Some months after the first major organized debates made it obvious which of the 17 declared mayoral candidates should be taken seriously, the six people who best answer that description were dueling again last Monday night at the studios of ABC24.
Those were Sheriff Floyd Bonner, former NAACP president Van Turner, businessman J.W. Gibson, state House Democratic Leader Karen Camper, school board member Michelle McKissack, and Downtown Memphis Commission CEO Paul Young.
The same lineup, more or less, was due to be involved in two more high-profile TV forums later in the week, at channels WREG-TV and WMC-TV. Missing in those engagements will be former Mayor Willie Herenton, who leads such polls as have been conducted but has stayed clear of all forums so far, including the one last Monday night.
Some of the brickbats previously thrown by one candidate against another were thrown again and doubtless will be again later in the week.
Bonner took barbs from opponents Turner, McKissack, and Young on issues ranging from excessive jail deaths to his reasons for wanting to leave his current job for that of mayor. McKissack was questioned about why the board of MSCS had not yet been able to put its recently tarnished past behind it. Gibson and Young got into a back-and-forth about whether the Downtown chief had been feckless about following through on projects the city was “on the hook” for.
And even the absent Herenton was taken to task, by moderator Richard Ransom, for the former mayor’s refusal to make himself publicly accountable, and by McKissack for affecting an air of old-fashioned paternalism.
• Meanwhile, the early voting schedule starts this Friday, September 15th, and will continue through Saturday, September 30th. Venues are listed below.
Times of accessibility are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays. One exception: the Downtown Election Commission HQ will be accessible from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Abundant Grace Fellowship Church, 1574 E. Shelby Dr., Memphis 38116
Anointed Temple of Praise, 3939 Riverdale Rd., Memphis 38115
Briarwood Community Church, 1900 N. Germantown Pkwy., Cordova 38016
Dave Wells Community Center, 915 Chelsea Ave., Memphis 38107
Glenview Community Center, 1141 S. Barksdale St., Memphis 38114
Greater Lewis Street Baptist Church, 152 E. Parkway N., Memphis 38104
Greater Middle Baptist Church, 4982 Knight Arnold Rd., Memphis 38118
Leawood Baptist Church, 3638 Macon Rd., Memphis 38122
Mississippi Blvd. Church – Family Life Center, 70 N. Bellevue Blvd., Memphis 38104
Mt. Zion Baptist Church, 60 S. Parkway E., Memphis 38106
Pursuit of God Church, 3759 N. Watkins, Memphis 38127
Raleigh United Methodist Church, 3295 Powers Rd., Memphis 38128
Riverside Missionary Baptist Church, 3560 S. Third St., Memphis 38109
Second Baptist Church, 4680 Walnut Grove Rd., Memphis 38117
Shelby County Election Commission, James Meredith Bldg., 157 Poplar, Memphis 38103
Solomon Temple MB Church, 1460 Winchester Rd., Memphis 38116
TN Shakespeare Company, 7950 Trinity Rd., Cordova 38018
White Station Church of Christ, 1106 Colonial Rd., Memphis 38117
• Mayoral and council races will be reviewed in a special section of next week’s Flyer, in partnership with MLK50, and will largely focus on the issue of public safety.
