After a year of quarrelsome fighting with the Memphis City Council and a claim from a mother that her child was his, it would have been wise for Mayor Willie W. Herenton to make a New Year's resolution for better public relations in 2006.
After his "State of the City" address given on Jan. 4, Herenton held a no-holds-barred press conference with the media the next day. Although he refrained from attacking the Memphis City Council during the conference, he did go after the Commercial Appeal and the Memphis Flyer for their criticism of him and his policies.
Lisa Huffstetler, a political science professor at The University of Memphis, said that Herenton's adversarial relationship with the press hurts his relationship with the public.
"Mayor Herenton does not seem to know how to handle the press very well for a politician," she said. "This would certainly hinder him if he has any aspirations for higher office."
Herenton is the first mayor in Memphis history to be elected for a fourth consecutive term. Despite his popularity at the polls, some students think Herenton has been in office long enough.
"It's time for him to come out of office now," said Jimmie Coleman, an undecided freshman. "He's having too many problems with the city. We're having a whole lot of financial problems."
Despite development in downtown Memphis and the popularity of the Memphis Grizzlies and the Memphis Redbirds, Huffstetler believes that other issues in the city will weigh heavier on voters' minds when Herenton runs for re-election in 2007.
"Local issues such as the continued budget shortfalls, shrinking reserves, poor city schools, continued unease over how MLGW has been managed, crime rates, etc. dominate the average informed Memphis citizen's thinking," she said. "And all of these issues reflect poorly on Mayor Herenton."
Because Herenton has been in office since 1991, many have questioned whether his long run in office has added to his rough relationship with the media.
Joe Hayden, a journalism professor at The U of M, said that term limits are not the answer to his sometimes sour relations with the press.
"The mayor has an abrasive, combative personality, and for better or worse, those traits always light up the media switchboard," he said. "His personality has much more to do with his press relations than does term limits."
Huffstetler said that she thinks Herenton's time in office has contributed to his demeanor.
"I believe his long tenure has lent itself to a certain arrogance of attitude on his part," she said.
She said that she supported Herenton when she moved to Memphis ten years ago, and even voted for him. She moved out of the city mainly because of what she sees as "poor city government," and she said that if she was able, she would not vote for him again.
"I believe Mayor Herenton has overstepped his boundaries on several issues - MLGW and school consolidation just to name a couple - and I would like to see new leadership in Memphis."
