MEMPHIS, TN - It's not often a city mayor starts the new year off by talking about murders, but that's exactly how Memphis Mayor A C Wharton opened his speech during Councilman Myron Lowery's annual New Year's Day Prayer Breakfast.
The Bluff City recorded 93 homicides in 2010, down from 135 in 2009. The last time Memphis had 100 or fewer murders in a year was in the 1970's.
"I've been around a long time," Mayor Wharton told the crowd of politicians and lawmakers, "and I've seen an unprecedented amount of cooperation between all our agencies and all our neighborhood groups. Nobody's trying to claim they did it by themselves, and that's what it's going to take."
"Everything is bringing it together," says Memphis Police Director Larry Godwin, "from the cameras, to the technology, to the Sky Watch towers, to the community, to the Real Time Crime Center, to the officers in the field making the calls they need to make. There is no one silver bullet, it takes cooperation."
Both Wharton and Godwin say the key to further reducing Memphis' crime rate is to make sure every child gets a good education and that the importance of staying in school is stressed to our young people.
Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell encouraged the politicos in attendance to spend 2011 restoring the faith and trust of those who elected them.
"If we can convey that trust and honesty and values to the citizens and the public," says Mayor Luttrell, "then we gain their trust, participation and involvement, and they buy into the process with us."
U.S. Representative Steve Cohen cautioned the group that Tennessee is in for tough times in 2011. Governor-elect Bill Haslam faces a hard job with a budget projected deep in the red.
The outlook for Memphis and Shelby County is a bit better.
"We are bringing jobs here," says Mayor Wharton. "We've got many more announcements to come in the next few weeks."
Appliance maker Electrolux recently announced its' coming to town, bringing with it thousands of new jobs. The city convinced Cargill to stay put. And the mayor says expect more good employment news in 2011.
This was the 20th year Councilman Lowery hosted the prayer breakfast. He's about to take the reigns of the Memphis City Council again. Lowery is the new chairman for 2011, replacing outgoing chair, Harold Collins.
