Thursday, February 18, 2010
Going Rogue
A "conversation" about reinventing government begs the question.
Posted by John Branston on Thu, Feb 18, 2010 at 4:00 AM
Having a "conversation" with Shelby County residents about consolidation is like having a conversation with your spouse or significant other about your relationship.
You can talk yourself into believing you're being grown up and tactful, but sooner or later — probably sooner — you are going to be in deep trouble.
Might as well come right out and say, "Does this new dress make me look fat?" or "You know, that marriage therapist on Oprah said some interesting things" or "I'm thinking of hiking the Appalachian Trail to clear my head."
All of your delicacy is for naught. Within three milliseconds, the response will be, "So what's your point?" In short order you are busted, just like Memphis and consolidation proponents, whoever they are, are going to be busted.
I have no hard position on the merits of consolidating city and county governments. As a reporter, I've read at least 100 stories and columns about it in the last 25 years. Sometimes on certain issues, there is something to be said for Greater Memphis speaking with one voice. If the One Great Leader of consolidated government were someone on the order of FedEx founder Fred Smith, it would be one thing. But if it were someone on the order of Willie Herenton, it would be another thing. As for tax fairness, that depends on where you happen to be standing when the deal is done.
Anyone with an ounce of civic and political awareness knows this. And that is why the niceties of the "conversation" about reinventing government will crash headlong into the realities of "What's in it for me?" if and when it comes to a vote this year.
I thought of this last week when I was interviewing Bill Rhodes, the chief executive of AutoZone, for a story in one of our sister publications. He's a good story if you're trying to sell the positives of Memphis. In addition to running a Fortune 500 company, Rhodes, a 44-year-old Craigmont High School graduate, is chairman of the board of Memphis Tomorrow, the top-tier leadership "do tank" that has a vested interest in the conversation about consolidation. On the morning of our interview, however, political farce in Memphis and Shelby County was in full flower on the front page of The Commercial Appeal. Politicians were going rogue faster than Sarah Palin can say "hopey-changey thing."
Interim county mayor Joe Ford was "pissed off" about something and might or might not decide to run. County commissioner Mike Ritz took it upon himself to write a civil rights complaint to the Justice Department and give state government an out on the Med. County commissioner and constitutional law professor Steve Mulroy was elevating the demolished Zippin Pippin roller coaster to the importance of Marbury v. Madison.
Two observations are relevant to the consolidation conversation. One, if you were visiting Memphis last week and saw these stories you might wonder if this place had anything better to do. Two, for some people, "One Memphis" isn't going to trump political self-interest and a job.
If consolidation has any prospects in a referendum, then sooner or later backers are going to have to drop their on-the-one-hand, on-the-other-hand facade, get off the high road, and engage in retail politics. The resistance of entrenched county politicians could play in their favor with voters tired of the same-old, same-old. Getting people to vote for higher taxes — the likely impact of consolidation on county residents — could be just short of miraculous, but having a conversation isn't going to move the ball.
Maybe proponents don't want to be identified, or don't want to disturb a sleeping giant, or are planting a thousand seeds that will bloom in the summer. Or maybe there is no plan.
Americans enjoy a good show. Coy is out; in-your-face is in. Nothing is off limits in public conversation any more. Every time I turned on the TV last week, Jenny Sanford was outing her husband, the governor of South Carolina, as a cheap creep. Liberals were ripping into Palin and the Tea Party and conservatives were ripping into Obama. Our national town hall meeting runs on charismatic figures, plain talk, and bold positions — the simpler the better.
Make them laugh, make them cry, make them mad, and just stir them up was sound political advice when Robert Penn Warren wrote All the King's Men 70 years ago, and it's good advice today.
Comments (5)
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"Steve Mulroy was elevating the demolished Zippin Pippin roller coaster to the importance of Marbury v. Madison."
Bon mot, bon mot!
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www.RebuildGovernment.org * 347-8623
John:
Come to a meeting and you’ll see how open people become to the possibilities once they grasp the concept of entirely replacing two antiquated government edifices with a leaner modern government built to respond to the challenges and opportunities of 2010. We’re seeing that once people get engaged with the basic premise, they see that the status quo is insufficient and they start contributing ideas and get into a dialog.
At this point, why get distracted and bogged down by the potential politics when it won’t even be on the ballot until November? There is a Charter Commission. It is composed of people from inside and outside the city. It will create a new charter. Why not contribute actual ideas for the new charter rather than indulge in all the old, polarizing discussions? Instead of us vs. them, why not let’s try for WE?
The only people who can say they voted on previous charter referenda are pushing 60 now. Our discussions are revealing more open-mindedness than you assume, and even tonight, at the Charter Commission meeting, former Collierville mayor Linda Kerley spoke stridently about the open minds and spirit of participation she sees from suburban officials. She believes a “win-win” charter is possible. That’s the goal.
One more interesting development tonight. In one presentation, we saw comparisons between Memphis/Shelby and Jacksonville, Louisville, Nashville and Indianapolis. Memphis/Shelby County has 14,792 people in its municipal workforce (not counting schools) vs. 6,991 for Indy, 8,019 for Jacksonville, 7,543 for Louisville and 6,579 for Nashville.
Join the conversation. www.RebuildGovernment.org * 347-8623
RG: As they say on the speakers' tour, get their restroom rating. Where and when and who would lop off 6000-8000 municipal jobs? The inspection stations?
www.RebuildGovernment.org * 347-8623
When Jacksonville general counsel (and former mayoral chief of staff) Rick Mullaney was in town, he talked about how “change is scary for people” and that “there will be built-in opposition for various reasons.” Which is what I think you’re getting at, John. Here is how he explained Jacksonville’s success at stopping the rate of growth in government and turning the aircraft carrier around: “We did reduce the size of government, but we did it through attrition. But the government did become smaller. It was part of the goal, to make it more efficient, to make it more productive.”
The presentation last night (from Scott Sigman at the Memphis Chamber) made it clear that a much-larger percentage of Memphis/Shelby municipal budget goes to salary and benefits than places like Jacksonville, Indy, Louisville, Nashville. As Commissioner Billy Orgel pointed out, “They are providing more services with fewer employees.”
www.RebuildGovernment.org * 347-8623
RB, Memphis and Shelby County government function not only as providers of normal governmental services, like other municipal entities, but also as employers of last resort for folks who for lack of a better way of saying it, are, well...unemployable anywhere else. And those people all vote. And they aren't going to vote for something that's going to lop 6000 jobs and force them to compete in the private sector for scarce jobs with much more frugal benefits.
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