Mayor A C Wharton, Jr. answered questions from members of the University of Memphis community in a town hall-style meeting Tuesday. The 70 seats in the University Center's Shelby Room quickly filled up, and attendees were moved to the much larger River Room a few doors down.
"I guess there was a low estimate of attendees," Tony Mitchell Jr., senior philosophy major, said.
After being introduced by Robert Blanton, professor of international studies, Wharton pulled the microphone from its position taped to the podium and walked directly in front of the crowd to speak.
Wharton's main concerns for the community quickly became clear.
"We know our greatest challenge in this city is our poverty rate," Wharton said. "Poverty is tied up with the money we spend on public safety."
Wharton said that he was working on a solution for this problem.
"We are developing what we call a blueprint for prosperity in which we take one person at a time, meet his or her unique needs. If you begin just taking one person at a time you get success by success by success," Wharton said. "If you say 'I'm going to wipe out poverty', that's so overwhelming that after a year you give up."
Wharton gave hypothetical examples of how this might work.
"You gain so much saying 'this is a victim of domestic violence. I now have her a place to live. She now has childcare. She can work and take care of her family,'" Wharton said. "This man here has a prison record. He's got skills, but he's got a record. Every door in town is slammed in his face. We find him a job."
The mayor spoke for about 15 minutes before directly addressing questions from attendees. He spent about 40 minutes answering eight questions ranging from concerns about guns in dorms at the University, to fostering a thriving medical community in Memphis.
"I liked how he gave the floor to everyone else to ask a question," Kristin Bennett, journalism major, said. "I've never heard him speak extensively before, so that was new."
One of Wharton's priorities came to light when a question was asked about the so-called "Mayors Project" in which New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg donated $24 million for a three-year program to five cities, including Memphis, in an effort to reduce handgun violence and revitalize vacant properties.
"The whole idea is to know what the problems of city government are but without being hogtied with a bunch of rules, and that is what innovation is all about," Wharton said.
His passion for controlling gun violence in the city was revealed when he was asked what his plans were for addressing the issue.
"We are seeing more of it more and more and more. It's guns, guns, guns. It is so easy to get a gun on the streets of Memphis," Wharton said. "So we are focusing on that."
In his closing remarks, Wharton encouraged everyone to go to his website and get involved in the community and local government.
"We would love to have you involved now. Don't wait until I get involved. These are your best years. You've got more energy and you communicate better with all of your gadgets," Wharton said. "We need you involved right now."
