Former city council member Janet Hooks, who had as many friends as people she met and influenced in the course of a distinguished public career, passed away on Tuesday at the age of 70, according to a brief statement released by family members.
The statement notes: “Hooks is highly respected for her dedicated years of service to Memphis. She served on the Memphis City Council for 16 years. Following her term, she served in interim Mayor Myron Lowery’s and Mayor AC Wharton’s administration as the Director of Parks and Neighborhoods. Hooks was appointed by the Shelby County Commission as Special Advisor to the Shelby County Clerk in 2023.”
No specific cause of death is yet known, though a family member said Hooks was undergoing a bout with Covid. Arrangements, said the family statement, “will be shared in the coming days.” Serenity Funeral Home is in charge.
The statement lists as survivors: “her husband, former Shelby County Commission Chair and County Assessor, Michael Hooks, Sr.; a daughter, Kristin Hooks; two sons, Michael Hooks, Jr., and Marcus Hooks; a daughter-in-law, Judge Kenya Hooks; and two granddaughters, Morgan and Miranda Hooks; and special second daughter, Tami Sawyer.”
Typical of community response to her passing was this from Memphis Congressman Steve Cohen: “I met Janet Hooks when she was dating my fellow Tennessee Constitutional Convention delegate Michael Hooks in 1977, and I attended their Mud Island wedding. In her roles as a member of the City Council and as an advisor to Memphis Mayors Myron Lowery and A C Wharton, she served the city well. Beautiful and friendly, she was a devoted spouse and was dedicated to her family. Hers was a life well lived.”
Tennessee Attprney General Jonathan Skrmetti (Credit: Jackson Baker)
Speaking in Memphis on Tuesday, state Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti laid equal stress on the importance of citizens’ voting on controversial matters and on his own exemption, as an appointed official, from such direct accountability.
The AG’s remarks, in a luncheon speech to the Rotary Club of Memphis, could be applied to a new state law giving his office jurisdiction of post-conviction appeals in death-penalty cases. The state legislature, in April, passed the measure, and Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Paula Skahan deemed it unconstitutional in July, ruling that such jurisdiction is the province of locally elected prosecutors.
The case is now on appeal by the state in the state Court of Criminal Appeals, with a decision expected by spring. The outcome will affect the destiny of Larry McKay, currently on death row for a 1981 double murder in Memphis, as well as any other potential post-conviction appeals involving requests for re-trials based on new evidence, DNA testing, or intellectual disability.
Should Judge Skahan’s ruling be upheld, the McKay case and any other such local one will be the responsibility of Shelby County DA Steve Mulroy.
In what seemed an indirect reference to the case, Skrmetti told the Rotarians “it’s very apparent of late that the legislature has been very active, passing some controversial legislation. And there’s been a lot of litigation about that. More and more people are turning to the courts, when they disagree with things. . . [But] at the end of the day, Tennessee is a democracy. And so when people don’t like the laws that are getting passed, there is a very ready solution out there. And that is to persuade people to vote differently, to persuade legislators to act differently.”
A few minutes later, in a Q&A with Rotary Club members, Skrmetti made a direct reference to the post-conviction issue. “There’s litigation about that, and we should find out from the Court of Criminal Appeals, which way it’s gonna go,”
Further on the matter of accountability, Skrmetti said, “As for the elected versus appointed issue. I’m a big fan of that. I mean, I’m a big beneficiary of the appointment process. … There is a problem if you have an elected AG, because ultimately, the purpose of the attorney general is to represent the legal interests of the state. And that means pursuing legal strategies that further the policies that the state adopts. It’s a servant role. So it’s not my job to say what the law should be. It’s the legislature and the governor to decide … ”
In Tennessee, the state Supreme Court appoints the Attorney General.
Aside from its theoretical aspects, the issue of accountability is a significant one for practical reasons in Tennessee, where public officials and agencies — especially in Davidson (Nashville) and Shelby Counties — increasingly lament what seems to them to be efforts by state government to enlarge the authority of the state vis-a-vis local options. Given the current supermajority control of state government by Republicans, the issue has a partisan aspect as well.
In Davidson County, there is an ongoing showdown between the DA there, Glenn Funk, and Skrmetti’s office, which launched an investigation — involving a surprise raid of Funk’s office — of possible illegal wiretapping by the Nashville DA.
Asked about his occasional interventions in other states’ legal pleadings via de facto amicus briefs (usually in tandem with other “Red states”) Skrmetti said his decisions were based on measuring the impact of such cases on Tennessee.
And he cautioned: “There are people who have politicized things that absolutely should not be political. In the criminal justice realm. There are discrete instances where there’s clear politicization going on. There are also accusations of politicization that are misinformation where there isn’t predication to bring a case, and people are bringing in. But because everybody thinks the other side is weaponizing everything and creates this tit for tat escalation. I’m really concerned about that. And there are people who have abused their authority, and there is absolutely a double standard and enforcement.”
Despite a widespread sense that the mayoral race would come down to — and past — the wire, it didn’t take long Thursday night for a winner to emerge. It’s Paul Young, the Downtown Memphis Commission CEO in his first first electoral effort.
Young’s lead was convincing early on to his major competitors — two of whom, Sheriff Floyd Bonner and former Mayor Willie Herenton, made early concession statements, Bonner at 9:15 and Herenton at 9:45. Former County Commissioner Van Turner was certain to follow in short order.
When it was his own time to speak, not long before the local TV channels’ 10 o’clock news, Young addressed his supporters at his Minglewood Hall election-night party, saying, “Our community needs leadership. And it’s time for the next generation to take us into a new way. We acknowledge the challenges that we see, but I’m optimistic. I believe in our city. I believe and I believe in every one of you. We want a future that we’ve never seen. And that’s what we’re going to do together.”
Young reminisced about conversations he had with his father, the late Bishop William Young, when he made his announcement for mayor a year ago. “And he was asking me if was I going to run, and I was like, I don’t know. Because I know the weight of the job. I know what it means to be in that seat. And I just don’t know if we’re ready for that. And Bishop Young in all of his wisdom, said, I hear you.”
Young’s victory was no doubt clinched already in the early-voting that ended last Saturday. The election-day voting total, in the neighborhood of 20,000, was dismal — in large part due to an all-day drizzle.
It quickly became apparent that, given the inevitable distribution of votes over a 17-candidate spread, election-day voting would not be enough to provide an extra boost to any candidate hoping to rise above his early-vote showing.
Irrelevant, finally, were advance indications that a perceived tilt toward older voters during early voting might help the likes of Bonner and Herenton and blunt the momentum of Young and his youth movement.
Instead, Young demonstrated that his appeal was fairly universal, more so than any other candidate. It was Bonner’s quick read of the early numbers that convinced him to concede as early as he did, though that was a decision that buffaloed more than one set of TV analysts.
Final totals for the top tier in the Mayor’s race were 24.408 for Young, 19,895 for Bonner, 18,990 for Herenton and 18,778 for Turner. A large second tier of candidates finished well out of the running. Businessman J.W Gibson netted 2,175, and Michelle McKissack had 1,437. Seven other candidates would trail even more distantly.
courtesy of Perry Strategies
In city council races there were few surprises
District 1: Incumbent Rhonda Logan was an easy winner, with 6,122 votes as against opponent Kymberley Kelley’s 1,961.
District 2: As expected, former Councilman Scott McCormick is destined for a runoff with opponent Jerry Green, who serves as policy advisor to County Mayor Lee Harris. McCormick’s vote total was5,492; Green’s, 3,755.
District 3: Activist Pearl Walker, with 2,645 votes, finds herself in a runoff with James Kirkwood, a former ranking MPD officer, who had 2,307 votes.
District 4: Incumbent Jana Swearengen-Washington, with 7,866 votes, easily dispatched former interim councilwoman Teri Dockery, with 2,906.
District 5: The outcome here was a bit surprising, in that former councilman Philip Spinosa and activist Meggan Wurzburg Kiel were thought to be running neck-and-neck. Spinosa wins by 8,860 votes to her 6,936.
District 6: Incumbent Edmond Ford Jr won easily, with 10,138 votes over several challengers.
District 7: Incumbent Michalyn Easter-Thomas, perhaps impeded by allegations that her employment by Memphis River Parks Partnership, a city-affiliated group, was a conflict of interest, led her race with 3,936 votes But she did not command a majority and will be in a runoff with her closest contender, Jimmy Hassan, who had 1,471 votes.
The at-large races in Super Districts 8 and 9 did not allow for a runoff.
District 8-1 was won by the unopposed incumbent, JB Smiley, with 33,607 votes
Districty 8-2 saw Janika White, with 26,304, outdistance three other contenders.
District 8-3 saw Yolanda Cooper-Sutton with 9,407 votes over her nearest competitor Brian Harris, who had 7,601 votes, and Jerred Price who had 6,944.
District 9-1 saw incumbent Chase Carlisle with 29,091 votes, turn away challenger Benji Smith, who had 13,155.
In District 9-2, incumbent Ford Canale, with 26 719 votes, defeated Brandon Washingtonl, with 16, 127.
Incumbent Jeff Warren, unopposed, had 36,538 vote3s in District 9-3.
Memphis City Hall (Photo: Thomas R Machnitzki via Wikimedia Commons)
In this last week of the 2023 Memphis mayor’s race, there are no doubt many lessons to be learned. One of them is surely that, with four leading candidates running neck-to-neck here at the end, we have outlived the 1991 judicial settlement imposed on at-large city races by the late federal judge Gerald Turner.
The four candidates are, alphabetically, Floyd Bonner, Shelby County Sheriff; Willie Herenton, a five-times-elected former city mayor; Van Turner, a former county commissioner and, until recently, NAACP head; and Paul Young, president and CEO of the Downtown Memphis Commission.
All are well-credentialed, and all have had their moments during the demanding year-long contest now concluding.
All of them, consonant with the city’s largely Black demographic, are African-American, a fact rendering the existing no-runoff provision obsolete and irrelevant.
What none of them will have — and you can bet on it — is a majority of votes from their fellow citizens. One of them will win by a plurality, and probably a razor-thin one as well. (For the record, there are 13 other mayoral candidates on the ballot, who will run distantly behind the leaders.)
Here is a brief rundown on the circumstances confronting each of the four leading candidates — once again rendered alphabetically.
Floyd Bonner: Twice-elected comfortably as the Democratic candidate for sheriff, Floyd Bonner began his run a year ago as the probable front-runner but has been cast since in a villain’s role by critics, mainly on the political left, who see the number of jail deaths on his watch to be a scandal. Bonner’s hard-line position on crime will sway many votes from law-and-order advocates and from Republicans, whose party officially “recommended” him. And he’s still in the running, though events — especially the recent indictment of his jailers in the Gershun Freeman case — have unmistakably damaged his chances.
Willie Herenton: Against most people’s expectations, the former mayor, who led the city for 17 years in fairly recent political history, was originally thought of widely as just an Auld Lang Syne candidate. But, as a variety of unofficial polls (where he led) made obvious, he still has standing among numerous inner-city Memphians. And the 83-year-old Herenton has exuded an air of authority, coupled with his promise of “tough love” for juvenile offenders, that to some degree crosses demographic lines. In theory, however — and probably in reality — there’s an ABH (Anybody-but-Herenton) lobby that is busy in these late hours trying to decide which of the other candidates has the best chance of turning him back.
Van Turner: The ex-county commission chair and former Democratic Party chair and, until recently, the local head of the NAACP, has been, more or less publicly, nursing mayoral ambitions for years. And, in advance of running, he was boosted by his well-known efforts on behalf of expunging Confederate monuments, as well as by his highly visible role in reacting to the Tyre Nichols tragedy and other such outrages. But he started slow, both in fundraising and in campaign mechanics, and he didn’t mount a real surge until these last couple of weeks, when he got prestige endorsements from several ranking Democrats and a serious infusion of independent-expenditure cash from one of them, state Representative Justin Pearson. As final election day grew near, Turner was giving opponent Paul Young a real tussle for late-breaking votes from progressives.
Paul Young: The Downtown Memphis Commission CEO has youth on his side (both his own and among what polls indicate to be a tide of millennial and Gen Z voters). He also benefited from a fundraising bonanza that ran to more than a million dollars and was fed significantly by established commercial interests, and from the fact that, as a campaigner, he avoided any gaffes as such and was never, in any true sense, off the clock. A longtime cog in major appointive positions, both city and country, but a first-time candidate for political office, he developed a degree of support from most major factions of the electorate. The most unusual aspect of his campaign was that, for better or for worse, he never articulated any platform ideas that could be considered specific. He was for better education, for economic development, for an answer to poverty, etc., etc., and that was pretty much as far as it went. The most impressive — and most convincing — part of his appeal was his assertion that he was not interested in “politics,” but just wanted to “do the work.” As indicated, he was vying with Turner for late-breaking progressive votes, and the outcome of that struggle could be decisive for his hopes.
What early voting, now ended, demonstrated was a tilt toward older voters. If election day continues the pattern, that would enhance the possibility of a dead heat involving two or more of the top four candidates.
Citing a new poll conducted last week by the Change Research firm, the People for Justice and Fairness (PJF), an activist group supporting Van Turner for mayor contends that “when Memphians learn about Van Turner, he surges to the top of the mayoral race.”
What that translates into is that Turner led, with a final figure of 23 percent, in a final tabulation of multi-stage polling. In that version, percentages for other leading candidates were: Floyd Bonner, 21; Paul Young, 21; Willie Herenton, 14.
Turner rose to the top once the poll results (a) included the category of “leaning” and (b) included a brief bio of the top candidates (the three aforementioned).
Some observers would call that a “push poll.” As defined in a previous article in this space about another candidate’s self-released poll: “Anyone familiar with political polling would be inclined to associate that procedure with what is called a ‘push poll’ — one which builds a desired outcome into the very form of the questioning. The idea is simple: The better the ‘biography,’ the better the poll numbers. And the skimpier or less positive the bio, the lower would be the numbers.”
Anecdotal evidence would also suggest that Turner’s campaign has made serious advances since gaining several recent prestige endorsements — from Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris, Congressman Steve Cohen, Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy, and state Representative Justin J. Pearson. (Pearson has also made substantial financial contributions to Turner through a Political Action Committee.)
As indicated, the initial stage of the questionnaire totaled answers from respondents who had already made their final picks, and Paul Young led, with the previously mentioned 21 percent.
The numbers shifted when results from those respondents undecided but leaning toward specific candidates were added. Results were: Young, 22 percent; Bonner, 17 percent; Herenton, 16 percent; and Turner, 12 percent.
After the further addition of the bios, Turner ended up ahead, with the previously indicated lead of 23 percent.
The bios added for this third stage of polling were as follows below. (Readers can judge for themselves whether the bios, which seem to be posed fairy neutrally would tend to tilt the voting to a particular candidate.):
“Van Turner, esteemed attorney, Memphis NAACP president, and former Shelby County Commissioner, has a rich background in leadership and civil rights advocacy. He knows that to increase public safety we must fight crime at its roots with improved housing, bolstered education jobs, reliable infrastructure, and economic opportunity. Turner has the proven track record we need to keep Memphis safe.
“Paul Young, President and CEO of the Downtown Memphis Commission, seeks the mayoral office with a vision of improving public safety, bolstering the economy, and revitalizing neighborhoods. Young will use his business background to stimulate job creation, foster local entrepreneurship, and invest in youth. His mayoral agenda also emphasizes tackling blight and enhancing Memphis’s vibrant culture. Young aims to make Memphis a better place to live for all.
“Floyd Bonner, Shelby County Sheriff, will make fighting crime his #1 priority as Mayor of Memphis. Bonner plans to aggressively recruit more police officers, expand data and community policing, and hold accountable the people who threaten our community. Committed to making safety the backbone of prosperity, Bonner is ready to tackle the challenges facing Memphis.
“Now that you’ve read some more, if the general election for the Mayor were held today and the candidates were the following, who would you vote for?“
Factoring into the selection of those to be polled — according to the press release from PFJ, along with Stand for Children, and Movement for Justice — were aspects of “age, gender, race/ethnicity, education, region, and [preference in] the 2020 presidential vote.” The following rundown applies to that last aspect, the respondents’ presidential vote in 2020:
69% Joe Biden, the Democrat 22% Donald Trump, the Republican 1% Jo Jorgensen, the Libertarian 0% Not registered/Too young/Ineligible 8% Did not vote
It should be noted that, of all the mayoral candidates, Turner, a former chairman of the Shelby County Democratic Party, has identified himself most strongly with the Democratic Party and its goals.
The press release states, “With strong union backing and an undeniable momentum growing day by day, this people-powered campaign is poised to shape the future of Memphis to one that is bright for all.”
Backing Van Turner on Friday were DA Steve Mulroy, state Rep. Justin Pearson, and County Mayor Lee Harris (Stand for Children)
Mayoral candidate Van Turner, who, according to polls, is in a tight race with other leading candidates, needed a boost. Over the last several days, he has gotten more than a few — mostly from major figures in the Democratic Party, which he once headed.
On Friday, Turner was the subject of two endorsement ceremonies — the first, in front of City Hall, led by State Representative Justin Pearson (who had already announced his support for Turner) and included D.A. Steve Mulroy and Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris.
In part, Pearson said, “This is one of the most important elections that will happen in a generation. And the support that Van Turner has received from leaders like D.A. Steve Mulroy, Congressman Steve Cohen, and so many others in our community prove that we need a leader who prioritizes the poor, the oppressed, those who have been pushed to the periphery of our society. We need a mayor who cares about all of them …
“We need a mayor who focuses on and is committed to not just building corporations well in downtown, which is part of my district, but he’s also invested in building a more just community. We need a mayor who’s a civil rights attorney, a father, a son, a leader of the NAACP, a vital ally for working-class people, reunions, a fighter for the poor, who is guided in order to make sure that Memphis is ahead of the individual.”
Later Friday morning, Turner was again the beneficiary of endorsements from important party figures. In a ceremony held at the home of Congressman Cohen, Harris, Assessor Melvin Burgess, and other leading Democrats weighed in on Turner’s behalf.
Van Turner with friends, including County Mayor Lee Harris and Congressman Steve Cohen (front row), and County Assessor Melvin Burgess, and former County Commissioner Reginald Milton. (courtesy of Rick Maynard)
District Two city councilman Frank Colvett Jr. has opted out of the 2023 race for Memphis mayor.
Also withdrawing by Thursday’s noon withdrawal deadline was broadcast executive/radiologist George Flinn, who had been a candidate for only one week.
Colvett gave his reasons as follows:
“My family and I have decided that we must come together as a city. The problems in Memphis are too big for us to work in silos. We must all come together and march in the same direction toward a prosperous and thriving Memphis for all Memphians.
“There are too many candidates and too many distractions at a time when we should all be working together.
“After much prayer and conversation with our family and advisors, we are suspending our campaign for mayor and will be speaking with the other candidates over the next few weeks to determine what is best for Memphis.”
Colvett, a Republican, had clearly not succeeded in enlarging on his electoral base. Though he released a poll just last week that proclaimed an optimistic outlook for his campaign, he decided in the end that he had very limited chances for success.
Colvett’s supporters will be seeking other options in the weeks to come, and many of them are thought to be considering Sheriff Floyd Bonner as an alternative candidate.
Roy Herron, a longtime influential member of the Tennessee political community, died on Saturday from catastrophic injuries suffered in a jet ski accident a week earlier at Kentucky Lake, where the Herron family owned a lodging.
Herron, 69, had served several terms in the Tennessee state House of Representatives and later the state Senate. He was first elected to the House in 1986 to succeed fellow Dresden resident Ned McWherter, who was elected governor that same year. Herron later was a candidate for a seat in the U.S. Congress and served a term as chairman of the state Democratic Party.
He was pronounced dead at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, where he had been flown. He had never regained consciousness after the accident, which occurred when a personal watercraft containing himself and Kayla McDonald, a member of a group vacationing with his son Benjamin, was hit from the rear by another watercraft traveling at high speed.
Most of the party were associates of the younger Herron, who was taking a weekend break from his studies at Emory University Medical School in Atlanta.
Reports indicate that, when their craft was struck, Herron was accompanying McDonald, who was driving to a pontoon float where other members of the party were gathered. McDonald’s injuries were also severe.
The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency identified the driver of the craft that collided with that of Herron and McDonald as 24-year-old Peter Fagachugad. Unconfirmed reports indicate that Fagachugrad’s craft may also have contained an 11-year-old. The TWRA is continuing to investigate.
During his years in the legislature, which began when the Democrats held uncontested power in both chambers, it was widely considered an inevitability that he would ascend to higher office. He was highly personable and was well liked on both sides of the political aisle.
Ninth District Congressman Rep. Steve Cohen, who served in the legislature with Herron, remembered him as a spark-plug, a standout orator, and a key member of the Democratic contingent. “We all thought he was on his way to the top,” Cohen said.
He had served as Democratic caucus chair of the state Senate and declared for governor in 2010 before switching to a race for the 8th Congressional seat when the U.S. House incumbent, John Tanner, opted not to run for reelection.
As it turned out, 2010 was the watershed year when overall sentiment in Tennessee, long a Democratic stronghold, passed to the Republican Party, and Herron was defeated by Republican Stephen Fincher of Frog Jump. Herron’s election to a two-year term as state Democratic chair would come in 2013.
Along with his prowess in politics, Herron was a standout athlete, who ran numerous marathons and regularly participated in iron-man triathlons. He was also the author of four books and numerous articles. He was an Eagle Scout and an alumnus of the University of Tennessee-Martin and Vanderbilt University.
He was a devoted family man. Dennis Dugan of Memphis, where Herron spent much time, said, “We were close. He was much loved within the family and outside as well.”
The Rev. Nancy Carol Miller-Herron, Roy’s spouse of 36 years, said in a statement. “Roy loved his family with all his might. He passed doing what he loved most — spending time with our sons and their friends in the Tennessee outdoors where his spirit was always most free. Roy was defined most by the love and care he showed so many. We know his thoughts and prayers would now would be with our friend, Kayla McDonald, who was also injured in the collision and who is recovering from her injuries.”
The Tennessee House Democratic Caucus is mourning the passage of former state lawmaker Roy Herron. Herron served in the State Legislature for more than a quarter century, first as a State Representative for a decade and then as the State Senator for the 24th District for 16 more years. He also served as Chairman of the Tennessee Democratic Party.
House Minority Leader Karen Camper spoke on Herron’s love of people and his love of God:
“Roy loved his family and loved representing his neighbors in West Tennessee. He always considered it an honor to be their voice in Nashville. He was also a God-fearing man who wrote books advising on how Christians can also serve in politics.”
House Democratic Caucus Chair John Ray Clemmons also spoke on Herron’s legacy:
“Throughout his life, Roy Herron worked tirelessly for the people of Tennessee. As a lawmaker, I have sincerely appreciated and valued his sage advice and perspective over the years. Roy was a true public a servant and a man of faith who loved his family, his fellow Tennesseans, and our great State. Roy Herron will be missed by all.”
In addition to his wife, Herron is survived by his three sons, John, Rick, and Benjamin; his brother, Ben; and many cousins, nephews, and nieces. Arrangements for the funeral are pending, but it is expected to be held on Saturday at First United Methodist Church in Martin.
In a formally nonpartisan mayoral race that has so far not summoned up much overt political ideology, one candidate has opted to make a direct appeal to a partisan segment of the electorate.
Van Turner, head of the local NAACP and a former chairman of the Shelby County Commission, made a bare-bones tweet on Wednesday: “It is a nonpartisan election, but I will never run from being a Progressive or a Democrat. I might be a little to the left, but I’m on the right side of the issues.”
Turner’s political predilections have never been a secret, but his timing is significant.
The candidate’s tweet was dispatched at a point in the mayor’s race that is picking up steam and sees a multitude of candidates hoping to get a lion’s share of the turnout from specific voter groups.
As last year’s Shelby County general election indicated, the local electorate is heavily Democratic, and Democrats essentially swept all contested positions last August.
Democrats are even more clearly a majority of the city vote, though the percentage of those voters who would specifically call themselves “progressive” is more limited — probably ranging only slightly upward of 10 percent. But in an election in which multiple candidates are making appeals to a variety of demographic groups, the voting of specific blocs is likely to be highly fragmented.
Turner has done well in such polling as been done so far, sharing the lead with Sheriff Floyd Bonner and former Mayor Willie Herenton. Other candidates hope to do well with those voters who lean Democratic, including fundraising leader Paul Young, the CEO of the Downtown Memphis Commission, School Board member Michelle McKissack, and businessman J.W. Gibson.
By making a direct pitch to the city’s Democrats and to the highly activist sub-group of declared progressives, whom he can target with fundraising appeals, Turner clearly hopes to edge ahead by setting himself apart from candidates whose focus is to a more generalized constituency.
Host Sidney Chism, here with Police Director C.J. Davis, presided at his annual political picnic on Saturday. (Photos: Jackson Baker)
Saturday saw the latest installation of longtime political figure Sidney Chism’s annual picnic, a fixture on the election landscape for a generation. The event, held at park grounds off Horn Lake Road, draws candidates, observers, political junkies, and kids of all ages. It’s a can’t-miss.
Here are some of the scenes from this year’s picnic, captured before the rains came in early afternoon. Several late arrivals, including a majority of the candidates running for mayor, came, were seen, and hoped to conquer, but are not pictured.
Host Sidney Chism greets District 3 Council candidate Yolanda Cooper-Sutton from his cart.Mayoral candidate J.W. Gibson at Chism picnicMayoral candidate Paul Young greets employees of register’s office at Chism picnic.District 3 Council candidate Pearl Walker at Chism picnicDistrict 3 Council candidate Towanna Murphy at Chism picnicDistrict 3 Council candidate James Kirkwood at Chism picnicDA Steve Mulroy schmoozing at Chism picnicKevin Carter and David Upton at Chism picnic
