"...and all the pieces matter." - Freamon

Written by: Brad Watkins on Jun 14, 2008 2:00 PM EDT

 Hello all, yeah it's been a while, and let me tell you, things have not been all that rosy for your old Uncle Brad. For those of you who do not know I was the victim of identity theft back around the end of 2006. Oh and just in case you ever wondered what that was like.....imagine getting kicked in the crotch by Pele, Gene Kelly and Bruce Lee all at once. That dark chapter is now slowly drawing to a close and so I am slowly starting to get back into the game. So I thought just to get the rust out, I would touch base with you all on just a few small points.

-Obama is on his way "Thankfully", but I think there is also a way to promote real change right here in Memphis. The Memphis Charter Commission has been quite busy with a growing list of proposed changes to the City Charter that the people of Memphis will have the opportunity to vote on this November. Let's take a very brief moment to look over a few of these proposals.

-TERM LIMITS, for both the City Council and the Mayor will be on the ballot, limiting each to two consecutive terms each. Now it is important to note that these term limits will be prospective not retroactive, in other words the existing Council members would be allowed to serve another two terms, Mayor Herenton as well.

-MLG&W,If the utility Can or Cannot be sold without a public referendum, will be on the ballot as well. "This should be a no-brainer"

-STAGGERED TERMS FOR CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS, This one is a little complex, originally proposed by Councilman/Commissioner Myron Lowery back in 2006, this would have the people of Memphis elect half the City Council every two years. Thus ensuring that there could not be a total over turn of that body in a single election. This also would allow the Councilmen on the staggered term to be able to run for Mayor without giving up their seat on the Council.

This could be done, by either having half the council run for a two year shift, in 2011, and for re-election in 2013. OR could be created by having all of city Government run for a ONE year term in 2011 and then have half the Council run for a short two year term in 2012. Now while this may sound strange on the surface, by putting Memphis municipal elections on even years, Memphis could split the cost with the County as they would also have elections that year, thus saving Memphis an estimated 1 million dollars.

-IRV, Instant Runoff Voting, this one is a doozy....In an IRV system voters would be allowed to rank candidates in order of preference "1", "2","3","4",..etc If a candidate gets a majority of the 1st place votes then he or she wins. If not then the candidate with the fewest 1st place votes is eliminated. 1st place votes for that candidate are then redistributed to the remaining candidates based on the 2nd place votes. If there is a candidate with a majority, he/she wins.
NOTE-Subject to available technology and approval of the Election Commission.
NOTE-IRV is cheaper and has better turnout than our current system.
NOTE-It would solve the spoiler problem.

-CONTRACT AUTHORITY,This motion would declare that the Mayor of Memphis be named the sole contracting authority and that contracts at or above a certain amount must be approved by the City Council.
NOTE,-The amount in question has yet to be set, but proposal have been made in the amounts of 75,000 dollars as well as 50,000. There is also some wrangling as to how this would impact the sale of municipal bonds.

-ETHICS, This one makes me a little nervous, If any elected or appointed official is charged with official malfeasance, he or she shall be suspended from duties with pay until such a time where as the issue has been resolved.
NOTE-Commissioner Lowery stated at the March 20th meeting that if such a referendum is approved by the voters and added to the charter, suspensions are automatic and are not subject to the approval of the City Council.

PERSONAL NOTE- I am trying to find out more about this one "AS IT IS CURRENTLY DEFINED" it raises too many questions.
A. Trials take a long time, who would represent these districts in the interim.

B.Who would select these people?

C.It opens the door to political witch hunts, as one could trump up charges on political rivals and railroad legislation down the Council's throats.

I am sure that the Commission is looking into and considering the finer points of all these issues, but i'll keep you posted on the progress.

And now, I'm off to watch some DVR'ed Doctor Who

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Location: Memphis, TN 38104