MEMPHIS, Tenn. — It’s not every day that a veteran state lawmaker – earning about $24,000 a year in base pay – can fail to win reelection – and less than month later land another state job paying $165,000 annually. But that is happening, and the guy cashing in is defeated state representative John DeBerry of Memphis.
Effective Tuesday, DeBerry becomes a senior advisor to Governor Bill Lee and part of the governor’s executive leadership team. He also gets an office in the state capitol. How’s that for a golden parachute using taxpayer money?
You may recall that DeBerry, who served 24 years as a Democratic lawmaker, was kicked off the Democratic ballot this year and drummed out the party for voting too often with Republicans. DeBerry supported two of Governor Lee’s signature initiatives – school vouchers and anti-abortion legislation known as the fetal heartbeat bill. So the Republican supermajority extended the filing deadline allowing DeBerry to run as an Independent.
He still was soundly defeated in the November general election by Democratic nominee Torrey Harris. But now, DeBerry is getting the last laugh with a cushy job in the Lee administration. And the governor gets to claim a high profile African American politician as part of his leadership team.
Of course, there is nothing wrong with any of this. It’s how politics works. And it’s working out quite nicely – for John DeBerry. And that’s my point of view.