W. W. Herenton

Infobox_Mayor


name= Willie Herenton
caption=
order=
office= Mayor of Memphis
term_start=1991
predecessor=Richard Hackett
successor=Incumbent
footnotes=

Willie W. Herenton (born April 23, 1940) is the mayor of Memphis, Tennessee. Dr. Herenton is a graduate of Le Moyne-Owen College in South Memphis, and the University of Memphis. He received his doctorate in education at Southern Illinois University, and is also a recipient of two honorary doctorates from Rhodes College and Christian Brothers University. He has four children, the youngest of which was born in late 2004 to a local waitress. He is the first African-American to be elected mayor of Memphis. He won his first term by defeating incumbent mayor Richard Hackett in 1991 by a mere 146 votes. Prior to serving as mayor, Herenton was the superintendent of Memphis City Schools for twelve years. In his State of the City address on January 1, 2006, Herenton announced his intention to run for a fifth term in 2007 and refused to debate his challengers during the campaign.

He was elected to his fifth term in office on October 4, 2007 [cite news
last = Charlier
first = Tom
title = Herenton wins unprecedented 5th term as Memphis leader
work = Commercial Appeal
date = 2007-10-05
url = http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2007/oct/05/still-the-one-mayorherenton-wins-unprecedented-8/
accessdate = 2008-03-21] , thus making him the first Memphis mayor to be elected to five terms of office. Despite his win, Herenton garnered only 42% of the popular vote on the October 4, 2007 election. Nonetheless, run-offs for Memphis city-wide elections have been banned by court order since 1991, on the premise that the intent of run-offs was to give white candidates an advantage [ [http://www.memphisdailynews.com/Editorial/StoryLead.aspx?id=99188 Memphis Daily News - Power to the People] ] . Indeed, Herenton also scored his initial 1991 victory as well as his 1999 re-election with less than majority support.

Herenton was selected to the long list for the 2008 World Mayor award. [ [http://www.citymayors.com/mayors/memphis-mayor.html CityMayors profile] ]

On March 20, 2008, Herenton announced that he would be stepping down from his position as Memphis' mayor, effective July 31, 2008. This move angered many politicians in the city including Councilwoman Carol Chumney, a candidate he beat for mayor of Memphis in October 2007. He made this announcement just a little over 90 days after his re-election. [cite news
last = Charlier
first = Tom
coauthors = Maki, Amos
title = Herenton to step down July 31
work = Commercial Appeal
date = 2008-03-20
url = http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/mar/20/herenton-step-down-july-31/
accessdate = 2008-03-21] Herenton stated his early departure from the mayor's office was to seek the position of superintendent of Memphis City Schools, dispelling speculation that he was stepping down because of a run for congress or impending legal troubles from an ongoing criminal investigation at City Hall. [cite news
last = Perrusquia
first = Marc
title = Herenton: It's about schools
work = Commercial Appeal
date = 2008-03-23
url = http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/mar/23/mayor-its-about-schools-willie-herenton-resigns/
accessdate = 2008-03-23] However, he has since stated that he will not leave the office of mayor unless he gets the position as the superintendent of schools. [cite news
last = Maki
first = Amos
title = Herenton says he'll stay put in mayor's office if he doesn't get city schools' superintendent job
work = Commercial Appeal
date = 2008-03-24
url = http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/mar/24/24mayor/
accessdate = 2008-03-27] Herenton went on to state that he ran for re-election only in order to protect the city of Memphis from the other main candidates, Herman Morris and Councilwoman Carol Chumney. [cite news
last = Maki
first = Amos
title = Herenton says he ran for re-election to protect Memphis from Chumney, Morris
work = Commercial Appeal
date = 2008-03-25
url = http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/mar/25/herenton-says-he-ran-re-election-protect-memphis-c/
accessdate = 2008-03-27]

Criticisms

In recent times, Herenton has faced mounting criticism from citizens and other observers, who have charged that he has, among the following:

*Failed to ensure sound fiscal management of the City of Memphis [ [http://www.cityofmemphis.org/pdf_forms/fy07budgetAddress.pdf City Of Memphis - 2007 budget address] ]
*Fraud allegations involving national money for the building of the FedEx Forum [ [http://smartcitymemphis.blogspot.com/2006/07/compliance-with-federal-regulations.html Smart City Memphis - Compliance With Federal Regulations Receive Heightened Attention] ]
*Failed to communicate effectively with the City Council cite news
title = "Are You Following Me?"
work = Memphis Flyer
date = 2005-05-26
url = http://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/Content?oid=6101
accessdate = 2008-03-22 ]
*Failed to address multiple allegations of improprieties regarding Memphis Light Gas and Water
*Served as the prime target and catalyst for the City Charter rewrite [ [http://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/Content?oid=5930 Memphis Flyer - Charter Commission Tune-Up] ]
*Angered citizens to the point of becoming a target of a citizen recall effort [ [http://www.wreg.com/global/story.asp?s=4309720&ClientType=Printable WREG - Herenton Critics Can Begin Recall Effort] ]
* Proposed raising property taxes by 17% while taxes on his personal home were delinquent.
* Called for a halt to early voting due to alleged "irregularities". The Shelby County Election Commission stated that early voting would continue. [cite news
last = McMillin
first = Zack
title = Mayor cites irregularities with early voting machines
work = Commercial Appeal
date = 2007-09-20
url = http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2007/sep/20/mayor-cites-irregularities-with-early-voting/
accessdate = 2008-03-21 ] ,
* Done little in response to the significant rise in crime under his leadership, stating that "No mayor in any American city can solve the crime problem." [Citation
last = Fontenay
first = Blake
title = Mayor's crime quote may be a 'risky tactic'
work = Commercial Appeal
date = 2007-08-27
url = http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2007/aug/27/x27today/]
* Appointed new leadership of the Memphis Public Library over the objections of the Tennessee Library Association. [cite news
author = Tennessee Library Association Executive Board
title = Letter sent to Tennessee Library Association membership
work = Commercial Appeal
date = 2008-03-01
url = http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/mar/01/letter-sent-tennessee-library-association-membersh/]

References