In the spring of 2022, I was walking back from the Creative Discovery Museum with my 3-year-old daughter. Between us and my truck was a man urinating on the Market Street sidewalk. It was 3 p.m. The day before, the same man was harassing Sports Barn members and tourists.
A year before, as the Berke mayoral camp was transitioning out, downtown was showing signs of fatigue. COVID, the work-from-home phenomenon and a skyrocketing homelessness problem were leaving their mark. By the time Tim Kelly took the Chattanooga mayor’s office, he had garnered a lot of goodwill. He was popular, but did he have what it takes to solve a big challenge? Business leaders began to privately voice their concerns in closed-door meetings.
In the meantime, politics have been difficult. A concerned business community watched warily as a new police chief arrived.
On top of this, Chattanooga’s struggles were backlit by a wave of political and cultural strife ravaging the country.
You really couldn’t get anything done.
I briefly met Chris Wright a month or so ago. He was playing with his kids and nephews, and his wife was holding their 3-week-old baby. He struck me as a good dad.
Chris was executed in front of Patton Towers last Thursday night by a man with a lengthy criminal record, including assault.
The mayor was handed this problem by his predecessor, but it’s his problem to fix. Here’s the thing, I think he can.
The landscape has changed, political fatigue has set in for aging millennials and the culture war has started to wane. Chattanoogans grasp the difficulty of the problems we face. Every family regardless of class or race has been touched by mental health issues or drug addiction. It’s been discussed around our family tables, at churches and schools, on bar stools and gym locker rooms … you name it.
The reality we find ourselves in mandates action.
High interest rates are forcing employers to find efficiencies, which is a difficult problem to navigate as they struggle to balance their need to bring people back to the office against their employees’ demands for work/life balance. Restaurants feeling the pressure of inflation need patrons at every table to overcome tightening margins. People need to feel safe for these things to happen. Businesses once willing to turn a blind eye no longer have that luxury. Leases are set to expire, removing the anchor to long-held office space.
The optics window to get something done is here, but it’s fleeting.
Talking points on both sides of the political aisle have shifted away from the culture war and toward the economy and political corruption at the national level. The news cycle is focused on the GOP primary, Ukraine war, or the Donald Trump and Joe Biden drama.
It’s likely Kelly won’t feel any tangible blowback. He has the opportunity to build bridges throughout the community. The county and city have a bulldog in the district attorney’s office. Coty Wamp is popular and politically savvy enough to navigate the terrain. She needs support and the opportunity to prosecute violent and repeat offenders.
Initial signals coming from Kelly’s office do concern me somewhat. Friday’s lengthy statement telegraphed his bet that the tragic killing of Chris Wright will blow over.
I can tell you that it won’t. Everyone is concerned. Once private conversations have transitioned to the open. Monday morning brought reinvigorated office safety policies. Working moms are discussing concealed carry options at lunch. In the minds of office workers and suburban families, Chattanooga’s reputation was downgraded to a dangerous city on Thursday night.
Joshua Kaywood is the founder of TreeTamer. Contact him at joshuakaywood@gmail.com.