Local 24 posted the story, “EXCLUSIVE: City Council Spending Taxpayer Money On Portrait Of A Temporary City Council Member“.
Local 24 is the only TV news source to cover this story!
Local 24 is watching out for your money. A $1,000 portrait of a Memphis City Council Member is raising questions. The framed photo was put up this week but might have to come down in just eight days.
Interim council member Ford Canale was never elected to the job. He was appointed to the District 9 seat a couple months ago. Voters will soon get their say in a special election on August 2nd.
Local 24’s Dave Detling asked the city why taxpayers paid for the portrait. It’s an exclusive story you’ll see on Local 24 News.
The city of Memphis said every elected council member gets a portrait to hang in council chambers. But the portraits cost more than $1,000 and you the taxpayer paid for it.
“I don’t think we should be putting people’s names and pictures on walls until they’re the actually city council person,” said Taylor Cook.
Cook is a voter and concerned Memphian. She was inside city council chambers when Ford Canale was appointed.
“I was disappointed because I thought there were other more qualified individuals,” she said.
Cook takes issue with the portrait of the interim councilman.
“$1,000 might not seem like a big expense to city council in the grand scheme of things,” she said, “but as a taxpayer and a person of moderate means, it definitely seems like a lot of money. I think it would have been smarter to wait a couple of weeks to see who actually wins the seat.”
That’s the issue voters see. If Canale is defeated by one of his seven challengers in the August 2nd election, his portrait will be taken down and a new one will go up. The city will just spend more money on a new portrait.
