DMC supports the growth of minority business
Last Sunday’s Viewpoint section included a column discussing minority business efforts on the Downtown Memphis Commission’s Harahan Bridge lighting project, which is funded by a donation of $12 million from an anonymous donor that was approved by City Council in June 2016.
DMC President and Chief Executive Officer Terence Patterson has continuously stated that his organization stands by its policy of requiring a good-faith effort of 20 percent minorityand women-owned business enterprise (MWBE) participation. Even more, Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland has continued to express and demonstrate his commitment to increasing opportunities for MWBEs in city of Memphis contracting, with a 17 percent growth in city contracting in just the first few months of his tenure.
As director of the Office of Business Diversity and Compliance, I have expressed the same — and shared this via email with the author of last week’s column.
We also have asked for names of the MWBE vendors that were interested in participating on this project so that we may better assist in connecting them to the DMC for consideration. As the MWBE development and compliance arm for the city of Memphis, and per our Equal Business Opportunity Ordinance, we work in conjunction with city of Memphis divisions, boards, commissions and quasi-governmental agencies like DMC to ensure diversity in contract spending.
The opinion expressed last week is that DMC is somehow not going to attempt to ensure MWBE participation on this project. But the facts don’t back this up. In fact, the facts tell a completely different story.
The facts are that this project, under the leadership of Mr. Patterson (who updated the DMC Board last week), is on track to meet or exceed the 20 percent MWBE participation goal. Philips Lighting has already started to reach out to MWBE vendors to identify opportunities to contract. I have continually stated that my team is here to support DMC, and Terence Patterson and I meet and work together on a regular basis to discuss MWBE business development.
And Mayor Strickland continues to state his commitment to creating equity in economic development for all citizens of the city of Memphis. Increasing MWBE opportunities isn’t merely a goal of mine and the mayor’s, it’s a passion.
These are the facts. As a public servant and responsible steward of taxpayer money, I choose to focus on those facts and how we can continue our efforts on this and many other projects.