Tag: best

Categories
Politics Politics Feature

Odds and Ends from 2007

Most Unlikely Sanctification Rite: the ceremony of praise heaped by various legal authorities on Darrell Catron, whose felonious behavior while serving as an aide in the Juvenile Court clerk’s office some years back led to a cascade of further criminal activity and to the wreckage of several careers.

Catron, who got his walking papers at year’s end via an 18-month probation, was credited with having helped the feds haul in a passel of other predators on the public purse and, indeed, with making the entire Tennessee Waltz sting possible.

Catron’s prize: a Golden Stool. (Well, okay, it may look like gold, but it doesn’t smell like it.)

Most Unexpected Appellation: the term “maverick” used as a descriptor for county commissioner Steve Mulroy in a December Commercial Appeal profile.

That was something of an eyebrow-raiser, given Mulroy’s undeviating party-line votes on commission issues and the U of M law professor’s eloquent and detailed rationales on behalf of the Democratic majority, statements which often have the ring of Supreme Court majority opinions.

Can “maverick” also mean “team player”?

The CA‘s prize: a dictionary of antonyms.

Most Unsurprising Outcome: the reelection victory of Mayor Willie Herenton over two major opponents, City Council member Carol Chumney and former MLGW president Herman Morris.

It was elementary mathematics that Herenton’s base was large enough, after 16 years’ service, to withstand such a divided challenge — especially given the obvious imperfections in the campaigns of Chumney, who never managed to transcend the role of fault-finder, and Morris, who could not escape his dignified cocoon long enough to bond with any sector of the electorate.

Herenton’s prize: Well … you know what the prize is.

Most Promising Outcome: the sea change in the composition of the Memphis City Council, via an election which saw nine newbies chosen to serve along with four veterans at a time when almost everybody foresees a necessary change of course — maybe even in the long-deferred direction of consolidation.

Their prize: celebrity, in exchange for the irreversible surrender of their privacy.

Most Unexpected (and Most Overlooked) Passing of the Baton: the withdrawal from the presidential race of Republican congressman Tom Tancredo (whose candidacy almost no one had noticed) and the subsequent claim by Memphis presidential candidate David F. Diamond (whose candidacy even fewer people had noticed) that Coloradan Tancredo’s downfall had begun with his failure at a nationally televised debate to understand a call-in question from Diamond.

The Memphian had asked: “Do you have a plan to solve the shortage of organs donated for transplant?” Tancredo drew a blank, accusing the questioner of being a mad cloner.

Diamond’s prize: the Tancredo body part of his choice.

Second Most Unexpected Passing of the Baton: the failure thus far of University of Memphis grad/ex-Senator/ex-actor Fred Thompson to make a dent in the presidential race despite the biggest advance ballyhoo of any candidate in recent memory, followed by the rapid rise of ex-Arkansas governor/ex-Baptist pastor Mike Huckabee.

As a sort of consolation prize, sometime abortion-rights lawyer Thompson picked up some key endorsements, of the kind longtime pro-lifer Huckabee might have expected, from various right-to-life organizations. Go figure.

Huckabee’s prize: an Academy Award nomination for his current ability to upstage the rigid fundamentalism of his preacherly past.

Most Unanticipated Reversal of Fortune: the decline of former media cynosure Harold Ford Jr. into relative anonymity, despite ex-Senate candidate Ford’s acquisition during the year of the leadership of the Democratic Leadership Council, a post at Merrill Lynch, and various other perches and perks that should have kept him front and center.

Possible reasons for his back-benching: the absence from the airwaves of disgraced radio/TV host Don Imus, a longtime Ford cheerleader; the advent of 9th District congressman Steve Cohen, whose nonstop media presence has put that of predecessor Ford in the shade.

Ford’s consolation prize: Guess what? Imus is back.

Till we meet again, holiday happily!

Categories
Opinion

Best, Worst Ideas of 2007

I don’t think it’s a good idea for anyone to serve five straight terms as mayor, but 42 percent of the people who voted in October thought otherwise. Underestimating Mayor Willie Herenton’s political base was not a good idea, and neither was relying on polls to tell you to run against him in a three-way.

It was a good idea for seven City Council incumbents to decide not to run again. (Rickey Peete and Edmund Ford had little choice.) Fresh horses and all that, plus the next four years won’t be any picnic if Memphis slides into a recession.

Going to trial against federal prosecutors in public corruption cases was not a good idea. They’re unbeaten. John Ford put up a good fight, but the tapes were devastating and a jury convicted him on one count to get him a 66-month prison sentence, slightly more than the 63 months given to Roscoe Dixon, who also went to trial.

Cooperating with federal prosecutors was a good idea. Second-offender Rickey Peete got 51 months, and Michael Hooks, who held three elected positions in his career, is serving 26 months. Darrell Catron, who kicked off Tennessee Waltz, got probation plus a new house and spending money without, so far, even having to testify in a trial. Ralph Lunati pleaded guilty and got 18 months for running what investigators called the wildest and most wide-open, drug-infested strip clubs in the country.

Building a team for the future was not a good idea. The Grizzlies will be eliminated from playoff contention about the time March Madness begins.

Building a team for the present was a good idea. You can complain about college basketball stars leaving school early for the pros or you can accept the fact and go get them, as Coach John Calipari has done. No one has done a better job than Calipari of making the best of a bad situation — competition, Beale Street clubs, a weak Conference USA schedule, early departures, a resurgent University of Tennessee. Memphis against UT will be the hottest ticket of 2008.

Hanging around until the shit hits the fan was not a good idea. Joseph Lee, a nice guy who got terrible press, would be in a lot less trouble today if he had not stayed so long at MLGW or had never gone over there from City Hall in the first place.

Resigning before the shit hits the fan was a good idea. Andy Dolich, a nice guy who got great press, couldn’t sell out FedExForum for the Grizzlies. Two weeks later, he landed on his feet as chief operating officer for the San Francisco 49ers. And has anyone seen Jerry West or remember why he was the toast of the town? And why didn’t Carol Johnson tell us any of this stuff was going on at the Memphis City Schools before she left for Boston to be superintendent?

More fun downtown, in the form of roller coasters at The Pyramid, is not a good idea. Look at it this way: Nashville has state government and office buildings and corporate headquarters of insurance companies and telecoms, Knoxville has the University of Tennessee, Little Rock has the Capitol and the Clinton library, and the front door of Memphis might be an amusement park in an abandoned landmark?

Less fun and more work downtown is a good idea. If Mud Island is going to be closed more than half the year, then why not let a private developer have a go at it? Closing streets and turning St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and ALSAC into a true campus was another good idea. So was signing a deal to bring the University of Memphis law school downtown to the old Customs House and post office on Front Street.

Monetizing content by selling sponsorships for stories in The Commercial Appeal was not a good idea, unless you’re in the public relations business.

But monetizing content somehow in the Internet age is a good idea, unless you think reporters and editors should work for nothing. And so was the CA‘s decision to admit a mistake and back off before any more damage was done.

Building a new football stadium at the Fairgrounds was a bad idea. The problem is the teams on the field, Conference USA, and the stadium’s shabby surroundings.

Flat screens, high def, and the new no-smoking regs in bars were good ideas. The best seat in the house is at a sports bar or on your couch.

Categories
Best of Memphis Special Sections

And the Rest

CREDIT: Justin Fox Burks

The “And the Rest” is the unofficial section of the ballot, where we allow readers to express themselves — or vent, as in the case of “Best Memphis Failure.”

Best Category
We Left Out

READERS’ CHOICE

Best Bartender

Best Strip Club

Best Charity Event

Best Magazine

Too many votes for too many categories to announce a clear winner in this one. Perhaps our favorite vote was “Best Category We Left In.” We like your attitude. And we like the proactive approach of one write-in voter who suggested several new categories and then included her picks.

Best Memphis
Failure

1. Mayor Willie Herenton

2. Memphis, Light, Gas & Water

3. Memphis Grizzlies

The Flyer‘s Best of Memphis issue hits the stands the day before the city mayoral elections. Could it be that you won’t have Mayor Herenton — a runaway “winner” in this category — to kick around much longer? Of course, it could be argued that if he does lose, he could be voted as “Best Memphis Failure” again next year (or “Best Memphis Success,” depending on how you look at it).

Best Memphis
Success

1. Tiger Basketball Team Elite 8
Appearance

2. Indictments in Tennessee Waltz

3. Downtown Development

Will the University of Memphis men’s basketball team maintain the tremendous promise they showed last year? Only time will tell.

Justin Fox Burks

Best Memphian

1. A C Wharton

2. Fred Smith

3. Steve Cohen

It’s the same-old, same-old for this category. The ranking and winners remain the same as last year — with one interesting exception. State representative Steve Cohen made his way into the 2006 poll at the number-three spot in a tie with Elvis Presley. This year, Elvis, who has received a tremendous amount of press with the 30th anniversary of his death, didn’t receive enough votes to make the top three.

Now let’s hear it for the super-dapper county mayor A C Wharton, who garnered the most votes. He didn’t bow to pressure to enter this year’s city mayoral race. He says he’s committed to the office he was elected to. We — and our readers — like his class.

Best Neighborhood

1. Cooper-Young

2. Midtown

3. Central Gardens

We can’t deny it: Cooper-Young has got it going on. If you’re a Creative Class acolyte, then Cooper-Young is the place to be. It’s got affordable housing, a thriving artists’ community, a strong neighborhood association, a kick-ass annual festival, and some of the city’s tastiest restaurants.

Best Locally
Produced Product

1. Barbecue

2. Music

3. FedEx

Let’s all stop for a moment and concentrate on the sheer delicious brilliance of Memphis barbecue. The taste, the smell, the overall experience of the barbecue our denizens produce has attracted attention worldwide, and we deserve every bit of it. Now where would we be without barbecue? Perish the thought.