Dan Weaver recalls time in Memphis weighs-in on New York mayoral candidate
By Barb Pert Templeton
It’s been more than a decade since Daniel Weaver served as the mayor in Memphis, Michigan but the things he learned and the experiences he had are still fresh in his mind.
In fact, when a friend asked him to pen an opinion piece about the platform of the candidate for Mayor in New York, Democrat Zohran Mamdani, Weaver produced 6,700 words on the topic. He was then asked to reduce the content to 1,200 words and then down to 800 words.
“I was contacted by a lady saying that she was now my “Op-Ed Agent” and the New York Post is interested in my article,” Weaver said. “And this is just preliminary, though my new agent says it is an “exciting big deal.”
The population in Memphis is around 1,200 people today.
Weaver’s editorial appeared in the New York Post on July 27. It was under the headline: “Zohran Mamdani’s platform will destroy New Yorkers’ happiness with ‘counterfeit happiness’ says successful former small-town mayor,”
Weaver, who now resides in New Hampshire and has penned a half a dozen children’s books, was surprised but flattered to have his opinion piece land in the national spotlight.
He was a member of the Memphis City Council and was later voted in to the mayor’s seat where he kept a hectic schedule but got many things accomplished during his tenure in the city.
Longtime Memphis resident Larry Wilson, 94, served on the city council with Weaver and was also the mayor pro tem during Weaver’s time in the city. During a phone interview he recalled Weaver as an extrovert who had boundless energy and truly wanted to make a difference.
“He worked really well here, I thought he was a very good mayor and he really just liked to get out and talk to people,” Wilson said. “He was a go getter and a real asset here.”
In addition to seeing the city’s downtown storefronts thriving again and keeping the budget in-line, with Wilson’s guidance, Weaver was also responsible for getting the council chambers improved.
The chambers at the time were pretty sparce but Weaver new the state governor and got a large solid wooden table donated from the state to the city.
“He was instrumental in getting that big desk for council chambers,” Wilson said. “He also started the work to get a Dollar General here and there’s was nothing here at that time so it made a big difference for Memphis.”
In his op/ed column for the New York Post Weaver shared what he recalls of his time in the city.
“When I took office in 2009, the recession had gutted our community. Nine of our 13 downtown buildings were vacant, and the idea of community seemed dead. By the time I left, most buildings were full, we had the first new commercial construction since 1957, and we were debt-free. When
I was mayor, my administration modernized the town’s master plan and systems, recodified all laws, eliminated inefficiencies, retired all debt and empowered volunteerism over bureaucracy. These policies put my community in the driver’s seat, not me.”
Addressing the New York candidate for mayor’s platform Weaver said he attempts to replace “pursuit” with “provide” and, in doing so, strips us of the human cycle that makes happiness possible: struggle, goal, success and gratitude.
Weaver also wrote that as a new mayor he thought his duty was to give the people everything they wanted. But he quickly discovered how dangerous that mindset can be.
He said people do not grow and thrive through government programs that teach them disempowerment,
To see the former mayor’s article in full go to newyorkpost.com.
