(The Center Square) – Republican state Sen. Brent Taylor and Democratic state Rep. Gabby Salinas have a deep love for Memphis as well as different ideas about the presence of National Guard troops in their city.
To Taylor, the troops are necessary as part of the “Make Memphis Matter” campaign, the Trump administration’s anti-crime initiative launched in September.
“To make Memphis matter, we have to make Memphis safe,” Taylor said.
Salinas has joined a lawsuit challenging the troops’ deployment, in part because she says the mission lacks transparency.
“When we heard rumors about the deployment of the National Guard here at the office, you know, I wrote my first letter to the governor asking him more details, how many people, what is specifically are they going to be doing? What is how they’re measuring success? When are they going to be leaving?” Salinas said. “At what point do they say, ‘OK, we achieved what we were out to achieve,’ none of which those questions were ever answered.”
Their stances illustrate a partisan divide over President Trump’s efforts to send National Guard troops to U.S. cities led by Democrats. Trump and Republicans have framed it as an effort to crack down on crime.
In the courts, the deployments have been struck down in Portland, Oregon, Washington, D.C., Illinois, and Tennessee. Chancery Court Judge Patricia Moskal this month issued a temporary injunction barring Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican, from continuing to deploy troops. They remain in place while the state appeals the case.
Tennessee’s crime crackdown began in the summer before the troops arrived and resulted in numerous arrests and indictments, Taylor said. The state has allocated $100 million to combat crime in Memphis.
Salinas said crime was declining in Memphis before the arrival of the troops and the “Make Memphis Matter” task force.
“We were seeing a 25-year low. There was progress being made. So, in my opinion, I think they’re trying to take credit for the work that was already going on,” Salinas said.
Taylor and Salinas also differ on the effects the National Guard and increased law enforcement presence are having on Memphis.
“I’m hearing from constituents every day that said, ‘We swore off Grizzlies games, we swore off plays at the Orpheum, we quit going downtown to the restaurants,'” Taylor said. “We had a lot of downtown restaurants closed because, look, nobody really thought they were going to be murdered when they went downtown, but they didn’t want to come out from a Grizzlies game (University of Memphis) basketball game or a play at the Orpheum and find their car broken into and all the hassle that goes along with that.”
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Salinas said efforts to send the military into local communities “are putting a lot of fear into people.”
“They’re not respecting our Constitution. They’re casting a wide net,” Salinas said. “They are stopping people and asking questions later. We’re not seeing a targeted approach where, ‘OK, these are warrants that we’re going to go after today and we’re going to put all efforts behind finding these people.'”
