Tuesday, July 7, 2009

We hope he's aware of the irony of what he's doing

Our long national nightmare is over; W.W. Herenton is stepping down as mayor of Memphis on July 31st. And not a moment too soon. Look at this laundry list of failures the man failed to achieve during his five terms as mayor.

  • Failed to ensure sound fiscal management of the City of Memphis [11]
  • Fraud allegations involving national money for the building of the FedEx Forum [12]
  • Failed to communicate effectively with the City Council [13]
  • Failed to address multiple allegations of improprieties regarding Memphis Light Gas and Water [13]
  • Served as the prime target and catalyst for the City Charter rewrite [14]
  • Angered citizens to the point of becoming a target of a (failed) citizen recall effort [15]
  • 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.[16],
  • Benefited personally from the rezoning of the Greyhound bus terminal property;
  • Done little in response to the significant rise in crime under his leadership; he stated that "No mayor in any American City can solve the crime problem."[17]
  • Appointed new leadership of the Memphis Public Library over the objections of the Tennessee Library Association.[18]
  • Failed to address criticism in the way that cases and staffing were being handled by the Memphis Sexual Assault Resource Center, and caused a racially-charged argument in the council meeting where he accused the city councilman of being a racist.

A run off will be held to determine the new mayor of Memphis. And who is a candidate? None other then WWE Hall of Famer and Memphis resident, Jerry "The King" Lawler. Yes a king is running for office. The "Evil King of Memphis" no less. Luckily, the investigative reporters of LOL, Wresslin' were able to get a pre-release copy of King Lawler's first speech. Here are some of the policies he'd wish to enact, should the will of the people of Memphis wish him to:

  • Put money into Memphis educational system.
  • Open "Andy Kaufman Memorial Theater" in heart of Memphis's legendary performing district.
  • Declare November 29th to be "Mayor Motorboat Day", where the mayor of Memphis may place his face into the chest of any female citizen up to four times.
  • Replace alcohol and cigarettes with Coca-Cola Classic.
  • Appoint Debra McMichael "Secretary of Puppies".
  • Women, not just men, will be required to "pull the straps down" when they are about to finish off a tough task.
  • Fill up the holes in Main Street. This is not what it sounds like.
Also, being a broadcaster himself, Lawler promises unprecedented access with the media. Namely, he will squeal with ecstasy every time a female reporter wears something remotely revealing. He also promises to draw all his campaign posters himself.

Of course, Batman doesn't like him. That could be a problem for any candidacy.

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