Empower faith and civic communities
As your Juvenile Court Clerk, I have seen first-hand what causes crime and the heartbreak it leaves behind. I have seen the hopelessness and fear in the faces of the youth who pass through Juvenile Court, where I have served as your elected clerk for the past eight years. I understand that a community fractured by poverty, crime and despair can never prosper.
While some become apathetic, I believe that we can’t give up on reducing crime. Based on my 25 years as a public servant working in all areas of county government, I have the experience and insight to lead us as your Shelby County Mayor. I will bring government, business, education, faith and civic leaders together to find solutions to crime and education. We deserve better than an inadequate community plan.
I worked and grew up in our family’s restaurant the Fairview on Parkway. I learned early the value of hard work, managing money and treating everyone with respect. I worked my way through school and graduated from Lausanne Collegiate School and the University of Memphis. My career with Shelby County government began as a temporary clerk with General Sessions Court and several years later I was appointed the Chief Administrative Officer in the Juvenile Court Clerk’s Office.
During this time, I chaired several committees because of my ability to build teams and foster positive relationships and also to get the job done. I am honored to have experienced all facets of Shelby County government.
My plan, if elected, is simple yet difficult. My staff and I will work closely with law enforcement ensuring they have the personnel, equipment and tools needed to keep us safe. We will strengthen our commitment to the multiagency gang task force unit. We must also hold accountable those who break the law and ensure funding to our District Attorney in order to prosecute violent offenders.
When it comes to our youth and education, I looked for a solution and found one. The solution that I have come to as it relates to the inter-connected issues of education and the breakdown of the family unit is to mobilize and empower our faith and civic communities. They will fill the gap of the breakdown of the family unit so that a child can be safe, fed and prepared for school the next day.
My plan is to improve the lives and level of hope that our children and families have in Shelby County. We shouldn’t wait for the federal or state government to do it for us. We have the assets available for us to do it ourselves. But it will take all of us working together and having the determination to make a real difference.
Then, when we are safe in our county and our children and families have hope, our economic situation will improve. Until we reduce crime and improve our education, we will be stagnant economically. We will continue to pay our government’s bills and expenses with property taxes and we will be unable to attract new businesses or grow our existing businesses.
My form of mayoral leadership will not be centered on self-promotion but instead will be modeled after the words of Ronald Reagan who said, “There is no limit to what a man can do or where he can go if he doesn’t mind who gets the credit.”
I left an office that’s not term limited because I feel that I am the best candidate. I sincerely ask for your vote.
Joy Touliatos has been Shelby County Juvenile Court Clerk since 2010.