MEMPHIS, Tenn. (localmemphis.com) – Autozone park is a landmark in Memphis. On the political scene right now Jim Strickland is heading into that situation as Mayor.
He likes the job. Jim Strickland likes being Mayor. It also helps when you win re-election by a landslide.
“We made a real impact hiring more police officers,” Mayor Strickland said, “not so much in just the last year, but in the last 28 or 29 months. We’ve added about 200 more officers.”
You’ve probably heard him say this before. During the election Strickland talked of how “Memphis has momentum.” Not the most original phrase, and Jim Strickland is certainly not flashy. But more than 60% of you folks felt he needed to stay another four years to get the job done.
“We still have hundreds more officers to go, so we have had success,” the Mayor said. “But we’ve got to keep our nose to the grindstone, keep working to hire more police officers.”
Memphis still has crime problems. He knows that. We saw an increase in the number of people who live at or below the poverty level. Strickland knows that too.
“We’ve made tremendous progress,” he says. “There are a lot of great things going on. But we have real challenges ahead of us. So, it’s okay to celebrate the great things going on, but also recognize the challenges. It’s not all great, and it’s not all terrible.”
The poverty level. If he can get jobs for more people, things will change, he says, but only with a qualified workforce.
“We are the only state in the country,” he said, “that has free workforce development. We’re trying to get married young people to the community colleges or tech schools, so they can get training so they can get jobs that pay $17 or $18 an hour.”
Mayor Strickland will take the oath of office for his second and final four year term as Mayor January 1 at noon.