Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury, Jason Mumpower (left), visited Mason, TN, to let government officials - including Mayor Emmitt Gooden (right) - and citizens know they had to voluntarily give up their town 153-year-old town charter or the state would take over.
In early February, 2022, Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury, Jason Mumpower, gave the local government and citizens of Mason, TN, a majority-black town northeast of Memphis with a population of approximately 1,500, an ultimatum: the town could voluntarily give up its 153-year-old charter or the state would take over its finances.
In defense of his actions, Comptroller Mumpower cited Mason's 20-year history of fiscal mismanagement by town leaders that has left it with crumbling infrastructure and deep debt, including $597,905 that Mason owes its Water and Sewer Fund.
Mason has dealt with financial issues, including two indictments by the Comptroller of Treasury's office after investigations revealed misconduct and theft of town funds in the amount of $602,865 committed by the public works superintendent between 2007 and 2016, and fraud in the amount of $96,000 committed by a former city clerk between 2007 and 2008.
Current Mason government officials have pushed back against Comptroller Mumpower's claims. They point out that Mason ended up in a half-million-dollar financial hole caused in large part by fraud and embezzlement during prior administrations. Mason, which serves as home to descendants of freed slaves, was led by white officials for more than a century. The town's first black mayor, Gwen Kilpatrick, assumed office in 2015 after allegations of fraud and mismanagement led to resignations of nearly all City Hall officials, who were white. Mason residents have elected black leaders ever since. Mason's current mayor, vice mayor, and five of its six alderman are African-American. They question why Comptroller Mumpower is eager to take away the town's charter and finances now, as opposed to doing so when the previous administrations were actively committing fraud and theft.
Relinquishing its charter would place Mason under the control of largely White Tipton County (Mason is approximately 68% African-American, Tipton County is approximately 73% white).
On Monday, March 14, 2022, Mason's Board of Aldermen passed a resolution to keep their charter. In retaliation, Mr. Mumpower took control of the town's finances. The financial takeover will give the Comptroller veto power over every expense over $100 or more, limiting the authority of the town's elected officials to independently take government action.
Mason government officials have also cited the town's close proximity to the newly planned Blue Oval City as a reason for the state's interest in taking over the town. Blue Oval City is Ford's $5.6 billion electric truck and battery plant, expected to directly and indirectly generate 26,000 jobs when it becomes operational and result in billions of dollars in investments in the region.
Mason is expected to experience a signficant increase in revenue after the construction of the new Ford plant is complete. "There's no way Mason won't prosper and grow," Mason Vice-Mayor Virginia Rivers said. "And now they want to take it from us."
Comptroller Mumpower said that he does not trust the town to properly handle the increase in funds that the new Ford plant will potentially bring.
"The construction of the new Ford plant in West Tennessee could offer hope to your community, but I worry that if you remain an incorporated town these opportunities will be missed," Comptroller Mumpower said in an open letter.
Comptroller Mumpower did not give a set timeline for its financial control, leaving its plans for oversight open.
"There's no way Mason won't prosper and grow. And now they want to take it away from us."
In a statement, the Community Freedom Party supported Mason's decision to keep its charter and questioned the soundness and motives of Tennessee's decision to take over the town's finances:
"The Community Freedom Party would never support any action which would result in members of the black community being deprived of their right to political self-determination. We consider the fact that Tennessee would even ask a black-majority town to give up its charter to be reprehensible. If financial mismanagement was a reason for a municipality to lose its charter, New York City, Portland, San Francisco, and Cincinnati - all of which have operated with large debts - should give up theirs as well. In any case, Mason's financial problems are obviously the result of the corruption of previous administrations. But instead of working with Mason's elected government officials and providing them with the technical expertise and resources they need to help fix the town's financial issues, Tennessee wants it to forfeit its 153-year-old charter. CFP also questions the timing of the Tennessee state government's interest in Mason considering plans for Ford's electric truck and battery plant. We point out that often in US. history, African-Americans' ability to influence their political destiny is inversely proportional to the economic opportunity available on the land they occupy. We ask if Tennessee plans to restore financial control to Mason before or after finalization of real estate and other contracts which will determine who ultimately benefits from wealth creation tied to the new plant."
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