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Opinion | One unified government is probably better, but that ship sailed years ago | Otis Sanford

Political analyst and commentator Otis Sanford shared his point of view on the issue of consolidating Memphis and Shelby County governments.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — It should be clear to anyone who’s paying attention that the latest push for consolidation of Memphis and Shelby County governments is going nowhere. So why are we wasting time, energy, and potentially taxpayer dollars on something that appears doomed to fail?

County voters who live outside the Memphis city limits were emphatic a decade ago that they want no part of consolidation. And nothing has occurred since then to change their hearts and minds.

And yet, city council members debated Tuesday whether to urge Mayor Jim Strickland to appoint members to a consolidation charter commission – the first step in creating the framework of a new unified government. But they ended up agreeing only to appoint a study group to determine if a charter commission is feasible. Which means we are a long way from a proposal – and its highly unlikely we will get there in time for separate city and county votes during the November 2022 election.

Councilwoman Michalyn Easter-Thomas and others suggested studying ways to achieve more government efficiency short of consolidation. That makes more sense than the uphill battle to convince suburbanites – and even many Memphians – that merging the two governments is in their best interest, particularly when most elected officials in the city and suburbs don’t think it is.

Sure, one unified government is probably better. But that ship sailed years ago, and it’s unlikely to return.

    

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