company they keep, so MPACT is going to have enemies because New Path has gotten active in local campaigns. Plus, no rational politican is going to fund his/her opposition. Chism hasn't gotten to his position by handing out bullets to current or future rivals. Throw in the fast and loose playing of nonprofits rules along with Leadership Memphis' role, I'm surprised Chism and Brooks hasn't put up more of a stink.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12509286.post-77769738864704765132007-11-07T10:09:00.000-06:002007-11-07T10:09:00.000-06:00FYI - Jeni Stephens Thompson has been named the ne...FYI - Jeni Stephens Thompson has been named the new chairwoman of the MPACT Memphis board of directors. Thompson is the director of marketing and development for the Memphis Bioworks Foundation. She has a bachelor's degree in communications from Lambuth University and a master's degree in education from Vanderbilt University. Thompson serves as the programs chair for the Association of Fundraising Professionals and sits on the Playhouse on the Square board. She is a member of the Leadership Memphis Class of 2008.Tom Guleffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15539315456809739338noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12509286.post-35588420345239969202007-11-07T10:04:00.000-06:002007-11-07T10:04:00.000-06:00I would advise Mpact members, New Path members, in...I would advise Mpact members, New Path members, in fact, all younger folks with education, ambition, skills, etc. to get out of Memphis. Move. This is a dying city and it's not worth fighting over the few scraps that will be left in the years to come. move somewhere else where it isn't a zero sum game of disgusting politics and watch the rats decimate each other from long distance over the next few years. <BR/>Hopefully I'll be able to follow, although I'm not young anymore. I've told each of my children not to return to memphis after college.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12509286.post-62567044547598875782007-11-06T22:56:00.000-06:002007-11-06T22:56:00.000-06:00New Path and MPACT are but subtle ways of blurring...New Path and MPACT are but subtle ways of blurring the line of distinction between the traditional terms - Democrat and Republican! <BR/><BR/>Memphis and its surrounding SMSA is already 50% African American and the area's REPUBLICANS have decided the "natural dis-taste" Blacks have for the racist politics of the Republican Party is too much to overcome using the "tradional brands." Case and point, did you notice - neither Haley Barbour nor John Eaves told Missippissians which PARTY they represented!!! Trust me - RACE MATTERS and PARTY MATTERS TOO!<BR/><BR/>By the time this current "buppie/yuppie" generation finally sink their soci-economic roots in America some NEW GROUPS will have risen to REPLACE them too - however by such time they too will have been known as Democrats and Republicans!!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12509286.post-70215639309746298002007-11-06T19:43:00.000-06:002007-11-06T19:43:00.000-06:00LWC: This is not to say that some of the members a...LWC: This is not to say that some of the members are politically active, thank God, but it is to say that the organization itself is not.Smart City Consultinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13985783340016474051noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12509286.post-28691385809970848392007-11-06T18:19:00.000-06:002007-11-06T18:19:00.000-06:00SCC,While I think Commissioners Chism and Brooks w...SCC,<BR/><BR/>While I think Commissioners Chism and Brooks were wrong, and I know some of the new Path folks and like them and what they do, I am in fact taking issue with the idea that MPACT has not tried to do politics.<BR/><BR/>When John Pellicciotti ran against Mike Kernell a few years ago, I was on their mailing list when I noticed that a prominent member of the business community in Memphis (email me for the name) would match any MPACT member's contribution to Pellicciotti's campaign, which is blatantly illegal. I immediately emailed their head at the time, was told they don't do politics, I emailed back to advise that they could well lose their 401 (c)3 status if they didn't stop this immediately, and that I WOULD pursue it.<BR/><BR/>Then, I was dropped from the mailing list, emailed them back to complain, then was restored to the list, receiving a newsletter that said they could not do that. No kidding.<BR/><BR/>Now, to my knowledge, they haven't tried such foolishness since, so hopefully they have learned from it.Steve Steffenshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08104688163653632284noreply@blogger.com