Trust Me on This One Folks, I Find it All Hard to Believe Too
Normally I don’t write pieces that are too speculative in nature unless I have some facts to back them up. I’ve been following some items for a couple months now and have been able to piece a few items together. It makes for an interesting read, although I’ll be the first to admit it sounds like something that would show up in an anonymous blog. Luckily, anything I write, I put my name on it because my ego is just that big.
There is quite the internal struggle going behind the scenes involving the Mayor, Council President, the Sheriff’s Department and the Black Pastors. Here’s the deal. The Mayor and Black pastors have been at odds for a while concerning funding for programs. The Pastors wanted the mayor to help raise $25 million over five years for programs they would administer. The meeting went south faster than K-Fed’s career. So now the Council President, Monroe Gray, is negotiating with the Pastors to find them their money. Quite a reversal for a man who reportedly dropped the n-word regarding them a while back. By stepping in, Monroe builds a bridge between the Mayor and Pastors.
Why is this important? There is talk that the newly merged Metropolitan Police Department could go back under Bart Peterson. To accomplish that, the Democrats would have to vote for it. Gray and his chief lieutenant and fellow councilor Vernon Brown are already upset because their “juice” doesn’t fly with the new department. They’ve been told to back off several times by Frank Anderson’s right-hand men. In part, they complain Anderson has appointed no Blacks to his upper echelon. There have been quite a few private conflicts between the two parties.
So here’s the connection, by making peace with the Pastors, the councilors increase their pull, which has come under fire lately for a number of missteps. Secondly, the Mayor gets the Police department back. Gray and Brown stick it to Anderson and his staff. And if Gray can find the money, he’s a hero to the clergy and gets them off the Mayor’s back.
I’m still confused about all this, but this is what’s been going on behind the scenes. Now you’re just as confused as I am.
