MEMPHIS, Tenn. — For Mayor Jim Strickland, Tuesday was one of those days. After months of arguing in favor of giving folks the right to vote on police and fire residency requirements, he lost.
Even after council members voted to put the question on the ballot last year, this council voted to remove it.
This is one of those Memphis things.
Here’s the deal.
There are about 2,100 officers on the streets right now. A recent consultant report says the city needs 2,800. The city is having major problems in finding police recruits.
“A year or two from now, when we see a drop in the number of officers and an increase in the level of crime, I think we can point to the vote as a real pivotal moment," says Strickland.
A group of ministers congratulated council members.
Bishop Linwood Dillard of the Citadel of Deliverance says, “The Memphis City Council we believe demonstrated their sensitivity to this moment in our national history, and they showed a sensitivity to the voice of the people in their district.”
Council Chairman Patrice Robinson says they listened to the people, and that’s why they took away the people’s chance to vote on residency requirements.
It’s part of a plan, a plan she says doesn’t exist yet.
“This is the plan,” she says. “The plan is to create a plan that we can all embrace and work through. And it would be a plan we can visit and look at, and if something is not up to par, we can change it.”
Meanwhile Mayor Strickland says he still wants more officers.
“I get e-mails daily, or weekly, where people say they want more patrols. I got one last night from someone complaining about gunshots and street racing who said we need more of a presence.”