Time for Shock Value: He's not a Shoe-In! Time for Deidre Malone & the Democratic Ticket

Last night, we kicked off the General Campaign of Deidre Malone for Shelby County Mayor with a fundraiser. We must raise money! Mark Luttrell will have all the corporate and Republican money. We won't match that but we will have enough to buy ads, pay for bill boards, canvassing, and run a campaign that you the Democratic voters will be proud of for a good victory.  I encourage you to spread the word that a ground swell undercurrent is coming.  Make yourself a committee of "one" to get Democrats elected.

Money does not win elections. If so, Dr. George Flinn would be in Congress and a sales tax increase on the poor would have been adopted. People who vote win elections. A vote for Deidre Malone is a vote for:

• Education-- Malone would have never thumbed her nose at Shelby County Schools when they asked for $51 million and Luttrell offered $13 million. And Malone will lead the effort to get the $57 million owed to Legacy Memphis City Schools.

• Health Care --Deidre Malone would not have squandered an opportunity to serve women's health care needs by trying to use a Republican stranglehold on Planned Parenthood.

• Economic Development --Malone recognizes the need to focus more attention on our small businesses and encourage development of new small businesses. They suffered through the tough times without PILOTS! Let's help them thrive because they are hiring Shelby County citizens.

• Public Safety --Deidre will ensure that the Sheriff's budget will get resources to keep our children safe and to development character building programs for conflict resolution in K-8. Let's change a culture of violence for some families. Why can't we have honor and respect for self and others as a value system for our community rather than survival of the baddest?

• And Deidre will not accept excuses or turn her head on victims of crime when they are ignored by our criminal justice system, i.e. the Rape Kits. Luttrell was the Sheriff and the Mayor while this happened and did he stop it?   Did he say, 

"Now, that I am the Mayor, I am going to find money to pay for Rape Kits that were ignored while I was Sheriff" ?

• And today, Luttrell suggests a 1% decrease in Memphis' taxes and a 5% tax decrease for areas outside of Memphis.  Now, do you understand who he represents?  Memphis is approximately 75% of Shelby but he is trying to help approximately 25%  outside of Shelby who had to raise their taxes for their municipal school district.  Thank you County Commissioners for seeing through this.  But, you tell me he is a nice guy.  Well, did you ask for Vaseline with that?   

Sure, he's a nice guy and waves at us in our churches; but what has that done for your educational system, health care, economic development of inner city businesses, and public safety.

I don't vote on "nice" unless you are running for "Mr. or Miss Congeniality" for High School or College Year Books. I vote for those who understand what "quality of life" means in my neighborhood. My politics is serious and personal. I am not angry, mad, black woman. But, I am a serious, straight no chaser, African American woman who is as happy as a room without a roof.  My ceiling has no glass for any of us! We just need to leap as high as we can to touch the sky and vote for Deidre Malone.

City Hall: "Until You Do Right by Me, Everything You Even Think about Gonna Fail."

I read an article in the CA and the City claims that the City did not rebound from the stock plunge and that and other reasons that were not listed were the events that left our Pension fund insufficient.  I had to laugh because if everybody rebounded from the stock plunge but Memphis, you should hire a new managing firm handling our funds.  

 Here's another side of that answer that was not mentioned.  This City Council and Mayor did not pay their full bills for the Pension Plan for 6, now 7 years, and gave us 22 cents back on the property tax rate (which was about $50 a year on a $100,000 house) rather than pay that $17 million on the pension.  They may have made partial payments but if you pay only a half of your house note for seven years, it won't be long before you are foreclosed.

I find it sad that at a time when our Nation through Congress is questioning the level of health care that our soldiers receive from Veteran Hospitals, our city administration makes a proposal that could leave its first line defenders without healthcare or in poverty trying to pay for it.  I guess they see the Affordable Healthcare Act as a solution, when it's not.  In fact, that plan needs young adults to survive and seniors whose careers have sunset would be a burden on that system that is trying to get started.  If cities start  dumping seniors to release them from their obligations and promises Congress should stop them.

Morale is at the lowest point that I have ever known at City Hall.  That is not good for productivity. Our first line defenders for the city who run through burning buildings, inhale smoke and years later have cancer, run into gunfire serving warrants, and get attacked while doing their jobs could lose what they were promised by city government. This is the making of a class action lawsuit which will cost even more money.

I realize they have some hard decisions to make but hitting the most vulnerable is not the answer.  Why not adopt a healthcare plan for retirees that is similar to the Shelby County Board of Education and Shelby County Government?  For all Medicare eligible individuals, it becomes the primary insurance.  The Government then purchased a policy as a secondary insurance for the amount that is not covered by Merdicare which is much smaller.  The Government contributes 70% of that premium and the employee contributes 30%.  The secondary insurance policy cost is a much lower burden on the budget, but it keeps their commitment to their retirees.

Throwing retired seniors off health care to save money when they gave you 25-38 years of service is wrong! To throw their spouses and widows off health care is wrong. Some of their loved one even died in service and you no longer want to cover their spouses.  Have a heart, please.  You are good and decent people.  

I applaud the City Council not voting on this plan in committee. Ask a lot of questions, seek solutions, from Shelby County Government and Shelby County Schools.  You don't need to go and do what Chicago is doing.  When did they become an example for Memphis?

Here's another example of this War on the Poor and Elderly.

Why is the City of Memphis asking poor and elderly citizens to repair sidewalks while we find money for bike trails around town and over bridges that supports a citizen who owns a bicycle industry is wrong, too.  If our sidewalks are in deterioration in older neighborhoods, why can we not seek federal resources to assist citizens with this project,  rather than sending official letters that scare them to death.

Throwing retired seniors off health care to save money when they gave you 25-38 years of service is wrong! To throw their spouses and widows off health care is wrong.

To not pay school children what you owe them is wrong. Your city finances will always be jacked when you don't do right by the least of these. 

Miss Celie was right when she told Mister, "Until you do right by me, everything you even think about gonna fail."  

 

My soul tells me I am right to tell City Hall the same...ball field, convention center, and even riverfront.  Or do you want to just be a city for the outsiders who come to the city to enjoy your amenities while the citizens suffer because they can't afford to take a grandson to a ballgame?

Pray for our leadership and speak out!

By the way, I run into many of my readers at events and while running errands. Thanks for your words of encouragement.  I am glad you enjoy what I write.  Thank you.  This blog is a "love", not a job. I don't make a dime off it. But, trying to use the talent that God gave me.   However, if it helps us to become more aware of the decisions that are made that are good or require our attention, well,  I'll keep taking note.  

Thank you.

 

Lesson from Mama Rosie on Billionaire Don Sterling

Lesson from Mama Rosie on Don Sterling

Me:        Hello Mom, how are you today?

Mama:    Fine and hope you are, too, Baby. Look, I've been watching the   news, what's going on with the owner of the Clippers? I am not connecting all the facts. (She does better reading stories in the paper, rather than watching the news.)

Me:       He is a racist and has been banned from the NBA for life.

Mama:    For life?! (As if she is asking and answering her own question...) Well, I guess he kills dreams.

Me:        (LMBO) -- Mom, his comments were awful. But, he is 81 years old...

Mama:    Age is not an excuse for ignorance unless he has lived under a rock. I am 85 years old. Living  n the world longer should teach us to grow not retard growth.

Me:         (LOL)  Mom, you are always right!

Voting and Campaigning Shouldn't Be Ugly

I

I will be so happy when this election is over because the lines of decency are really being crossed.  Ballots are being sold to the highest bidder and some of our voters are so confused about who is running for what. They take the ballot not knowing who is distributing it and if they knew some would be in the garbage.

My husband is managing a campaign.  I asked him is your candidate on any of the ballots? He responded, "I never did that with you and I won't do that with him.  If he gets endorsements, that's good.  If they place him on the ballot because they believe in his ability to serve, that's good.  But, I am not paying to be on a ballot.  I refused to feed that gorilla because it's out of hand."  Ronnie is such a good campaign manager because he keeps it real!!

He is also right.  Paying to be on a ballot is out of hand.  We must be like Nancy Reagan, and "Just say, No."  That's the only way to stop the madness.

Then, there are the commercials. Today, it is not enough to talk about what your candidate offers or draw out valid differences between candidates.  Now, the commercials are lacking integrity and truth and for me that's a reflection of the candidate's character or lack thereof. Commercials have resorted to low down name calling. What's sad is there is no media outlet that holds these candidates accountable for the statements they make. A candidate should not allow anyone to say anything about an opponent without verifying the facts. Plus, if you can't sell yourself without tearing down someone else, something is lacking in your candidacy. I respectfully suggest that you need to address that issue.  Alright? Yeah!

My Dad taught me, "Your name is your bond, your creed, your calling card.  Let it stand for something."  He would have been a good Marketing PR 101 College Teacher,  but he only had an 8th grade education. When he died, he owned five lucrative businesses in Arkansas --Pool Hall, Barber Shop, Cafe, Night Club and a Highway Motel (across the street from the night club). Notice how all of them supported each other.  Today, they call that "branding".

I define my brand, and I won't allow anyone else's idea of what they think I should be redefine who I am.  So, candidates, before you get out there running for office, know yourself.  Know your limits and how you want to be defined. Because some of your supporters can hurt your brand or as my Dad would say, your name with their nonsense.

I encourage all my readers to get out and vote.

• Look at the candidate.
• Look at their skills, experience and public service record of the candidate. Do they match the with the job they are seeking?  Make sure those skills can handle the jobs you are voting to fill.You are the employer this time.   

• Look at the cast of characters. 
• It should help you decide if you are choosing more drama or leaders with solutions. The cast of characters that support the candidate are like references. Is this a reference you trust?

• Look at the candidate's ability to work with people and systems.
• Can this candidate bring people together to make things happen? Or is this candidate like or  Kenya, on the Housewives of Atlanta, with a bullhorn making noise and creating chaos.

Voters, you sit in the employer's seat.  Hire good people with your vote and fire those who have not produced.

Here is another bit of advice -- stagnation is not growth.(A lesson from my Mom. I will share it soon.)  Shelby needs to grow. We need leadership that can help us grow. If our elected officials are just maintaining status-quo, and if we can't see growth in things we care about -- unemployment, quality of health care in the county, adequate funding of education, increasing the tax base, improvement in public safety--  we may need to reassess our leadership.

Voting and Campaigning does not have to be ugly.  Dismiss those who do that.  Let them hear your roar about this style of campaigning by voting.  See you at the polls.