MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Anyone who closely follows politics knows that campaigning may be exhausting – but governing is often downright messy. And when elected leaders in local government refuse to get along – well, things can go off the rails pretty quickly. Such is the case with the Memphis City Council – and wouldn’t you know it, the latest brouhaha involves a member of the Ford family - in this case, Councilman Edmund Ford Sr.
We should have known it would only be a matter of time before Ford started acting up after he won back his old seat in 2019. When he previously served on the council from 1999 to 2007, Ford was notorious for making inappropriate outbursts during council meetings, and he has not mellowed at all. This week, he needlessly berated the city’s public works director – and made highly offensive comments against fellow councilman Martavious Jones.
It got so ugly that councilman J. B. Smiley Jr. has now filed an ethics complaint against Ford. Smiley wants council rules calling for an unruly spectator to be ejected from meetings – to also apply to council members. In other words, if Ford continues to be disruptive, he can be kicked out.
That might be a stretch, but I understand Smiley’s frustration. It seems some elected leaders at every level of government have lost all sense of decorum. Ford is one of those leaders, and it’s unfortunate that he has not improved with age. And that’s my point of view.