Herenton uses Tom Lee Park plans to swing at Strickland
Former Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton attacked the Memphis River Parks Partnership on Thursday morning, threatened it with dissolution and called the partnership’s plans to renovate Tom Lee Park “asinine.”
From a sidewalk above the park, the former youth boxer turned public servant, Herenton, threw one of his first political punches of the campaign. He called the partnership an elitist organization that wanted to restrict access to the public park and its $60 million renovation plan had ill-intent.
Herenton called for a referendum on the Tom Lee Park renovations, said he would undo the renovations if he was elected mayor. He added if the partnership had gone against the will of the people, he would revoke its authority to manage the river parks.
The former mayor also expressed confidence that he would return to the mayor’s office
“If there’s any question in your mind about me being elected mayor, you need to get it out of there. I’m coming back as mayor.” Herenton told the assembled
“If there’s any question in your mind about me being elected mayor, you need to get it out of there. I’m coming back as mayor.” Former Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton
reporters.
He cast the Tom Lee renovation plans as Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland’s effort to harm the festival. The renovation plans have been the subject of mediation between the partnership and Memphis in May since March.
If the renovations move forward, the festival would likely have to move for a year and if previous plans are pursued there would be less space for the barbecue festival and Beale Street Music Fest. It is unclear how much those plans have changed in ongoing confidential mediation.
Herenton called that mediation a “farce” and said it should end or the results should be known before the election.
The former mayor’s attack on the Tom Lee Park plans comes just a week after several founders of Memphis in May, whom Herenton referenced by name Thursday, asked Strickland to end the mediation and put the Tom Lee renovation plans on hold and come up with a whole new plan for the riverfront.
Strickland said he would take those concerns seriously.
Herenton said he has not heard much from Memphians in the north and south of the city about the Tom Lee Park plans, but said he had from those who lived in Midtown and East Memphis. .
The Strickland campaign countered Herenton’s jab by referencing the former mayor’s stewardship of the riverfront as Memphis’ chief executive Thursday.
“Mayor Strickland stands with Memphis in May and has already said he will keep the festival in Tom Lee Park. He also believes we can improve the park for the other 11 months out of the year,” said Steven Reid, Strickland’s campaign consultant.
Reid said, “Any improvement to the park will be made without using city capital improvement funds or from our general revenue fund, as opposed to Mayor Herenton’s stewardship of the riverfront, which brought a wildly overbudget Beale Street Landing, taking money away from core city services, and tons of delays.”
The Beale Street Landing project cost $43 million and began when Herenton was mayor and was completed when AC Wharton was mayor. Two restaurants on the site have failed.
Memphis in May spokesman Robert Griffin watched Herenton speak Thursday but declined to comment.