MEMPHIS, Tenn. –The gloves came off in the race for City Mayor.
The election is still more than four months away but one candidate didn’t wasting anytime taking shots at Mayor A C Wharton.
“If the facts slam the mayor, I guess the facts slam the mayor. I’m not slamming the mayor,” said City Councilman and candidate Jim Strickland.
Strickland said the letter he emailed to media and voters was to inform them Mayor Wharton’s 2015-2016 budget was filled with lots of suits and not enough boots.
It went on to say the mayor was creating high dollar jobs at City Hall while ignoring pay raises for base line employees like police and firefighters.
“It makes people skeptical of their numbers when they constantly change, and when they want to impose some increase then they have the money,” Strickland said. “But if anybody else proposes any spending then they don’t have the money.”
WREG asked Mayor Wharton about the criticism his priorities were not what Memphis needed.
“With all the stuff he’s talking about it’s within budget. It’s not taking one dollar away from anything else,” he said.
The mayor said he put money in police and fire budgets and in projects to fight blighted eyesores.
He then accused Strickland of trying to make a name for himself and playing politics.
“He was around when all of this developed. He knows how to shape budgets and I’m not going to get into any back and forth with that,” said Wharton.
Strickland said he’s strictly asking the tough questions and it’s the mayor doing the politicking.
“He is campaigning 100% of the time. Press conferences are his specialty We need results not press conferences,” Strickland said.
