JB
Mickell Lowery, backed by family and friends, announces candidacy for Super-District 8.
It remains to be seen whether Mickell Lowery might be a chip off the old block — the block being retiring Councilman Myron Lowery — but the voters in the Council’s Super-District 8, which covers half the city has and has been represented by the senior Lowery since 1992, will have a chance to make that judgment on November 3.
As was widely anticipated, especially since Myron Lowery’s announcement of non-candidacy last week, Lowery the younger, a sales representative at FedEX, announced on Monday his intent to succeed his father in Position 3. The announcement came at high noon, from the steps of LeMoyne-Owen College, his alma mater as well as his Dad’s.
The choice of venue, said the aspiring councilman, was symbolic in that the school represented “advancement in our community,” a quality he saw as consistent with his campaign theme, “New Leadership for a Better Memphis.”
Candidate Lowery added that he wanted “to make sure that the priorities of City Hallo match the priorities of the community.” He named crime reduction as one of his priorities and may have intended to cite some more.
But just then a chip off his block — his toddler daughter Milan, who nestled in Granddad’s arms — made a bit of a noise, and Daddy Mickell demonstrated his quickness on the uptake with what seemed a relevant segue: “I intend to be talking with students as early as elementary school,” he said.
Asked about his advantages in what may well be a competitive and well-populated race, Mickell Lowery stressed what he said were years of “hard work” for the community as a neighborhood football coach and “on various boards.” By way of further emphasizing his community work, he added, “That’s why I didn’t try to run 10 years ago, simply off my last name.”
Even so, his beaming father was on hand as a backer, as well as Mickell Lowery’s wife Charisa and a decent-looking collection of friends and family.
