MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Paul Young officially sworn in as Memphis' next mayor Monday, taking office from Jim Strickland, who held the office for two terms.
Young swore in on Jan. 1, 2024
On Oct. 5, Paul Young won the non-partisan race for the next mayor of Memphis, defeating three top competitors, including Sheriff Floyd Bonner.
“I’m a Democrat, but I look at all people and all issues and try to make the best decision that’s going to be in the best interest of the constituents,” Young said during his campaign.
Young encouraged more young people to get out and vote during his campaign. His goal was to target all age groups and get his name into households.
“I think the younger voters will vote if they see someone that represents their interests, and I think to date they haven’t seen that,” Young said.
Addressing crime, one of the biggest interests in Memphis, he said when it comes to youth, it's important to make sure those who are committing the crimes are held accountable, but also important to identify who's likely to be in the pool of people creating crimes in the future and "injecting opportunities in their lives."
"When we know they've been truant from school, we know they've been getting suspended, let's find programs that are located in their ZIP codes. Let’s work with their churches. Let's work with the community groups to make sure that we are getting those children enrolled in some programs. That's going to change their trajectory," Young said.
Young also stressed the culture of MPD as a top priority of his. Young has plans to address the mistrust between the community and the Memphis Police Department.
“We have some major issues that we want to address within MPD, the culture or subculture that led to the tragic incident of Tyre Nichols. We want to make sure that that's rooted out, but we also want to make sure that there is transparency, that there's a restoration of trust and faith from the public and we want to make sure that the person at the top is leading that charge," he said.
Aside from crime and MPD, there’s still blight, an issue with seemingly no end in sight that residents voice time and time again. But Young said addressing it will be one of his top priorities as mayor.
