to vote for, they will often make the decision not to vote at all. Or, a person will vote based on name recognition, appearance, or race. The best way to select the most qualified person for elected office is by understanding whether that candidate understands the job, the issues, and is prepared to work with others to solve the toughest problems facing our community.
The Coalition for a Better Memphis invites candidates to answer questions in writing and in person to give citizens a clearer picture of each candidate. Citizens develop candidate questionnaires and rate their responses online. Citizens attend live interviews with participating candidates and rate the candidates responses. The compilation of the citizen ratings from questionnaires and live interviews is then put into a composite score for each candidate and published in order that the community can better understand which candidates deserve their consideration.
Generally, any candidate that scores above an 80 is considered a viable candidate. The Coalition for a Better Memphis is an independent, non-partisan, not-for-profit organization composed of a diverse group of Shelby County individuals, businesses and organizations focused on enhancing the quality of life for residents of Memphis and Shelby County.
The Coalition’s goal is to serve as an information channel to better educate citizens and enable them to more effectively participate in the process of making Memphis and Shelby County a better place to live and work. Berje Yacoubian, EP’82 and Roby Williams, EP’08, will help fellow Leadership Memphis alumni connect with the coalition as a member, or in interviewing and rating candidates. Or, alumni can contact the coalition direct by contacting Peggy Callahan. Live interviews for school board and city council candidates will be held on Tuesday, September 30, 2008. Interviews will be held in the morning beginning at 9:00 a.m. at the Urban Child Institute. To volunteer please contact Peggy:
Peggy Callahan
Executive Director
Coalition for a Better Memphis
901-752-9902, FAX 901-752-0743
peggy@bettermemphis.org
www.bettermemphis.org
