Clearly, the political waters have been roiled by last week’s state Appeals
Court decision invalidating the two-term limits provision voted for by 81
percent of participating Shelby County voters in a 1994 referendum. The 2-1
decision by the three-member court, in response to a suit by three affected
members of the Shelby County Commission, will alter the course of next year’s
elections.
Within hours of the decision,
local Republican chairman Bill Giannini was denouncing it to a meeting of
the East Shelby Republican Club at the Pickering Center in Germantown. In his
audience, however, was at least one loyal Republican who greeted the ruling,
which overturned a previous Chancery Court decision, with satisfaction.
That was
Juvenile Court clerk Steve Stamson, who privately pointed out the
obvious: Two potential opponents of his – litigating commissioners Walter
Bailey and Julian Bolton — would most likely run for reelection
instead.
Not only
that: Commissioner Marilyn Loeffel, also affected by the decision but not
an active litigant, might be brought to rethink her commitment to run against
Stamson’s wife Debbie in the GOP primary for the open Shelby County
clerkship. Or so Stamson hoped.
Watch this
space for an elaboration of some of the likely consequences of the ruling,
currently under likely further appeal by county government – a circumstance
which makes it difficult for any number of political hopefuls to do their
eeny-miney-moes
Senatorial hopeful Ed Bryant unveiled a campaign strategy Monday
night that will lean heavily on West Tennessee, home base for current Jackson
resident Bryant – who served both as U.S. attorney for the state’s Western
district and as 7th District congressman. And Bryant left little
doubt that Memphis would be the lynchpin of that strategy.
Stressing his
“electability” at a fundraiser hosted by supporter David Pickler in
Collierville, Bryant noted that in his 1996 reelection bid against then
Clarksville mayor Don Trotter, his Democratic opponent, he polled enough
votes in Shelby County alone to beat Trotter in the 15-county district by more
than 100 votes
The former
GOP congressman named John Ryder, John Bobango, and Steve West
as de facto local coordinators.
Bryant said
he expected current 9th District congressman Harold Ford Jr.
to be the Democratic nominee and said Ford would be a “formidable” and heavily
funded opponent. Apparently discounting what some Republicans see as baggage the
Memphis congressman might carry into a race, Bryant added, “I’d be running
against him, not the Ford family.”
Before he
gets that far, though, Bryant faces stiff Republican opposition from another
former congressman, Van Hilleary, and from former Chattanooga mayor Bob
Corker.
Two contenders for the 9th District congressional seat which Ford
would vacate had formal coming-out affairs this week. One was Ralph White,
pastor of
Bloomfield Full Gospel Baptist Church and a former Democratic candidate for
several offices. Another was businessman/consultant Ron Redwing, a
longtime former assistant to Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton and a onetime
candidate for register.
In a field which so far boasts no heavyweight names from the pool
of local office-holders, White and Redwing, both well-known members of the
Memphis political community, have to be reckoned as serious entries.
Last week another verse was sung in the ongoing duet – no
love song, mind you — between Memphis state Senator Steve Cohen and
Governor Phil Bredesen. The two issued overlapping and basically
competitive press releases, both announcing the bestowal of more than $3.8
million in unclaimed lottery prize money on state after-school programs.
Cohen, who attributed the outcome to earlier legislative efforts by
himself and former state Rep. Chris Newton (R-Cleveland), also said he
was still considering a Democratic primary challenge to Bredesen. The state
senator has also indicated he is looking at a race for district attorney
general.
In an email to his network this week, Carl “Two
Feathers” Whitaker, a leader of the state’s Minuteman movement, which makes
a point of opposing illegal aliens, stressed the fact that so far he remains the
only declared Republican candidate for governor. Former GOP legislator Jim
Henry recently dropped out of the running, and current Nashville state
representative Beth Harwell continues to hold back from announcing.
But
Ryder, a longtime GOP strategist, said he thought that someone else, probably a
legislator, would be “drafted” as a candidate, probably in January. Ryder
suggested Republican Senate leader Ron Ramsey of Blountville and state
Senator Mark Norris of Collierville.
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