The resignation, Friday before last, of Memphis City Councilman Philip Spinosa to become a vice president of the Greater Memphis Chamber of Commerce has created a mad dash of sorts to replace him — first via interim appointment by the Council and thern by a replacement election in August.
Several names have been floated by themselves or others, either as interim appointees or as candidates in the special election or both.
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Likely Council candidate Kenneth Whalum chats with supporter John Elkington at last weekend’s Rotary—sponsored ‘Cafe du Memhis’ at Tiger Lane.
The newest name to get serious currency is that of Ford Canale, golf coach at Christian Brothers College and funeral director at Canale Funeral Directors. Canale is considered a good bet to have backing from the Chamber/business elite group, including FedEx founder Fred Smith that has helped a substantial minority of Council members get into office. (Spinosa, for example).
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Paul Morris, another Council hopeful, with children on grounds of Tiger Lane during Rotary’s ‘Cafe du Memphis’
Other names include Paul Morris, scion of a plugged-in Republican family who was recently head of the influential Downtown Memphis Commission; Kenneth Whalum, former School Board member and pastor of Mt. Olivet Baptist Church; Heidi Shafer, the term-limited current chair of the Shelby County Commission; Jeff Warren, a physician who formerly sat on the now defunct Memphis School Board; and Stephanie Gatewood, another former School Board member who just lost a primaery election for the Shelby County Commission.
