vibinc

I know everyone in Memphis is focused on the Mayoral race, and for good reason. There is another race going on, the race to replace disgraced former State Senator Paul Stanley. You may remember, Fmr. Sen. Stanley resigned after it was discovered that he had engaged in an affair with an intern.

Now that the withdrawal deadline has passed, the race is on. Both parties have cleared the decks for their preferred nominees. On the Democratic side is Adrienne Pakis-Gillon . The Republicans have rallied around current HD-83 Rep. Brian Kelsey.

Pakis-Gillon has some impressive Democratic bona fides, and widespread support from Democrats in Shelby County. However, name recognition will be a bit of an issue for the first time candidate. The hill is steep, but it’s possible that in a special election, she could win this thing.

Kelsey, on the other hand, has no problem with name recognition. Dubbed “the Stuntbaby of Germantown“, Kelsey has made a name for himself through shameless self-promotion and wild stunts that would make PT Barnum blush.

I’m sure it goes back further than this, but let’s just deal with the past 9 months or so:

After the election of Rep. Kent Williams to be Speaker of the House, Kelsey filed an ethics complaint against the new Speaker alleging he had sexually harassed a female member of the Republican caucus. At almost exactly the same time, though it took a week for reports to surface, Kelsey apparently tried to barter with the new Speaker through a text message for a Committee Chairmanship. Ultimately, Kelsey admitted he did it and was not prosecuted because the Nashville DA didn’t see the message as coercion, but rather as a “request”.

Kelsey’s legislative agenda is a cornucopia of right wing pet projects disguised as “good policy”. Late in the session a poorly timed and self-aggrandizing press release nearly scuttled the widely supported Charter School bill, for which he tried to take credit, but had nothing to do with. For more detailed information check out this Post Politics search.

I could probably go on, but what would I write about later? This is going to be a race to watch, as will the upcoming special election for HD-83 if Kelsey follows through with his promise to resign.

Stay Tuned!

Yesterday, in the Commercial Appeal’s Eye on Memphis blog former City Council member and possible Mayoral candidate Edmund Ford Sr. was quoted saying,“People are very tired in this city.”…”You know why?” he said. “Everything that’s happening, people think that people are asleep right now but they’re watching. Hey, they’re sitting and watching everything.”

I think Ford’s right, people are tired, but they’re watching with a weary eye toward both the Mayor Pro Tem’s office and the City Council.

It’s not because either has necessarily done anything specific to warrant this feeling, but the cumulative effect of a contentious few months, including a transition at the executive level for the first time in 18 years. People here aren’t practiced in accepting new leadership, particularly when that leadership may only last 90 days. Now Memphians are being asked to accept as many as three possible transitions over the next 3 years…one now, another one is likely in 90 days, and the possibility of third in 2011. That’s a lot of potential change for a city that hasn’t had much of any in nearly a generation.

Early Missteps

Myron Lowery’s tenure in the 7th story office of the Mayor may only be in its infancy, but already people are questioning his judgment. This should come as no surprise, since Herenton basically set up these questions himself with his July 6th letter changing his date of retirement, and his public statements charging that Lowery was putting the cart before the horse.

In all honesty, Lowery hasn’t been very politically astute in some of his early actions. From his calls early last month for a shake-up at City Hall, to his fumbling of the removal of City Attorney Elbert Jefferson, Lowery has put himself in an unnecessarily adversarial position to at least six members of the council. This is exacerbated partially because of his role as the swing vote in the vacancy resolution, and through his moves that some argue, are designed to subvert Council action on the issue of the City Attorney.

The truth of the matter is that there are only 11 votes in play for the City Attorney issue. Strickland must recuse himself due to pending litigation. That means that it takes 6 votes on the Council to remove Jefferson. Only 5 are a sure thing. Lowery’s decision to roll the vote until August 18th, gives him time to either let the court decide, or build a case against Jefferson. That case, if strong enough, could shift that sixth vote to his side.

Residency Questions

Lowery didn’t help his cause ANY by announcing Jefferson’s replacement would be a person that doesn’t live in Memphis. Because of the City’s residency requirement, all city employees are required to live within the city limits. New hires, that are not temporary employees, have six months to establish residency. This is a problem because Lowery’s tenure may only last 3 months. By appointing someone that lives outside the City limits, Lowery has opened the door to be treated, and have his appointments treated as temporary. Division Directors, like the City Attorney, are not temporary employees, whose offices are authorized through the charter as that serve at the pleasure of the Mayor with approval from the Council.

The Chief Executive Officer of the City of Memphis shall be the mayor, who shall be vested with and exercise the executive and administrative power of the City, shall be authorized to administer, supervise and control all divisions, boards, agencies, offices and employees of the City and shall see that the ordinances and provisions of the Charter are observed, except as otherwise specifically provided. Such administration shall be conducted by and through divisional directors under the supervision and control of the mayor, as provided herein. He shall devote his entire time and attention to the duties of his office. (Section 35 of Memphis Charter)

Despite the potential temporary nature of Lowery’s tenure as Mayor, he is, by all accounts, still the Mayor, and has all the rights and responsibilities of the Mayor at his disposal. The argument, fronted by Council members Halbert and Ware, that the 6 month provision somehow doesn’t apply to Mayor Lowery because his tenure won’t last that long, is a stretch. The residency requirement says nothing about the length of the appointment having any bearing on the hire.

Failure of any officer or employee to comply with the provisions of this section shall be cause for removal or discharge from city employment. New employees shall be allowed six (6) months after the date they are hired or appointed to comply with this section. (Section 190 Memphis Charter)

The residency requirement doesn’t stop members like Ware and Halbert from voting against an appointee. That’s well within their prerogative, but it also doesn’t stop the Mayor, regardless of the amount of time left in his term, from putting forth whomever he wishes for the City Council to approve, residency or not.

Council Connundrum

I’ve already touched on this, but now that the City Council is set in a six/six split, the appointment of Division Directors and the movement of city business is likely to be stuck in a deadlock for the entire tenure of Mayor Lowery. This scenario is difficult for the city going forward. Even though there were only two no votes for the appointment of former Council member Jack Sammons as CAO, any other appointments, or potential replacements of Division Directors will likely be held up by the Council unless a consensus choice, like Sammons, is brought before the Council.

From a political perspective, this can be a plus or a minus for the Lowery Administration. Clearly the city is ready to move forward. Those who would oppose that forward movement can be looked upon as obstructionists. But that assumes that Lowery can muster the same kind of media attention and perception of authority that Herenton demanded.

There is no question that, under a Herenton Administration, a move like the one Lowery made in regard to Jefferson, would have been accompanied with a full menu of the powers of the executive, and dire warnings to the Council if they were to somehow undermine or question his authority. Lowery is hamstrung by the potential temporary nature of his tenure, and the general belief that he will not win the Mayor’s office. Under this circumstance, Lowery has two options, try to build consensus, or play the role of a reformer being held hostage by Herenton loyalists on the Council. I don’t know which role Lowery is most suited for, but certainly he needs to make that choice soon and follow through COMPLETELY with whichever strategy he believes he can accomplish, lest he lose the confidence of his supporters and the city at large.

Election Set

Yesterday, the Shelby Co. Election Commission set the date for the special election. This election will be for the City Mayor, and State Sen. Dist. 31, which was left vacant after the resignation of Paul Stanley (R-KISS), following his intern debacle. The election will be held October 15th with a qualifying deadline on September 3rd and withdrawals by the 10th. This makes the election two weeks sooner than originally scheduled.

Moving the election up doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me, but I haven’t had the opportunity to talk to anyone at the Election Commission yet, so, until then I’ll withhold judgment. What hasn’t been reported on is if this will be a primary election for this seat. I assume it will be a primary, since there’s no time for one between now and then, which means that ANOTHER election will have to be held for Sen. Dist. 31, which covers Bartlett, Cordova, Germantown, and 20 precincts in Memphis.

Assuming that this is a primary election for State Sen. 31, then that could shift who participates in the 20 precincts here in Memphis.

There are already three Republicans vying for the Senate seat; Rep. Brian Kelsey (R-83), Rep. Steve McManus (R-96), and Shelby Co. School Board Chair, David Pickler. This contest, particularly with the entrance of the controversial Kelsey into the race, could activate a large number of Republican primary voters. How this will play out in the 20 Memphis precincts that are represented by Dist. 31 is somewhat unknown. In the 2006 general, the Democratic candidate carried those 20 precincts by 1100 votes out of 15,000 cast. However, assuming there is no contest in the Democratic Primary, or possibly no candidate, this could elevate Republican participation, effectively deciding the seat without a general, which could tip the balance in the Mayor’s race.

It’s a stretch, I know, but should someone like Conrad enter the race, particularly with the presence of a dozen candidates on the Mayor’s ballot, inflated Republican turnout in these 20 districts could turn the tide. In the end, it will probably just help County Mayor AC Wharton.

Which is where I’m going to end this post, because, barring a sex scandal, or credible allegations of something hugely untoward, AC Wharton will be the next Mayor of Memphis. He has all of the elements of a successful campaign in place; money, people and time. He’s been running since the day after the 2007 election, he’s got a huge war chest, and he’s had people out working for him since Chism’s picnic, just days before Herenton announced his original resignation date.

No one else is that prepared, no one else was even in the starting blocks. So while I generally agree with LWC’s analysis of the race, reality is reality, and until someone steps up, it’s his to lose.

After 18 years of intrigue at City Hall the time is right for someone boring to take the reigns. Who that person is, is still to be decided, but whomever it is must be willing to take a back seat personally, to the issues surrounding the city in an effort to bring economic opportunity, enhanced city services, and social justice to a community that has been fraught with discord since before I arrived here in 2004.

Brad Watkins’ post at Confessions of a West Tennessee Liberal, is spot on…ISSUES FIRST, personalities and relationships should be a distant second…if not third.

So far, there are at least a dozen candidates kicking around the idea of running for Mayor. Already, people are picking sides based on previous relationships. I understand this on one level. A candidate’s past actions are often the best barometer of their future performance, but it shouldn’t be the only test. What is their vision for the future? What are their key goals? How will they govern? These are all the boring, non-tabloidy questions that voters need to be asking in this shortened election cycle.

The reality is that Memphians have been voting for style over substance in the City Mayor’s office for a very long time. The return on this investment has been the total stagflation of progress at City Hall. No new ideas, no new growth, and a higher costs for citizens (in terms of declines in quality of life, taxation v. ROI, and political strife v. smooth governance). Continuing this trend is a recipe for not just continued disaster, but escalating decline in a city that has seen little or no growth in quite some time.

Despite Mayor Herenton’s concerns that the “right” people may not be running or may not win, his decision to resign the office of Mayor means that, short of filing to run in the special election, he either has to get behind his favored candidate, or deal with the consequences of his actions. Remember, it was the Mayor that created this scenario. If he doesn’t like the outcome, he has no one to blame but himself.

The truth of the matter is that Memphis and Shelby Co. have done a poor job of grooming future leaders in a way that creates viable alternatives outside the established powers. Sure there are programs and groups dedicated to building new leaders, but the political establishment of the city and county hamstrings this effort through rigid coalitions of the consiglieri. If you’re not in, you’re out of luck around here. It’s one of the things that has been a persistent problem in this city for far longer than Herenton’s tenure at City Hall, or anywhere else in public life.

These coalitions are designed to maintain established powers and ensure that nothing happens, no matter how beneficial to the community, without their approval. Sure, some have tried to buck this system, but they have received no future support from their efforts.

The “personality campaigns” merely feed this effort to stifle positive change. Voters are distracted by personality, something that is far easier for a compliant public to wrap their collective heads around than policy or ideas that are sold to the public by these “personality merchants” as eggheaded. Rather than debate the proposals on their merits we are fed a steady diet of name-calling and innuendo, designed specifically to distract us from the lack of vision from which many of these “leaders” suffer.

So yeah, I’m ready for a boring Mayor, because a boring Mayor may just be the prescription this city needs to get out of the rut we’ve dug over decades of ineffective leadership brought on by a system that has been hijacked and shackled to a very small, self-interested population.

Bring on the boring, but make sure your ideas are exciting. Boring for boring’s sake isn’t going to get my motor going. Come to the table with some serious and well thought out ideas and I’ll work my ass off to get you elected.

Filed Petitions (Alpha by date filed)
Kemp Conrad, Jimmy Ogle, Mary Wilder, Lester Lit, Arnett Montague III, Richard Stringer, Regina Morrison Newman

Pulled But Not Filed – Deadline to File Thursday, August 21, 2008 12:00PM
Maria Newman, Brian Stephens, Mike Karel, Nicholas Ayers, Steve Ross, Antonio Parkinson, John Willingham

People We Know Won’t Be Running
Steve Ross – More on that later…
Carol Chumney – The text of her statement follows (ht LWC)

As you know, I’ve been devoted to serving Memphis for over 17 years. I will always be grateful for the public’s confidence by electing me 7 times as State Representative and 1 time as City Council member, District 5. It was a true honor and will always mean a lot to me.

I put my 17 year career in public service on the line to run for Mayor of Memphis last year because I believe strongly that we can do better in this city. I stand by that decision.

I’m glad to see several good candidates pulling petitions to run for the soon to be vacant City Council At-Large District who can continue to bring needed reforms to the Council. It’s good to have some new faces with new ideas on how to make Memphis better.

I thank the many supporters who have called asking me to run for that position. I’ve had calls from the press and media, and am making this statement in response to those questions.

After prayerful consideration, I have decided not to run for the vacant City Council seat.

I do love and want to serve the people of Memphis, and very much want to be part of bringing the change we need. When the right opportunity presents itself for public service, I’ll be ready to again offer my 17 years of state and local government experience, my platform of positive change, my passion, drive and dedication to making this a world-class city, for consideration by the voters.

In the meantime, I’ll continue my 21 year private practice as an attorney, volunteering in the community, and spending time with my family and friends.