Latest / ToddCast Podcast with Todd Starnes / WAR! Memphis Democrats Turn on Each Other

Transcript

WAR! Memphis Democrats Turn on Each Other · ToddCast Podcast with Todd Starnes

0:01
Speaker 1: From the principal Toyota studios, it's Morning in Memphis with
0:06
Speaker 1: Todd Starnes.
0:07
Speaker 2: And good morning, everybody. Welcome to you, all of you
0:11
Speaker 2: folks that are right now sitting in a kiddie pool
0:13
Speaker 2: or sitting in your freezer. Good morning to you. It
0:16
Speaker 2: is going to be hotter than blue blazes. I'm going
0:19
Speaker 2: to tell you, the people that love this time of
0:21
Speaker 2: year more than anybody else are the Baptist preachers. This
0:24
Speaker 2: is when they hold revival outside and say, if you
0:27
Speaker 2: think it's hot here... You better get your heart right
0:30
Speaker 2: with the Lord because it's going to be hotter and
0:32
Speaker 2: you know where. I'm not sure if it's that much hotter,
0:35
Speaker 2: to be honest with you. Laura Huckabee, our chief meteorologist,
0:38
Speaker 2: on the way in just a little while. Again, you
0:41
Speaker 2: heard the news. 101 degrees today. So if you're heading
0:45
Speaker 2: out to high school football games, if you're heading out
0:47
Speaker 2: to the Memphis Tigers or Cooper Young this weekend, you've
0:50
Speaker 2: got to be careful. And be sure to take this seriously. Hydrate,
0:55
Speaker 2: ladies and gentlemen.
0:58
Speaker 3: All right.
0:58
Speaker 2: We have got a jam-packed show for you today. A
1:01
Speaker 2: lot of ground to cover. Democrats in Memphis are at
1:04
Speaker 2: war with each other. We'll talk a little bit later
1:07
Speaker 2: about Henry Reeves, the attorney, attacking Mayor Paul Young. It
1:12
Speaker 2: is a free-for-all. We're going to be taking your calls
1:15
Speaker 2: as well, 901-260-5926. That's 901-260-5926. KWAM has been the place
1:26
Speaker 2: for politics in the Mid-South. And we're going to have
1:28
Speaker 2: a lot of candidates walking through the doors today, including
1:33
Speaker 2: our very first guest. Right now, he is the mayor
1:37
Speaker 2: of Lakeland, Tennessee, Mayor Josh Roman.
1:40
Speaker 4: Mr.
1:41
Speaker 2: Mayor, good to have you with us today.
1:42
Speaker 4: Good morning, Todd. It's great to be here.
1:44
Speaker 2: Well, look, we're going to jump right into it because
1:46
Speaker 2: you're running for re-election, and you've got some opponents, and
1:51
Speaker 2: we're going to talk about that, or an opponent. We're
1:53
Speaker 2: going to talk about that in just a moment. But
1:56
Speaker 2: I'm just wondering, Mr. Mayor, what is the biggest issue
2:00
Speaker 2: that you see right now in Lakeland?
2:03
Speaker 4: The biggest issue is keeping the momentum. You know, we
2:06
Speaker 4: talk a lot about getting it done, and Lakeland, we're
2:10
Speaker 4: doing exactly that. You're seeing true local politicians getting it done,
2:15
Speaker 4: meaning that we're backing our school system, we're backing the blue,
2:19
Speaker 4: and we're keeping taxes low. So we need to keep
2:21
Speaker 4: that momentum going, Todd.
2:23
Speaker 2: You are, I mean, pretty much you're almost a lifer
2:27
Speaker 2: there in Lakeland. You've been there, what, 20, 25 years?
2:29
Speaker 2: 25 years. It was the first home my wife and I.
2:30
Speaker 4: Ever purchased recently. We're actually on our third home, and
2:34
Speaker 4: we just celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary. So growing up
2:37
Speaker 4: military is the closest thing to a home I've ever known.
2:40
Speaker 2: Why Lakeland? What is it about Lakeland that sets it
2:42
Speaker 2: apart from all the other suburban cities?
2:45
Speaker 4: Well, Lakeland, not only is it just a beautiful place,
2:48
Speaker 4: it's the people. I mean, we have a great community.
2:50
Speaker 4: Everybody says that, but Lakeland is exactly what you make it.
2:54
Speaker 4: You can be in a rural area in the northern
2:56
Speaker 4: part of Lakeland, or you can be closer to a
2:58
Speaker 4: suburban area. Lakeland is exactly what you make it, and
3:02
Speaker 4: I've seen it in action.
3:04
Speaker 2: There has been concern about money and expenditures. You guys
3:09
Speaker 2: are putting in a lot of infrastructure, doing a lot
3:11
Speaker 2: of things. What is the money situation there in Lakeland?
3:14
Speaker 4: It's great. Our general fund hasn't ever been larger. We
3:18
Speaker 4: have the lowest tax rate in Shelby County. We're getting
3:21
Speaker 4: a lot done on a very little amount. We're using
3:24
Speaker 4: some very fun opportunities that the Shelby County Commission has
3:28
Speaker 4: given us through tax increment financing to work with not
3:31
Speaker 4: only developers, but just we're having fun in Lakeland and
3:35
Speaker 4: we're keeping that bank full.
3:38
Speaker 2: I'm curious about crime. That has been, of course, a
3:42
Speaker 2: major concern and focus, not just in Memphis, but Shelby
3:45
Speaker 2: County at large. What's the situation like there in Lakeland
3:50
Speaker 2: and how are you guys dealing with the, are you
3:53
Speaker 2: seeing any spillover crime coming up from Memphis?
3:56
Speaker 4: I'm glad you asked that. And this is actually one
3:58
Speaker 4: of the major reasons why I'm running for reelection. My opponent,
4:03
Speaker 4: voted multiple times to not fund what we're trying to
4:06
Speaker 4: do in Lakeland to help lower crime. We got rid
4:08
Speaker 4: of two motels that were blighted. They took a lot
4:11
Speaker 4: of resources from Shelby County Sheriff's Office. They were drug hotspots.
4:15
Speaker 4: We did something crazy in Lakeland. We actually funded almost
4:18
Speaker 4: $ 6 million to tear down those two motels. We created
4:21
Speaker 4: tons of resources for our partnership with the Sheriff's Office,
4:25
Speaker 4: and our crime rate is almost zero. It's an anomaly
4:28
Speaker 4: in West Tennessee.
4:30
Speaker 3: How do you.
4:32
Speaker 2: How do you figure that? I mean, what is it
4:34
Speaker 2: about Lakeland where you guys are able to do what
4:36
Speaker 2: the city of Memphis has not been able to do?
4:38
Speaker 4: Well, I'm going to have to say leadership. In the
4:42
Speaker 4: city of Lakeland, we've done things that aren't normally done.
4:47
Speaker 4: We had three votes to invest in our city, and
4:52
Speaker 4: we're continuing that investment on a regular basis. We just
4:55
Speaker 4: opened up a new partnership with Shelby County Sheriff's Office.
4:58
Speaker 4: We actually put an office in Lakeland for them to
5:01
Speaker 4: have physical seats. We're paying for that. We're footing the
5:03
Speaker 4: whole bill. My opponent would call that frivolous spending. I
5:06
Speaker 4: call that backing the blue.
5:08
Speaker 2: So when you say we're funding that, you're talking about
5:13
Speaker 2: the taxpayers, the homeowners there in Lakeland.
5:15
Speaker 4: That's correct. That's correct. As a city, we're investing in ourselves.
5:17
Speaker 4: We're doing our part to give Shelby County all the
5:20
Speaker 4: resources they need to keep us safe.
5:22
Speaker 2: So again, ladies and gentlemen, Lakeland Mayor Josh Roman joining us.
5:25
Speaker 2: He's running for re-election, and this is a Nonpartisan race.
5:30
Speaker 2: Your opponent happens to be a Republican, and you are
5:34
Speaker 2: a Republican.
5:35
Speaker 4: Is that correct? faith, family, backing law enforcement, and actual action,
5:50
Speaker 4: what I would consider true conservatism.
5:51
Speaker 2: Are you saying your opponent, who is coming on the
5:54
Speaker 2: program Monday, by the way, and we'll have the same
5:58
Speaker 2: sort of conversation, you're saying she's not a true conservative?
6:01
Speaker 4: No, 100% I'm saying she's not a true conservative. I mean,
6:04
Speaker 4: this is a joke. How can you say that you
6:07
Speaker 4: want to support family when you're not worried about the
6:11
Speaker 4: next generation? A true conservative, in my opinion, sets a
6:14
Speaker 4: foundation for what comes after them, and they're not looking
6:18
Speaker 4: to make a vote for the– or actually, in her case,
6:21
Speaker 4: non-vote for the next election. They're looking to build something
6:25
Speaker 4: for the next generation, and she's ducking that vote.
6:28
Speaker 2: So I have to tell you, I'm kind of surprised
6:29
Speaker 2: here because normally candidates do not– they try not to
6:32
Speaker 2: even talk about their opponent, but clearly it sounds like
6:35
Speaker 2: you've got a beef with her.
6:37
Speaker 4: That's funny you say that. I would think she's nice,
6:40
Speaker 4: but every time that I see her and she smiles
6:43
Speaker 4: at me, she takes my hand, and we have a
6:46
Speaker 4: good relationship. Her father was actually a big supporter of mine,
6:49
Speaker 4: and she even said she wasn't going to run. So
6:52
Speaker 4: she was very complimentary of me, and then all of
6:54
Speaker 4: a sudden when she decided she was going to run,
6:56
Speaker 4: a light switch flipped, and now all of a sudden
7:00
Speaker 4: all the great things that we're doing are frivolous spending.
7:03
Speaker 4: So it's it's not a beef. It's just that, you know,
7:05
Speaker 4: you got to call a spade a spade.
7:07
Speaker 5: All right.
7:07
Speaker 2: Connie McCarter is coming on the show Monday morning, ladies
7:11
Speaker 2: and gentlemen, and we'll we'll get her to respond and
7:14
Speaker 2: she'll have the opportunity to respond. And that's kind of
7:17
Speaker 2: how we do things here, Mr. Mayor, Republican, Democrat. We
7:20
Speaker 2: invite everybody. And, you know, I think it's good. It's
7:23
Speaker 2: healthy for the community to hear the candidates and, you know,
7:27
Speaker 2: what they believe, what they don't believe.
7:29
Speaker 4: A hundred percent. I agree.
7:31
Speaker 2: All right, real quick here before we have to let
7:34
Speaker 2: you go, and we're going to get you back on
7:36
Speaker 2: as well. You know, we've got a lot of time
7:37
Speaker 2: between now and the election. Schools. A report came out yesterday.
7:42
Speaker 2: Memphis City Schools, another loss in enrollment down to 101,000.
7:49
Speaker 2: Back when the district first started, it was 148,000. So
7:53
Speaker 2: they have lost a lot of kids. You guys have
7:56
Speaker 2: your own school district. How is that going? And are
8:00
Speaker 2: you guys letting people from outside Lakeland enroll their kids?
8:03
Speaker 4: Thank you for asking. It's actually a big point of
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Speaker 4: pride in the city of Lakeland, Tennessee. We fought for
8:08
Speaker 4: over 10 years. Again, we had to fight against my
8:11
Speaker 4: opponent to be able to get the school system in
8:13
Speaker 4: the first place. And not only did we build a
8:15
Speaker 4: world-class school system, but we were using it as our
8:18
Speaker 4: calling card. In order to go to Lakeland City Schools,
8:22
Speaker 4: you have to live in the city of Lakeland. And
8:24
Speaker 4: so we're... We're putting that as our best foot forward.
8:28
Speaker 4: All right.
8:28
Speaker 2: Mr. Mayor, good to see you this morning, and we
8:31
Speaker 2: appreciate you dropping by KWAM.
8:33
Speaker 4: Thanks for having me.
8:33
Speaker 5: All right.
8:34
Speaker 2: Where can people go that want to get more information
8:36
Speaker 2: about you? I guess they could just run into you
8:38
Speaker 2: at City Hall, but where do you recommend they go?
8:40
Speaker 4: Best place to find me is on Facebook, Josh Roman,
8:43
Speaker 4: Lakeland Mayor.
8:44
Speaker 3: All right. Got it.
8:45
Speaker 5: All right.
8:45
Speaker 2: Ladies and gentlemen, Lakeland Mayor Josh Roman here in studio
8:49
Speaker 2: this morning on KWAM. All right, we're going to take
8:52
Speaker 2: a break. When we come back, Lauren Pinkston, who is
8:54
Speaker 2: an independent, she's running for governor of the state of Tennessee.
8:58
Speaker 2: She's making the rounds here in the Mid-South, and we're
9:01
Speaker 2: going to have a great conversation with her. And it's
9:04
Speaker 2: also an opportunity right now for you to pick up
9:07
Speaker 2: a pair of tickets to see Kool and the Gang
9:10
Speaker 2: tonight at Live at the Garden. If you would like
9:13
Speaker 2: a pair of tickets, we're going to take caller number 2, 901-260-5926.
9:15
Speaker 2: That's 901-260-5926. Caller number 2, we're going to send you
9:17
Speaker 2: and a guest to Live at the Garden tonight. We'll
9:20
Speaker 2: be right back. Tell me. Get down on it. Get
9:22
Speaker 2: down on it. Okay, we normally don't encourage being able
9:39
Speaker 2: to get down on it on the morning show, but
9:43
Speaker 2: we got cool in the game tonight live at the
9:45
Speaker 2: Garden right here in Memphis. And we've got another pair
9:48
Speaker 2: of tickets to give away. So if you and a
9:51
Speaker 2: guest would like to brave the heat and hang out tonight,
9:54
Speaker 2: get some great music, great food, and just a lot
9:57
Speaker 2: of fun, give us a call. Be caller number two. 901-260-5926,
10:03
Speaker 2: and you will win a pair of tickets to see
10:05
Speaker 2: Cool in the Game, courtesy of the Mighty 990 K-WAM. Now,
10:09
Speaker 2: I told you we were like political palooza today. We
10:12
Speaker 2: are so honored to have with us in studio, making
10:15
Speaker 2: her debut appearance on the Mighty 990 K-WAM. Lauren Pinkston,
10:18
Speaker 2: who is running for governor as an independent. She has
10:22
Speaker 2: been all over the Mid-South. And I got to tell you, Lauren,
10:26
Speaker 2: that means something to me because a lot of times
10:28
Speaker 2: the candidates forget that there is a western part of
10:31
Speaker 2: the state and you have been all over the place.
10:34
Speaker 1: All over the place. We've made over 300 stops. And
10:37
Speaker 1: that is important, right, that you are in every county
10:40
Speaker 1: in the state, but especially in the rural parts of
10:43
Speaker 1: the state that you understand what's going on. And as
10:45
Speaker 1: a West Tennessee girl myself, It's important to me that
10:47
Speaker 1: West Tennessee is represented.
10:49
Speaker 2: So I'm just curious here, just between you and me,
10:51
Speaker 2: nobody else is listening. Was there a point when you're like,
10:55
Speaker 2: sweet Lord.
10:56
Speaker 3: This is a big state?
10:57
Speaker 2: Because usually it hits right outside of Nashville when you're
11:01
Speaker 2: heading up to East Tennessee.
11:03
Speaker 1: We are going to have a $ 100 billion road and
11:06
Speaker 1: bridge infrastructure backlog in the state going into this office.
11:10
Speaker 1: And I will tell you that we need a lot
11:12
Speaker 1: more roads to connect us because the northeastern part of
11:15
Speaker 1: the state is really underfunded and not well connected.
11:19
Speaker 2: A lot of people don't realize when you're in Bristol,
11:21
Speaker 2: you are closer to the Canadian border than you are Memphis.
11:25
Speaker 1: That is exactly right. And my husband's family is from
11:28
Speaker 1: close to Bristol in Johnson County. And I grew up
11:31
Speaker 1: in McNary County here in West Tennessee. We live in
11:32
Speaker 1: Murray County and middle now. So we really do have
11:34
Speaker 1: connections across the state.
11:35
Speaker 2: So this is and we're going to get you back
11:37
Speaker 2: on between now and and the election, because I have
11:41
Speaker 2: a lot of questions, but a lot of our. listeners
11:45
Speaker 2: may not know about you. And you actually, you're from
11:47
Speaker 2: West Tennessee, but you also have ties to Memphis as well.
11:51
Speaker 5: That's right.
11:51
Speaker 1: My husband went to UT Medical School here, and I
11:54
Speaker 1: started my career in the classroom here in Memphis. And
11:56
Speaker 1: so no one told me I was graduating in a recession.
11:58
Speaker 1: So I called 86 public schools begging for a job,
12:01
Speaker 1: ended up at Christ the Rock Christian Academy here in
12:03
Speaker 1: Memphis for the very first year of my teaching career.
12:06
Speaker 2: Is that right?
12:07
Speaker 3: That's right.
12:07
Speaker 2: Do you miss, I mean, you're still teaching, but is
12:10
Speaker 2: there any particular grade that you really enjoyed I'm.
12:13
Speaker 1: Partial to fourth grade, I'll be honest. Fourth graders are
12:16
Speaker 1: so sweet, and I loved teaching fourth grade. I ended
12:19
Speaker 1: up teaching those same students when they were university students
12:23
Speaker 1: at the university level.
12:25
Speaker 2: I don't know why fourth grade. When you said that,
12:28
Speaker 2: I immediately thought of Mrs. Folk at Hope P. Sullivan
12:31
Speaker 2: Elementary School over in South Haven. My reading teacher, you know,
12:35
Speaker 2: and that was a pivotal year.
12:36
Speaker 3: Yeah, it does.
12:37
Speaker 1: And I love that that memory came back to you.
12:40
Speaker 1: Teachers are critical to our formation and to the future
12:43
Speaker 1: of our society.
12:44
Speaker 2: You know, on that note, I'm curious about education. We
12:48
Speaker 2: just had a story that dropped yesterday. Memphis Shelby County
12:50
Speaker 2: Schools dropping another year in enrollment down to 101,000 students,
12:55
Speaker 2: still the largest district in the state. What do we
12:59
Speaker 2: do to make sure kids are in school? And is
13:01
Speaker 2: that going to be a big part of your platform?
13:03
Speaker 1: It's a huge part of my platform. And what I
13:06
Speaker 1: am watching is our public schools failing the families in Tennessee, right?
13:11
Speaker 1: We've put kids on screens. We have forced kids to
13:14
Speaker 1: sit still and listen for six hours when it is
13:16
Speaker 1: not developmentally appropriate. And I think that AI is going
13:19
Speaker 1: to change the next generation, of course, more than any
13:21
Speaker 1: other generation before us. And if we don't transform our
13:24
Speaker 1: classrooms to be real places of learning and meaning making,
13:28
Speaker 1: if our kids aren't touching grass, if they are not
13:30
Speaker 1: working with their hands, I'm concerned that we are handing
13:33
Speaker 1: them a future that is going to make it impossible
13:38
Speaker 1: for future generations to survive.
13:40
Speaker 2: I've always believed that parents need to prepare their kids.
13:43
Speaker 2: For me personally, I think kids need to be able
13:45
Speaker 2: to read before they step foot into a school building.
13:48
Speaker 2: That being said, once we're getting them inside Memphis Shelby
13:51
Speaker 2: County Schools, they're still not reading at grade level. And
13:53
Speaker 2: as a taxpayer, as an investor, it concerns me that
13:57
Speaker 2: we're failing the kids here. About 70% of the kids
13:59
Speaker 2: can't read at grade level. As governor, how would you
14:04
Speaker 2: deal with that?
14:05
Speaker 1: We have a 90,000 child care slot deficit in the
14:08
Speaker 1: state of Tennessee. So I would move private school vouchers
14:11
Speaker 1: over to fund early childhood centers. And I would do
14:13
Speaker 1: that on-site and near-site to places of employment. So near
14:16
Speaker 1: industrial parks so that people who work second and third
14:18
Speaker 1: shifts can have a place for their children to go,
14:21
Speaker 1: near public schools so that teachers can have a place
14:23
Speaker 1: for their children to go.
14:25
Speaker 4: That is how we address.
14:29
Speaker 1: The kindergarten readiness.
14:29
Speaker 2: In dire circumstances, and we've seen this happen in Shelby
14:32
Speaker 2: County now, there's a big lawsuit being waged about the
14:35
Speaker 2: state takeover. Was that the right move? Was it right
14:38
Speaker 2: to send the state in and take over these schools
14:40
Speaker 2: and fix what's broken?
14:42
Speaker 1: Do you think that a legislator in Nashville knows how
14:44
Speaker 1: to run a school?
14:45
Speaker 4: In Memphis?
14:47
Speaker 1: Because I don't.
14:49
Speaker 3: Really?
14:49
Speaker 2: So even though they appointed all the local folks with
14:53
Speaker 2: this new board that's overseeing it, you don't think those
14:56
Speaker 2: people have a role in that?
14:58
Speaker 1: I think that what we need to do is invest
15:01
Speaker 1: in communities, and that's where we make a change. We
15:03
Speaker 1: don't fix a community by chasing a headline and strong-arming someone.
15:08
Speaker 1: We come in by investing. We invest in infrastructure. We
15:10
Speaker 1: invest in businesses. We invest in families. We invest in teachers.
15:14
Speaker 2: You're running as an independent. An independent has never really
15:19
Speaker 2: generated a lot of support statewide, including, I believe, the
15:22
Speaker 2: John J. Hooker race, which is what everybody sort of
15:25
Speaker 2: looks back to. And that guy was incredibly well known
15:27
Speaker 2: in politics. How are you going to move the needle?
15:31
Speaker 1: This is not business as usual, Todd. We are looking
15:34
Speaker 1: at a time where more independents are speaking up. And
15:37
Speaker 1: this is a year where independents outnumber Republicans and Democrats.
15:40
Speaker 1: So people are looking for something different. We are in
15:43
Speaker 1: a year of political realignment. I call it a political
15:45
Speaker 1: renaissance of sorts. And just like Abraham Lincoln was a
15:48
Speaker 1: third party candidate and he rose to the occasion when
15:51
Speaker 1: our country was deeply divided. That's what we're looking at
15:54
Speaker 1: right now. And it's going to take people stepping outside
15:56
Speaker 1: of the two party system to fix it.
15:58
Speaker 2: We're talking to Lauren Pinkston, a seventh generation Tennessean from
16:03
Speaker 2: right here in western part of our great state. Pinkston4TN. com
16:08
Speaker 2: is the website. You're going to be at the big
16:12
Speaker 2: Memphis Tigers game.
16:13
Speaker 1: I'm going to be at the Tigers game after the
16:15
Speaker 1: Cooper Young Festival, so we're around.
16:17
Speaker 2: So you're going to Cooper Young, too?
16:18
Speaker 3: Of course.
16:19
Speaker 1: I wouldn't miss it.
16:20
Speaker 4: Are you prepared?
16:21
Speaker 2: Because they say it's like a hip festival.
16:25
Speaker 1: Well, you know, my kids try to keep me young,
16:28
Speaker 1: and they also keep me honest, so I'll be myself.
16:31
Speaker 2: No, you're going to have a great time. I'm excited.
16:33
Speaker 2: It's a lot of fun. You'll enjoy it. So plenty
16:36
Speaker 2: of opportunities to meet Lauren and find out about her platform.
16:41
Speaker 2: And we'd love to get you back on as well
16:44
Speaker 2: here on The Mighty 990. We can talk maybe issues
16:46
Speaker 2: and things like that.
16:47
Speaker 1: That would be great. And anybody can sign up for
16:49
Speaker 1: a call from me on my website as well. So
16:50
Speaker 1: I am extremely accessible.
16:52
Speaker 2: Let's talk about crime. Also, Memphis saved Task Force 13,000
16:57
Speaker 2: arrests since the task force was formed. As governor, and
17:01
Speaker 2: there was a lot of question about whether or not
17:03
Speaker 2: this was the right move to make. What would you
17:05
Speaker 2: have done if you had been governor and we were dealing?
17:08
Speaker 2: How would you deal with the crime problem in Memphis?
17:10
Speaker 1: So this week is the one-year anniversary of when that
17:13
Speaker 1: task force was started. And from my friends at TBI
17:17
Speaker 1: who were there when the folks from D.C. walked in
17:19
Speaker 1: and started thinking, where are we going to go in Tennessee?
17:23
Speaker 1: Anyone who is from Memphis knew it's going to be Memphis, right?
17:26
Speaker 1: The federal government spent $ 221 million to outfit Hotel Indigo
17:30
Speaker 1: downtown with 14 federal agencies. That, to me, is an
17:33
Speaker 1: irresponsible way of using your tax dollars when the Memphis
17:36
Speaker 1: City Police Force was already down 50%. After George Floyd's death,
17:40
Speaker 1: if you want to make your streets safer, you invest
17:43
Speaker 1: in the recruitment and retention of police officers and you
17:45
Speaker 1: make your streets safer by using sustainable choices. Outfitting one
17:49
Speaker 1: hotel for 10 months with two hundred and twenty one
17:52
Speaker 1: million dollars, in my opinion, is a poor business choice
17:55
Speaker 1: when we're hunting and pecking people off of the streets.
17:58
Speaker 2: Hundreds of kids missing kids found, though. And 13,000 criminals
18:03
Speaker 2: taken off the streets.
18:04
Speaker 1: And I know this has been a contentious topic here
18:07
Speaker 1: because people do feel that there has been a level
18:09
Speaker 1: of safety that has been, you know, improved. And I'm
18:11
Speaker 1: not disagreeing with that at all. My question is, is
18:13
Speaker 1: there a better way to use your tax dollars to
18:15
Speaker 1: make that sustainable?
18:15
Speaker 3: All right.
18:16
Speaker 2: That music, they're going to cut me off, Lauren. It's
18:20
Speaker 2: so incredibly rude. Pinkston4TN. com. Go check it out. Lauren, good
18:25
Speaker 2: to see you. And we'll see you at the Tigers
18:27
Speaker 2: game in Cooper Young.
18:28
Speaker 1: Thank you, Todd.
18:29
Speaker 2: We'll be right back. And welcome back, everybody. It is
18:46
Speaker 2: going to be a very warm day. KWAM, the only
18:48
Speaker 2: radio station in Memphis with our own chief meteorologist, Laura Huckabee,
18:52
Speaker 2: is going to be here in just a little while.
18:55
Speaker 2: She says it's going to be 101 degrees today. So
18:58
Speaker 2: if you're going to the Cooper Young Festival this weekend,
19:00
Speaker 2: you've got to hydrate. big big tailgate party tomorrow at
19:04
Speaker 2: tiger stadium down on tiger lane so uh be sure
19:08
Speaker 2: to drink plenty of water adult libations do not count
19:11
Speaker 2: so you need to have some water there um i
19:14
Speaker 2: told you it was a political palooza today and we
19:17
Speaker 2: are honored to have chas molder joining us he is
19:21
Speaker 2: running for tennessee's fifth congressional district he's a mayor out
19:24
Speaker 2: in the well you know the middle part of the
19:26
Speaker 2: state uh We call that the flyover part of Tennessee
19:31
Speaker 2: here on the western side, Mr.
19:32
Speaker 1: Mayor.
19:32
Speaker 2: Middle Tennessee is what we call it. Is that what
19:34
Speaker 2: you call it? Okay, very good.
19:36
Speaker 4: Mr.
19:36
Speaker 2: Mayor, first, welcome to Memphis, and great to have you
19:39
Speaker 2: with us today.
19:39
Speaker 3: Thanks, Todd. Thanks for having me.
19:41
Speaker 5: We've been spending a lot of time in Memphis. As
19:43
Speaker 5: you know, Memphis is a city I know very well.
19:45
Speaker 5: Went to law school here, and coming back to Memphis
19:48
Speaker 5: is like coming home for me.
19:49
Speaker 3: You know, it's funny.
19:50
Speaker 2: We get a lot of we get a lot of
19:51
Speaker 2: grief sometimes because on this radio station, you know, I'm
19:54
Speaker 2: a conservative. But I also believe that we ought to
19:57
Speaker 2: be hearing from all vantage points and all viewpoints. And
20:00
Speaker 2: so we have just as many Democrats coming on KWAM
20:03
Speaker 2: as we do Republicans. And I just think that's kind
20:05
Speaker 2: of fun. I think we've become too balkanized in politics.
20:10
Speaker 5: I totally agree. And honestly, Todd, that's one of the
20:12
Speaker 5: reasons I'm here. I think right now we have too
20:13
Speaker 5: many people in Washington that go to D.C., and pledge
20:18
Speaker 5: allegiance to a party and don't have conversations with the
20:21
Speaker 5: other side. As you know, Howard Baker used to say,
20:23
Speaker 5: you have a conversation with the other side because they
20:24
Speaker 5: may be right. And during my time as mayor, I've
20:27
Speaker 5: focused on bringing people together, and that's the kind of
20:30
Speaker 5: policy and principles I want to.
20:31
Speaker 3: Take to Washington.
20:31
Speaker 2: I have about a bazillion questions for you, but we're
20:34
Speaker 2: going to get you back on later in the campaign
20:36
Speaker 2: as well because, again, there's a lot of ground to
20:39
Speaker 2: cover here. But I have to share this with you.
20:42
Speaker 2: I host a national show, noon to 3 Eastern, on
20:45
Speaker 2: 150 stations around the country. I read, when you first announced,
20:48
Speaker 2: I read your platform. I didn't tell him anything else.
20:51
Speaker 2: I said, is this guy a Republican.
20:53
Speaker 3: Or a Democrat?
20:55
Speaker 2: And most everybody, I don't want to alarm you, but
20:57
Speaker 2: a lot of people thought you were a Republican just
20:59
Speaker 2: reading your platform there, Mr.
21:00
Speaker 3: Mayor.
21:01
Speaker 5: Well, I think my platform is one that brings people
21:03
Speaker 5: together as a mayor of a community that voted for
21:06
Speaker 5: Donald Trump by 44 percentage points. and I was elected
21:09
Speaker 5: with 60 percent of the vote. I think that's a
21:11
Speaker 5: testament to the fact that I'm able to bring people together.
21:14
Speaker 5: And we've had a lot of independents and Republicans vote
21:16
Speaker 5: for me during my time as mayor. And as we know,
21:19
Speaker 5: in this heavily gerrymandered district, that's going to be what
21:21
Speaker 5: it's going to take in order to win this fifth
21:23
Speaker 5: congressional district. And that's why we feel so optimistic about
21:25
Speaker 5: our chances.
21:26
Speaker 2: And in fairness, the Democrats heavily gerrymandered when they had
21:29
Speaker 2: control as well.
21:30
Speaker 3: Right.
21:30
Speaker 5: I think gerrymandering is a tale as old as time.
21:32
Speaker 5: I think the problem in this particular instance, Todd, is
21:35
Speaker 5: They gerrymandered after the deadline for the election had already passed.
21:39
Speaker 5: I mean, my wife and I tell our kids all
21:40
Speaker 5: the time, you don't change the rules after the game
21:42
Speaker 5: has begun. And that's what the legislature did here. I
21:45
Speaker 5: think most people I talk to on the trail think
21:47
Speaker 5: that we need a constitutional amendment to create a commission
21:52
Speaker 5: on redistricting so that we can ensure that this gerrymandering
21:54
Speaker 5: doesn't happen in the future. Because to your point, Todd,
21:57
Speaker 5: this has happened. Republicans and Democrats have done it. I
21:59
Speaker 5: think in this case, though, the way that they did it,
22:01
Speaker 5: the timing of it, again, military Men and women serving
22:05
Speaker 5: overseas had already begun requesting ballots for our election when
22:08
Speaker 5: the legislature changed the maps. But, hey, look, that's in
22:11
Speaker 5: the past. We're looking forward and we're excited about this
22:13
Speaker 5: new district.
22:14
Speaker 2: Chaz Mulder dot com is the Web site. If you
22:17
Speaker 2: want to see his platform and check out his his ads,
22:22
Speaker 2: your ad. I watched your ad and it was, again,
22:26
Speaker 2: a family sitting around the table watching. holding hands, praying,
22:30
Speaker 2: iced tea. I didn't see anybody with nose rings. I
22:33
Speaker 2: didn't see any DSA t-shirts. What message are you trying
22:37
Speaker 2: to convey here? Because that did not look like a
22:39
Speaker 2: typical Democrat candidate ad.
22:41
Speaker 5: Well, you know, the message that we're conveying is that
22:44
Speaker 5: I am a mayor of a small town. I'm a husband,
22:46
Speaker 5: I'm a father, and I'm a native Columbia Tennessean that
22:50
Speaker 5: loves my community and that loves my state. And I
22:52
Speaker 5: want to go serve my community at large in the
22:55
Speaker 5: 17 county district to go to Washington, D.C. to really
22:58
Speaker 5: be a problem solver, to focus on issues that people
23:01
Speaker 5: actually have and that they care about. And that's what
23:03
Speaker 5: we're hearing on the campaign trail. Small business owners that
23:06
Speaker 5: are hurting, gas prices that are rising, health care that
23:09
Speaker 5: is less accessible and affordable. And, you know, my family
23:12
Speaker 5: is my number one asset. My kids, I treat my
23:16
Speaker 5: kids as though they're watching me in everything that I
23:18
Speaker 5: do on the campaign trail and as a mayor. And
23:20
Speaker 5: I think that's why we've been successful in bringing people together.
23:23
Speaker 5: And that's why we're seeing this campaign have so much momentum.
23:26
Speaker 2: I hear exactly what you're saying. And I remember growing up,
23:28
Speaker 2: my grandparents were Democrats. They were very conservative. They were
23:34
Speaker 2: longtime members of the Whitehaven United Methodist Church. I'm Southern Baptist,
23:38
Speaker 2: but they were Methodist. And I know you're a Methodist.
23:42
Speaker 2: and that party changed somewhere, and it became unkind to
23:47
Speaker 2: people of faith. What do you say to folks out there?
23:51
Speaker 2: And they are looking for somebody to vote for, but
23:52
Speaker 2: they see some of the policies coming out of the
23:54
Speaker 2: Democrat Party, and they say, that's not for me.
23:58
Speaker 5: Well, look, I mean, I'm raising my kids in the
24:01
Speaker 5: same church that I grew up in. The only difference
24:04
Speaker 5: is that we sit in the back of the church today.
24:06
Speaker 5: My parents used to make me sit in the front
24:07
Speaker 5: of the church. I think that it is a misnomer
24:11
Speaker 5: to say that the Democrats are a party that don't
24:13
Speaker 5: have faith. I mean, my faith is part of my platform.
24:16
Speaker 5: Everything that I do is faith based. And so I
24:20
Speaker 5: don't agree with the premise that the Democratic Party does
24:22
Speaker 5: not have faith as a part.
24:23
Speaker 3: Of their platform.
24:24
Speaker 2: President Biden, when he was in office, had the FBI
24:28
Speaker 2: targeting Roman Catholic churches in the Richmond, Virginia area and
24:32
Speaker 2: other areas of the nation, trying to encourage priests to
24:35
Speaker 2: spy on their parishioners. Those were in the FBI files,
24:39
Speaker 2: you know, looking at some of the policies. And again,
24:42
Speaker 2: I don't want to get into the weeds on that.
24:44
Speaker 2: But but again, I think that's a genuine and legitimate
24:46
Speaker 2: concern that people have. You know, are the Democrats a
24:49
Speaker 2: faith friendly party?
24:50
Speaker 5: Well, certainly my faith is part of my platform and
24:54
Speaker 5: it's what guides me and it's what what drives me.
24:57
Speaker 5: And certainly that's something that that I consider to be
25:00
Speaker 5: very strong.
25:01
Speaker 3: And I'm very proud of that.
25:03
Speaker 2: I'm curious. You sit in the back row. So we
25:05
Speaker 2: have a name for that in the Baptist faith. It's
25:07
Speaker 2: called the back row Baptist.
25:08
Speaker 3: Do you guys?
25:09
Speaker 5: Well, you know, I guess you could call me a
25:10
Speaker 5: back row Methodist. Primarily it's because we're showing up a
25:13
Speaker 5: few minutes late because it's hard to get our three
25:15
Speaker 5: kids out of the door. But, you know, again, the
25:17
Speaker 5: Methodist church and my Christian faith is very important to me,
25:20
Speaker 5: and I'm very willing and open to talk about that.
25:23
Speaker 5: And to your point, Todd, our first television ad that
25:25
Speaker 5: will go up on the air in Memphis next week
25:27
Speaker 5: depicts my family sitting around a table saying a prayer and.
25:30
Speaker 3: Having a meal.
25:30
Speaker 2: I mean, and I don't like labels, but would it
25:33
Speaker 2: be fair to suggest that you're presenting yourself as a
25:36
Speaker 2: moderate Democrat?
25:37
Speaker 5: I would say that it's fair to say that I'm
25:39
Speaker 5: presenting myself as a pragmatic person that is focused on
25:43
Speaker 5: solutions to problems that matter. And I'll let other people
25:45
Speaker 5: label me. At the end of the day, I want
25:47
Speaker 5: to find problems and I want to solve those problems.
25:49
Speaker 5: I think that's what people want in Washington, D.C.
25:51
Speaker 3: Right now.
25:53
Speaker 2: Let's say you get elected and you are the congressman
25:57
Speaker 2: for the 5th Congressional District. Jamie Rangel has already said
26:01
Speaker 2: if the Democrats regain control of Congress and if you
26:04
Speaker 2: win the fifth, Democrats are retaking the House. Do you
26:09
Speaker 2: do you vote to impeach President Trump? Rangel says that's
26:11
Speaker 2: the first one of the first things they're going to
26:13
Speaker 2: do is impeach the president.
26:14
Speaker 3: I don't think that should be the focus, Todd.
26:16
Speaker 5: I think my focus in when we get elected is
26:18
Speaker 5: going to be solving the problems that people are talking about.
26:21
Speaker 3: On a daily basis.
26:22
Speaker 5: Gas prices are over four dollars a gallon. Health care
26:25
Speaker 5: is like no longer accessible. Henry County, which is in
26:28
Speaker 5: this district, Todd, the 17 county district, they just lost
26:31
Speaker 5: their only labor and delivery unit. So now if you
26:33
Speaker 5: live in Paris, Tennessee, you have to drive over an
26:36
Speaker 5: hour to go get those services. And I think that's
26:38
Speaker 5: what people care about. I'm not going to go to
26:40
Speaker 5: Washington to focus on impeaching the president. I'm going to
26:44
Speaker 5: go to Washington, focus on checking and balancing some of
26:46
Speaker 5: the decisions the president's making, including tariffs that are having
26:49
Speaker 5: a harmful impact on the people that live here.
26:52
Speaker 2: One of the things that I'd respect about Democrats and
26:56
Speaker 2: Nancy Pelosi, when she was Speaker of the House, is
26:58
Speaker 2: the Democrats voted together. It didn't matter that everybody was
27:01
Speaker 2: in line, marching in step. Are you going to be
27:03
Speaker 2: one of those march in step Democrats?
27:05
Speaker 5: I am going to be an independent-minded congressman that's going
27:08
Speaker 5: to focus on making sure that every vote I take
27:11
Speaker 5: is in the best interest of this district. You may
27:13
Speaker 5: have seen this week we just received the Blue Dogs endorsement.
27:17
Speaker 5: There are 10 Blue Dogs in the House, and they
27:19
Speaker 5: have not endorsed any Tennessee candidate in over 40 years,
27:23
Speaker 5: and that's because we are an independent-minded campaign. We want
27:27
Speaker 5: to focus on fiscal responsibility. In Columbia, we've had eight
27:30
Speaker 5: years of balanced budgets during my eight years as mayor
27:33
Speaker 5: that had no property tax increases. We've found solutions to problems,
27:37
Speaker 5: and I think that's what people want, and I'm going
27:39
Speaker 5: to be independent-minded. Just a couple weeks ago, Todd, Charlie Hatcher,
27:42
Speaker 5: our opponent, said that he couldn't think of one thing
27:45
Speaker 5: that he disagreed with President Trump about. I bet even
27:47
Speaker 5: Todd Starnes could think of something that he disagreed with
27:49
Speaker 5: President Trump about. I can't imagine surrendering my judgment to
27:52
Speaker 5: any president or to any party. I'm going to be independent-minded.
27:55
Speaker 5: I'm not going to tow a party line. I'm going
27:57
Speaker 5: to tow the line that's in the best interest of
27:59
Speaker 5: this district.
28:00
Speaker 2: And if that's the case, I don't want to put
28:02
Speaker 2: you on the spot here, but is there one thing
28:04
Speaker 2: that you're like, because you've mentioned Charlie Hatcher. Is there
28:08
Speaker 2: one thing that you're looking at your party and what
28:10
Speaker 2: your party is doing right now that you disagree with?
28:13
Speaker 5: Well, I think there are a couple of things that
28:16
Speaker 5: I could point to that I agree with that President
28:18
Speaker 5: Trump has done with respect to securing our border. I
28:21
Speaker 5: think that we need to have secure borders. I think
28:24
Speaker 5: that the Biden administration missed the mark in that regard.
28:28
Speaker 5: I think that standing up to China with respect to
28:31
Speaker 5: forced technology related issues is important. I think President Trump
28:34
Speaker 5: has done that. I think with regard to criminal justice reform,
28:37
Speaker 5: I think that's very important. So I'm going to be
28:40
Speaker 5: willing to agree with the president when there's something that
28:43
Speaker 5: I think the president is doing right that's in the
28:45
Speaker 5: best interest of our district. But the difference between Charlie
28:47
Speaker 5: Hatcher and me is I'm also going to be willing
28:49
Speaker 5: to stand up when I think the president is making
28:51
Speaker 5: decisions that's harmful to this congressional district. You know, when
28:55
Speaker 5: you look at the western part of the state, it's
28:57
Speaker 5: a big ag community. I mean, this is where we
28:59
Speaker 5: have the farmers and the ranches. and you mentioned President
29:03
Speaker 5: Trump completely disagreed with the idea of bringing in foreign beef.
29:08
Speaker 5: The cattle industry is hurting, farmers are hurting, and they
29:12
Speaker 5: need somebody that's going to be looking out for their
29:14
Speaker 5: interest as well up on Capitol Hill. What do you
29:17
Speaker 5: say to those farmers here in West Tennessee that are
29:19
Speaker 5: listening this morning? Well, I'm actually speaking with farmers on
29:22
Speaker 5: a daily basis, and the farmers that I'm speaking to
29:25
Speaker 5: are talking about how they are having the most challenging
29:29
Speaker 5: times of their careers. We have a number of farms
29:31
Speaker 5: that are now having to shut down because they can't
29:33
Speaker 5: afford their input costs. Farmers are very upset. I hear
29:36
Speaker 5: a lot of farmers that tell me, Todd, that they
29:38
Speaker 5: voted for the president, but they didn't vote for this.
29:41
Speaker 5: And when they mean this, they're talking about the fact
29:43
Speaker 5: that that diesel prices are out of control as a
29:46
Speaker 5: result of the war, that the tariffs are having an
29:48
Speaker 5: impact on their input costs. And so farmers are very upset.
29:51
Speaker 5: Just the Tennessee Farm Bureau president a couple of weeks
29:53
Speaker 5: ago actually stood up against this beef tariff deal that
29:57
Speaker 5: the president entered into. And that's not something that happens often.
30:00
Speaker 5: And so I support the Tennessee Farm Bureau and their members.
30:03
Speaker 5: As you may know, Columbia, Tennessee, where I'm the mayor,
30:06
Speaker 5: is the headquarters of the Tennessee Farm Bureau. So I
30:08
Speaker 5: have a good relationship with that organization and believe that
30:10
Speaker 5: we need to be supporting our farmers by supporting policies
30:13
Speaker 5: that are helpful for them, not that are having a
30:15
Speaker 5: harmful impact on them.
30:17
Speaker 2: And of course, KWAM is proud to be the Farm
30:19
Speaker 2: Bureau station. We carry their farm reports here and we
30:23
Speaker 2: appreciate that. I love On the weekends, I'll go to
30:26
Speaker 2: the farmer's market, and we've got a lot of farmers
30:28
Speaker 2: that listen to the show as they're out in the fields,
30:30
Speaker 2: and we appreciate that. And we need lawmakers up on
30:34
Speaker 2: Capitol Hill that are going to have their backs. Chas,
30:37
Speaker 2: can you hang on for a second? We've got to
30:38
Speaker 2: take a quick break. Can you stick around for a
30:40
Speaker 2: few minutes?
30:41
Speaker 3: Absolutely, Todd.
30:41
Speaker 2: All right, we've got Chas Mulder running for Congress. He
30:45
Speaker 2: is joining us in studio today. Chasmulder.com is the website.
30:50
Speaker 2: You can get all sorts of information, and also you're
30:52
Speaker 2: going to have an opportunity to meet him today. He's
30:54
Speaker 2: going to be in town this weekend. Got to take
30:57
Speaker 2: a quick break. By the way, when we come back,
31:00
Speaker 2: the next caller to the Mighty 990 will pick up
31:03
Speaker 2: a pair of tickets to see Kool and the Gang
31:05
Speaker 2: tonight live at the Garden. Going to be a great concert.
31:09
Speaker 2: You can pack a great picnic or buy food there.
31:12
Speaker 2: And it's going to be a wonderful time. We want
31:14
Speaker 2: to send you and a guest to Kool and the Gang, 901-260-5926,
31:16
Speaker 2: our telephone number. We'll be right back. And welcome back, everybody.
31:30
Speaker 2: It is going to be a very hot day here
31:32
Speaker 2: in the Mid-South. And we're honored to be hanging out
31:34
Speaker 2: with Chance Mulder. He is the mayor of Columbia, Tennessee,
31:38
Speaker 2: running for the 5th Congressional District. And he's going to
31:41
Speaker 2: be all over the Mid-South. But you've got a lot
31:44
Speaker 2: of ties. We were talking about just your background and everything.
31:47
Speaker 2: I didn't realize you've spent a lot of time. You
31:49
Speaker 2: have family connections here.
31:50
Speaker 4: That's right.
31:50
Speaker 5: I went to law school here at the University of
31:52
Speaker 5: Memphis School of Law. When they were in the old
31:54
Speaker 5: building on Central Avenue, not in their beautiful new building, downtown.
31:58
Speaker 5: My wife is from Ripley, Tennessee. And so I've spent
32:01
Speaker 5: a lot of time in West Tennessee over the last
32:03
Speaker 5: 20 years of our marriage. And again, coming back to
32:06
Speaker 5: Memphis and coming to West Tennessee is like coming home
32:08
Speaker 5: for me.
32:08
Speaker 2: So you have to explain the tie, though, for our
32:11
Speaker 2: radio audience here. There is a West Tennessee connection to
32:15
Speaker 2: your tie.
32:15
Speaker 3: That's right. It's my good luck tie. It's my Ripley
32:18
Speaker 3: tomato tie.
32:20
Speaker 5: And whenever I'm just looking for a good luck day,
32:22
Speaker 5: we're going to have a great day today here in Memphis.
32:24
Speaker 5: I wear my Ripley tomato top. If you've never had
32:26
Speaker 5: a Ripley tomato, I highly suggest it. It's the best
32:28
Speaker 5: tomato in the world.
32:29
Speaker 2: It is the only– well, Mississippi Red are good, but
32:33
Speaker 2: you're right. That Ripley tomato, tomato sandwich, that's what I
32:37
Speaker 2: live for. I do not– you can't eat a store-bought
32:39
Speaker 2: tomato on a tomato sandwich. A little-known fact, the tomato
32:43
Speaker 2: is the state fruit in Tennessee. So when you're eating
32:45
Speaker 2: a tomato sandwich, you can take relish in the fact
32:48
Speaker 2: that you're eating the state fruit while you're at it.
32:50
Speaker 3: Okay.
32:50
Speaker 2: I know the guy's a Democrat, ladies and gentlemen, but
32:52
Speaker 2: he knows that a tomato is a fruit.
32:54
Speaker 3: That's right. Absolutely.
32:55
Speaker 2: Which those of us who grew up in the church,
32:57
Speaker 2: I had big issues with VeggieTales. Because the tomato.
33:01
Speaker 3: That's right.
33:01
Speaker 2: I'm like the tomato is a fruit.
33:03
Speaker 3: It's a fruit. That's right. And the official state fruit
33:05
Speaker 3: at that.
33:06
Speaker 2: So you're traveling around. I mean, what is what is
33:09
Speaker 2: something that's really struck you as you're traveling around? You're
33:13
Speaker 2: going to all the festivals and you're meeting all the Tennesseans.
33:16
Speaker 2: What is it that that's been striking for you?
33:18
Speaker 5: I think for me, people are paying attention. I think
33:20
Speaker 5: people are very upset. Again, to go back to this
33:23
Speaker 5: gerrymandering that occurred late in the game, I think people
33:26
Speaker 5: are confused. You know, they don't know what district they
33:28
Speaker 5: live in, particularly in Memphis. Memphis has been carved into
33:31
Speaker 5: three separate congressional districts. My hometown of Columbia, where I've
33:34
Speaker 5: been the mayor for eight years, actually was carved into two.
33:38
Speaker 5: They carved Columbia, Tennessee, a population of 50,000 people, as
33:42
Speaker 5: one half in the fifth and the other half in
33:44
Speaker 5: the ninth. I think the other thing, Todd, is people
33:45
Speaker 5: are paying attention to the issues that People are feeling
33:48
Speaker 5: the hurt. People understand that prices are rising. Gas prices,
33:53
Speaker 5: just grocery prices, the tariffs that are being put on
33:58
Speaker 5: some of our longtime trading partners that are having an impact.
34:01
Speaker 5: I was with a small business owner in Franklin a
34:03
Speaker 5: couple of weeks ago that was talking about the fact
34:05
Speaker 5: that the tariffs have had a direct impact on his
34:08
Speaker 5: prices that he's having to charge his customers. And he's
34:11
Speaker 5: having to deal with the prospect of either continuing to
34:14
Speaker 5: increase his prices to his customers or shut down the doors.
34:16
Speaker 5: And I don't think that those are helpful to our
34:20
Speaker 5: local economy. We just celebrated in Columbia just this week,
34:23
Speaker 5: a small business that has been in operation in Columbia,
34:26
Speaker 5: Tennessee for 80 years. And that's something that we can
34:28
Speaker 5: all be proud of. But unfortunately, these small businesses are
34:31
Speaker 5: feeling the hurt from this economy that is, again, causing
34:35
Speaker 5: prices to rise as a result of tariffs and entering
34:38
Speaker 5: into a war of choice that doesn't seem to have
34:40
Speaker 5: any end in sight and the big, beautiful bill that
34:42
Speaker 5: added $ 4 trillion to our deficit, Todd. And that, I think,
34:45
Speaker 5: is a very important issue that people are waking up
34:47
Speaker 5: to and understanding that we've got to get our hands
34:49
Speaker 5: around that.
34:50
Speaker 2: Looking at the 5th Congressional District, and specifically Memphis and
34:53
Speaker 2: Shelby County, West Tennessee, what is it that you're traveling
34:58
Speaker 2: this part of the district, what is the big issue
35:01
Speaker 2: you see out here, something that you think, you know what,
35:04
Speaker 2: I think I can be of help here in Congress?
35:06
Speaker 5: Well, I think constituent services is so very important, particularly
35:10
Speaker 5: in this area. I mean, to focus on casework and
35:13
Speaker 5: our veterans who need assistance at the federal level. That's
35:17
Speaker 5: something that's very important to me. We've said it once
35:20
Speaker 5: and we'll say it again. When we're elected, we're going
35:22
Speaker 5: to make sure that we have an office presence in Memphis.
35:24
Speaker 5: I think it's very important that the people of Memphis
35:26
Speaker 5: know who their congressman is. And so focus on constituent services.
35:30
Speaker 5: To a policy issue, though, to your point, Todd, I
35:32
Speaker 5: think health care is so very important. Everywhere we go,
35:35
Speaker 5: people are talking about the fact that health care prices
35:38
Speaker 5: are rising, that health care is less accessible today than
35:41
Speaker 5: ever before. And I think we want to be part
35:44
Speaker 5: of a problem-solving caucus in Congress to help find solutions
35:48
Speaker 5: to these issues. As a mayor, mayors have to solve problems.
35:53
Speaker 5: When someone comes to me and says that their trash
35:55
Speaker 5: didn't get picked up, I don't ask them what political
35:57
Speaker 5: party they're in. I go figure out a way to
35:58
Speaker 5: get their trash picked up. And I think that's the
36:01
Speaker 5: kind of approach that I want to take to Washington, D.C.,
36:04
Speaker 5: to focus on what the problem is and be a
36:06
Speaker 5: part of the caucus, Republican and Democrat, that's going to
36:09
Speaker 5: go find a solution instead of being a talking head
36:12
Speaker 5: and creating this continued chaos and corruption that we're seeing
36:15
Speaker 5: and finding solutions to problems that actually exist.
36:19
Speaker 2: DSA. it's becoming an issue for the Democrats. And I
36:23
Speaker 2: think a lot of folks in your party are trying
36:24
Speaker 2: to figure out how do we get a handle on this.
36:28
Speaker 2: Where do you stand there?
36:28
Speaker 4: You know what?
36:29
Speaker 2: I'm sorry. I didn't realize the music was coming up.
36:31
Speaker 2: We're going to save that question for the next time
36:33
Speaker 2: we get you on.
36:33
Speaker 5: Well, what I'll tell you, Todd, is I'm a capitalist,
36:36
Speaker 5: not a socialist. And the best way to ensure that
36:37
Speaker 5: that does not overtake the party is to elect Democrats
36:40
Speaker 5: like me. who are focused on pragmatic solutions and problems
36:43
Speaker 5: that matter. Mr.
36:44
Speaker 2: Mayor, you watch the clock better than I do. Good
36:47
Speaker 2: to see you.
36:47
Speaker 3: Thank you, Todd.
36:48
Speaker 2: And have fun. Cooper Young District tomorrow. All right, folks,
36:51
Speaker 2: it's been a great day. We'll see you back here
36:53
Speaker 2: at 11 right here on KWIN.