Last night Councilman Hakeem penned an open letter to the mayor and Council to express his new-found opposition to the Violence Reduction Initiative. This abrupt and complete reverse of position is puzzling, as Hakeem has voted to fund the VRI twice; one of the votes took place as recently as September 2015.
In his letter, he suggested the millions spent towards the VRI might be better spent in the local law enforcement, but didn't give any specifics. It's clear that Hakeem believes that problems can be solved just by throwing money at them.
Taxpayers of Chattanooga deserve better stewardship of their funds and more accountability than what is provided by Hakeem and his weather vane ideology.
Pat Benson Jr.
Chattanooga