Read the Memo for Yourself

On April 27th, I was invited by Dr. Nick Dunagan to a meeting with Dr. Adnan Rasool and Dr. Nassar Nassar. We met on May 4th in the Paul Meek Library at 10:00 AM in room 215. In that meeting, the three discussed Martin, asked if I would be running for mayor, and shared their opinions on what should be done regarding the leadership and governance of our town. During their comments, a concept was mentioned called MC³. This governance idea came from a document given to me titled “Martin Internal Policy Memo”. The MC³ was discussed in the memo under Section VII (Governance and Structural Proposals). Today I am releasing the memo in full, because the people of Martin deserve to read it for themselves.

The memo says plainly who it is for. It is written for “the people who have actual leverage in Martin: those who own assets, have deployed capital, carried institutional relationships.” Its closing note says it “was written for a select group” and that “decisions of this consequence require people who understand the full picture…” It goes further to say that “…a coherent strategic framework is not primarily a public communication task.”

I disagree.

How this city is governed is exactly a public task.

The memo proposes a “Martin Civic Capital Council,” (MC³) described as “a formally constituted private stakeholder council made up of Martin’s most consequential investors, property owners, and institutional actors.” Membership requires “property ownership, business operation, or institutional deployment of capital.”

Under a formal agreement with the city, this group of 12 to 15 people would “receive budget and fiscal data, review major development proposals,” and have “standing to request a direct briefing from the mayor or city manager on any major fiscal or development decision.” It would be “convened by MC³’s own chair, not by city government,” with an “agenda shaped by the council’s own priorities.” Its accountability would be “a standard the council sets for itself, not a report card imposed from outside.” “Outside” means city government and the citizens of Martin, TN.

The memo praises “the kind of accountability that comes not from an election cycle but from having real money and real assets tied to the city’s future.” It says elected leadership changes, but this council’s “institutional memory does not change on the same timeline.” The authors saw the problem themselves. They warn that the council must be seen as “not a pressure group or a shadow government.” When a plan has to promise it isn’t a shadow government, voters should ask why.

There are good ideas in this memo: economic development, a stronger partnership with UTM, and downtown investment. I welcome every business owner and investor to the table. But it has to be the same table everyone else sits at, in open meetings, on the record.

In Martin, accountability comes from the ballot box. A renter, a retiree, and a UTM student have the same stake in this city as its largest property owner. As mayor, I will not sign an agreement giving any private group standing that ordinary residents don’t have.

Read the document. Then decide who should be running your city.

Kent Kelso