“..District 2 is ready for change. And they want someone who not only has a record of success, but has proven they are tough enough to lean in on these hard issues and make a real difference. On the city council, I plan to focus on innovative strategies to tackle crime, improve infrastructure, and support youth.”
Green said that she was excited for the runoff because there is “stark contrast” between her and McCormick and therefore there will be a clear choice for voters in November
Her slogan, “one tough mother,” comes from her love of her kids and the love of her city.
Green said her kids are the main reason she decided to run. She said everything she does is because she cares about them.
“If there is a cause you think about — like gun violence or the environment, you name it — I care about it because I care about those kids,” Green said. “I want them to be proud of Memphis now and stay here in the future.”
“We need a police force fully staffed with full resources.” [Green] added that real-time mental-health support for police-public interactions should be part of that equation, and “we need another crime lab in Memphis so they don’t have to drive to Jackson.”
“We believe we have a moral duty to these children in our community to do what we can to put their lives on the right path,” Jerri Green said when discussing decreasing the number of children being arrested in Shelby County.
As a former public defender, Green knows that many people who get out of prison may think they can’t work for the government. This website makes it clear that they can, including making the available jobs easy to access. The statistic posted on the website that most stands out to Green is the 95%: that 95% of all state prisoners will eventually be released. “We have to make a plan for what success looks like for them on the other side of that, once they’ve served their time,” Green said. “We have to do our part to make sure they don’t go back in.”
“We're hopeful that this will make sure that people don't get bench warrants, don't get put in jail, don't lose their jobs,” said Senior Policy Advisor Jerri Green. “And [face] the cascade of challenges that can follow that.”
Everyone who wants a gun lock should have access to one, full stop. We in the government should do our part to make our communities safer. That is what we are doing here in Shelby County, and we hope the rest of the state will follow our lead.
Teaching the community about how to safely store guns could help lower the gun violence problem. “We do know from our police chief that over 40 percent of gun crime committed in Shelby County comes from a gun stolen out of a car,” said Mayor Lee Harris’ Senior Policy Advisor Jerri Green.
“We are trying to start that conversation. We are trying to make sure that both people have access to the gun locks, gun storage, but also the information that they hear it from the people in their community,” Green said.
Jerri Green, policy adviser for Harris, cited the results of a Johns Hopkins study on gun ownership. According to the study, 54% of gun owners reported not storing all guns safely in their homes. And, 34% of those who did not safely store all of their guns had children under the age of 18 in their homes.
“Because of where they live, prisoners are especially vulnerable," Green said. "It’s hard to socially distance, they’re in close contact. In addition throughout the country about 40% of prisoners have an underlying condition that makes them more susceptible to severe COVID reactions or being hospitalized: Diabetes, high blood pressure, etc. This population just like nursing homes really needs to get vaccinated. That’s why we’ve made it a priority.”
From 2017-2019, The Shelby County Health Department reported the County’s average infant mortality rate at 9.8 deaths per 1,000 live births - higher than the state’s 7.1 average. "What’s worse is it’s two times worse for Black mothers and Black children,” Mayor Harris' Senior Policy Advisor Jerri Green said.
“Statistics show that it is important for children and others traveling on the road that we recruit and retain dedicated bus monitors,” Green said. “The good news is we can do this while addressing inequity and poverty simply by providing these employees a living wage. After a year of work it is exciting to see this proposal move forward.”
“Black trans people are some of our community’s most vulnerable. The National Center for Transgender Equality reports one in five trans individuals experience homelessness in their lifetime and a third live in poverty. My Sistah’s House is doing compassionate and critical work and I’m grateful for the Harris Administration’s investment in this work,” Jerri Green said.
“We know those numbers are higher in trans and queer communities of color,” said Jerri Green, the Harris Administration’s senior policy advisor. “Now, with state laws targeting this community and their very existence, the need to support the trans community is even greater. The way we treat our community’s most vulnerable is a reflection of all of us.”
Jerri Green is One Tough Mother. She is running because she knows it’s time to increase public safety, improve infrastructure, and invest in our next generation.
“I think since or because of the pandemic, there’s been a general awakening of the population on how important it is to have good leadership with common sense, with compassionate hearts that are willing to work for some actual change,” Jerri Green told The Daily Memphian.
