The following article is taken from the December 2009 issue of the Main Street Journal. Click “Subscribe Online” above to start your subscription.

What Wharton Means for Memphis: Voices from the community

As an owner of a business located within the City of Memphis with over 100 employees, most of whom do reside in Memphis, I was extremely heartened by Mr. Wharton’s election. From my perspective the last four or five years have seen a dearth of good news for our city. We remain a highly polarized community; there was a lack of confidence in or downright contempt by some for the former Chief Executive, continuing chronic social problems and rarely any good news on the economic development front.

Will Mayor Wharton do any better? I have no clue but I certainly think it was time to try something different. It is difficult at best to find a reasonable citizen who thinks Mr. Wharton is not an honest and serious man. This in itself is a major improvement if it only means we can get straight to work on solutions to these problems without trying to figure out what everyone’s alternate motives are; in other words, serious people demand serious behavior and serious behavior leads to serious solutions. The Mayor’s recent support of the Memphis and Shelby County IDB’s program for existing employers was a great first step. I believe we are in for a slow economic recovery it is imperative the City focus on keeping and sustaining our existing economic base. In short, I‘m optimistic about our new leadership - at least more than I was a month ago.

Stillman McFadden
President, Toof Commercial Printing

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Mayor Wharton was elected on the hope that he might help unify Memphis. This is what people were looking for when they elected him. This is what he promised.

Running Memphis presents a different set of challenges than running Shelby County. There are real problems facing inner city Memphis. Gangs, violence, drugs and neglect. Mayor Wharton is going to have to prove himself to the Memphis community by addressing these problems head on. This, more than anything else, is what he will be known for.

I do think he is the right guy at this time to help achieve unity in Memphis. That is my hope. I think he brings a bit more finesse to the table. I think most of Memphis is looking for a new style and approach.

Reverend Ralph White
Senior Pastor, Bloomfield Baptist Church

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When it comes to the legacy of Willie Herenton, rhetoric too often overshadowed policies. Herenton saw too many enemies around too many corners and unfortunately we were all taken along for that ride. After a while it got old.

AC Wharton offers a stark contrast both in style and demeanor. Granted, both men are smart politicians, perhaps two of the smartest politicians in town. However, Wharton seems much more interested in creating a good will and building consensus in Memphis. He also seems intent on leaving behind a solid legacy.

For anyone that ever tried to get any information out of City Hall during the Herenton years, you are probably still waiting on hold. If managing this city were not such a serious matter it would almost be comical the way those within the Herenton circle viewed their accountability to the people they served.

From day one, Wharton has seemed intent of creating a record of relative openness and transparency. You might not like the answer you get, but you’ll get an answer. That is a breath of fresh air.

Jonathan Lindberg
Publisher, Main Street Journal

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I feel that AC Wharton brings a unique perspective to City government. First of all, as the leader of Shelby County for the last seven years he has a valuable understanding of the many opportunities and challenges that face our community from a countywide point of view. Second, I think he will bridge the communication gap between the City of Memphis and Germantown, Bartlett, Millington, Collierville and Arlington. Within time he will be in a great position to evaluate the pros and cons of consolidation either in total or at least certain functions of the City and the County.  Finances are going to be a big part of both governments going forward.  The school (City and County) funding issues could place a huge burden on current property tax rates. AC has proven he is pro-business and he is a tireless cheerleader for making our community a safer and better place to live, work, play and visit.   

Kevin Kane
President & CEO, Memphis Convention & Visitors Bureau

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Any objective observer would agree that Mayor Herenton did good things for Memphis; the same observer would have to also admit that the image of Memphis is not good. Mayor Wharton has an opportunity to change that for the better, and I expect that he will.

To survive as a thriving city, Memphis is going to have to grow. This growth cannot be dependent on children growing up, staying in Memphis, and creating companies and jobs.  Rather, it depends on the decisions of individuals and companies to decide to move to Memphis. These decisions are based on a combination of facts and image and ours needs some work! From crime to education, politics to taxes, Memphis has a questionable image to many outsiders (and perhaps insiders, for that matter) and some of the recent actions of the previous administration have probably not enhanced that perception. Leaders from the University of Memphis have expressed disappointment in the number of students who have received exceptional education here and decided against coming to work for some of the leading companies in Memphis; commercial developers lament the lack of corporate movement in to Memphis.  

It is time for a calm approach to leadership, an introduction of dignity and character in decision making, and a fresh look at the assets of Memphis (of which there are many) and how to market these assets to prospective individual and corporate citizens. I think Mayor Wharton will bring these characteristics to the Mayor’s office and am looking forward to this change which has been mandated by the voters of Memphis.  

Ed Horrell
Author & Founder, The Kindness Revolution

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I believe the transition from former Mayor Herenton’s administration to Mayor A C Wharton’s will be beneficial to the region as a whole. Mayor Wharton has a history of consensus building and I fully believe he will continue that practice as the City of Memphis leader. Instead of dogmatically pushing his opinions and decisions on his constituency, Mayor Wharton tends to gather the facts and do what he thinks is best for the majority of citizens.

Additionally, Wharton’s forward stance on transparency in government will hopefully help reestablish people’s trust in Memphis government. For current and former Memphians to be able to access their government and know how its working could help halt the ongoing exodus and create and stronger regional core.

Memphis will also be positively impacted by Mayor Wharton’s desire to include the surrounding government agencies in discussions of regional issues. If Wharton brings all the major players to the table on issues that affect the County and region, we can create a more unified vision that will assist the suburbs, Memphis and the County in better serving our citizens and creating more sustainable communities.

Cooperation among the municipalities within Shelby County can lead to a better environment for all of us.

Mayor Keith McDonald
Mayor of Bartlett

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To begin with, I believe the citizens of the city and county have a new feeling of hope based on  Mayor Wharton’s past performance. With his character and reputation, people in both city and county have cast down their feeling of oppression and are looking toward a future focused on progress instead of the chaos bulling and uncertainty that has overshadowed our community for so long. I am looking forward to watching the divisions between city and county and polar division of races dissolve as Mayor Wharton brings honesty and trust back to our community.

This is an exciting time for our community. We all need to grab hands and pull together in support of making our community what we want it to become. If this is done then the sky’s the limit.

George Kuykendall
Executive Director, Citizens for Community Values

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The City will have a true voice for communitywide economic development especially if our next County Mayors will support him which I think will be the case. He will interface with the City Councilmen (and women) at their committee meetings and City Council sessions, and at community wide events to build support for his programs which in turn will give the public confidence in their (the new City Mayor and the Council) ability to work together. I never attended a community meeting over the last three years with County Mayor Wharton where he did not introduce other elected officials and me and say something nice about us. He will accept no nonsense from city employees and will quickly and without fanfare resolve those few inevitable situations where a public employee does wrong. He is not prone to knee jerk actions or reactions but rather will take his time to study issues and build consensus. Because he knows County government, I think he will be more supportive of joint efforts such as the County Trustee collecting City Property Taxes, merging the 2 fire departments, and joint County Sheriff/ City Police operations.

Mike Ritz
Shelby County Commissioner

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Every leadership change brings hope for new possibilities and potential. Whether those things are actually realized is a different matter. Memphis faces some serious economic challenges over the next two years. The ability of Mayor Wharton to get the City Council on board will be far more pivotal than any switch from Willie Herenton.

Richard Thompson
Blogger, Mediaverse.Memphis

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AC Wharton is a fine man and an able public servant, but the biggest impact of the transition doesn’t necessarily involve who Wharton is, but rather who he isn’t – i.e. Willie Herenton. 

More than anything, Mayor Wharton simply represents hope for the dawn of a new day.  A change in the attitude which permeated City Hall, or more precisely, a refreshing lack of one.  A chance to focus on the people’s business for a change instead of the drama, hostility, and never-ending series of distractions that seemed to hang constantly over City government like a dark cloud.

Mayor Wharton has an opportunity to set a chart a new course, but even more importantly, to set a new tone.

Lang Wiseman
Chairman, Shelby County Republican Party

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AC Wharton received a mandate in the recent election, and I think he has a great opportunity to move our community to new heights.  Having known him for many years, I am confident that he sincerely believes in the power of unity.  That his “One Memphis” campaign slogan will become the watchwords of his years in office.  And from my professional perspective, I know the new mayor understands the value of Downtown’s public realm, and more importantly the danger of neglecting it.  It is as he has said in so many words, “where our visitors often get their first and lasting impressions of Memphis.”

But mandates, good intentions and clear understandings won’t make Mayor Wharton successful.  The test will be whether or not – against the great forces of politics and poverty – AC Wharton will stand strong and stay his course.  I’m betting he’s up to the job.   

Jeff Sanford
President, Memphis Center City Commission