Sanford: Three ways of doing business in mayor’s race
The 2019 mayor's race is shaping up as a three-way contest representing the past, present and, perhaps, future of city politics.
Otis Sanford
Columnist
Otis Sanford is a political columnist, author and professor emeritus in Journalism and Strategic Media at the University of Memphis.
There are 275 articles by Otis Sanford :
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March 2019
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Otis Sanford -
Otis Sanford Sanford: Criminal justice reform is not a black thing
White inmates represent 58 percent of the total federal prison population, according to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. The First Step Act, designed to lower mandatory-minimum sentences, shouldn't be considered an altruistic act exclusively for black inmates.
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February 2019
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Otis Sanford Sanford: Russell Sugarmon blazed a trail for racial change in Memphis
In his early career, Russell Sugarmon played a key role in Memphis' political evolution, both as a candidate for city office in 1959 and as a lawyer for college students who staged sit-ins at lunch counters and public libraries.
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Otis Sanford Sanford: Miss. Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves must clarify stance on race relations
Mississippi’s Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves is running to be the chief executive of a state where nearly 40 percent of its citizens are African-Americans. They and everyone else in Mississippi deserve to hear directly from him a definitive statement on race relations in 2019.
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Otis Sanford Sanford: Gov. Lee should change position on removing Forrest’s bust from Capitol
The Tennessee Republican Party must find the political courage to move the Nathan Bedford Forrest bust – a blatant symbol of Tennessee’s shameful history – out of the Capitol rotunda and into the museum, and replace it with a hero that is more representative of all Tennesseans.
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January 2019
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Otis Sanford Sanford: A serious look at Memphis poverty requires more than a math equation
In an otherwise carefully crafted State of the City address that was full of symbolism and substance, Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland included one line that may have caused more confusion than clarity. -
Otis Sanford Sanford: Luminary Awards shine well-deserved light on 10 women change-makers
The 10 women honored with Luminary Award medals this year represent the diversity, racially and otherwise, that makes Memphis a cool place in which to live.
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Otis Sanford Sanford: Mayor Strickland has the Big Mo
"Big Mo" – as in Momentum – is a nickname that just might stick. And as Mayor Jim Strickland makes his re-election bid, he would be wise to embrace it.
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Otis Sanford Sanford: Haslam’s decision to grant clemency to Cyntoia Brown reflects his governing style
Gov. Bill Haslam's highly-publicized and celebrated decision granting full clemency to Cyntoia Brown is indicative of how he has governed during his two terms: a compassionate conservative moved simply by the desire to do the right thing.
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Otis Sanford Sanford: Cohen squashes rumors about his political future, then makes some predictions of his own
After putting the kibosh on rumors about his political future, U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen is making a rather bold prediction of his own.
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December 2018
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Otis Sanford Sanford: This year’s top news stories hint at what’s ahead in 2019
A steady flow of mostly positive economic news for Memphis and Shelby County – coupled with the solemn and tasteful commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination – was overshadowed at times by political bickering and grandstanding in 2018.
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Opinion Sanford: Alexander served with honor, earning the right to step aside
The statement contained a total of 102 words. But for a man who has served his state and country as long as Lamar Alexander has, it was remarkable for its brevity. -
Otis Sanford Sanford: Will U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander seek a fourth term in 2020?
Will he or won’t he? -
Otis Sanford Sanford: City Council dysfunction recalls a polarized past
So much for civility, consensus and racial harmony. -
Otis Sanford Sanford: How newly elected Sen. Hyde-Smith can help alleviate racial discord in Mississippi
I am willing to give the nearly 500,000 Mississippi voters the benefit of the doubt.
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November 2018
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Otis Sanford Sanford: Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith continues Mississippi’s history of defiance
“Everything is not about race,” Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant boldly proclaimed this week while struggling to defend an indefensible comment from the person he handpicked to be an interim U.S. senator. -
Opinion Sanford: Tennessee is clearly a microcosm of our current national politics – hopelessly divisive
Phil Bredesen spent his last four minutes and 12 seconds in the spotlight Tuesday night coming to grips with the sobering reality that his time in politics is over. -
Otis Sanford Sanford: Decisions – whether at the voting booth, in the classroom or in life – have consequences
“People make choices. Choices make history.”
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October 2018
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Otis Sanford Kelsey-Salinas race speaks to the current divisive nature of politics
The politics of fear and division, playing out at the national level, has literally hit home. -
Otis Sanford Telling police officers to keep silent undermines investigations and cripples justice
Picture this scenario: A man with a gun is chasing on foot another man, who may or may not be armed. -
Otis Sanford Taylor Swift won’t give Bredesen an upset victory, an oversized voter turnout in Shelby County will
Taylor Swift may have gotten all the media attention for potentially upping the vote. -
Otis Sanford Trenary’s legacy lives on and we’re all obligated to help carry his work forward
What might he have been thinking? And what was he saying?
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September 2018
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Otis Sanford Lee seems well-positioned to break the 52-year trend of the governor’s office alternating between the two major parties - or is he?
If you believe the polls, Republican Bill Lee is steamrolling toward victory in the Tennessee governor’s race. -
Otis Sanford Potentially game-changing Blackburn-Bredesen Senate race features two strategies: national vs. local
Republican Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn is doing all she can to nationalize her race for the U.S. Senate. -
Sanford’s goals: Inform, enlighten and provoke (when necessary)
It was unusually cold in Memphis – even for the dead of winter – with a couple inches of fresh snow on the ground when I checked in at the metro desk of The Commercial Appeal on Jan. 10, 1977, for my first day as a general assignment reporter. My initial assignment, of course, was to write a weather story. Then as now, even a minor snowfall is a serious disruptor in Memphis and front-page news.
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