Saturday, June 13, 2009
Norman Praises Mulroy, Still May Run Against Him (UPDATED)
Posted by Jackson Baker on Sat, Jun 13, 2009 at 12:52 PM
Keith Norman, the immediate past chairman of the Shelby County Democratic Party, wants to make one thing clear: He isn’t through with the game of politics. But he leaves a lot of other things unclear.
Will he, as blogger Thaddeus Matthews has repeatedly suggested in recent days, run against incumbent Shelby County Commissioner Steve Mulroy for the commission’s District 5 seat next year? Norman’s answer points in several directions at once.
“I consider Steve Mulroy to be a good friend, and I think he has done a very good job for the district on the commission,” said the hulking but affable pastor of First Baptist Church on Broad Street. Then reports of his wanting to run against Mulroy were wrong?
“I didn’t say that. I might make that race. I might run for something else,” answered Norman, who indeed has floated trial balloons for a variety of political races in the past, including one for city mayor. He pointed out that he considered running for the District 5 seat in 2006, the same year Mulroy contended for the seat and won it.
Well, had he taken exception — as more than one black minister had — to the ordinance recently proposed by Mulroy banning discrimination in the county against gays, lesbians, and transgendered people?
“No, let me make one thing clear. I don’t think there should be discrimination against anybody,” said Norman. Pressed further on the issue of Mulroy’s ordinance, which was eventually amended by Commissioner Sidney Chism (and passed) in the form of a simple resolution opposing “non-merit” discrimination of any kind, Norman said, “I do not take a position on the ordinance.”
For all the friendship professed by Norman for Mulroy, the two had at least one serious personal rift — occasioned by an unauthorized recommendation on last fall's official party election guide calling for the defeat of all referenda on the November general election ballot. One of those referenda, providing for "instant runoff" election results, had been shephereded into being by Mulroy, who was understandably vexed. On behalf of the party, Norman declined to issue an amended ballot, though he acquiesced in Mulroy's affixing corrective labels, at his own expense, on such ballots as had not yet been distributed.
The chairman also insisted on an apology from Mulroy for calling a press conference about the snafu. In the end, all referenda on the ballot passed anyway, but the incident left something of a cloud over Norman's tenure and the two men's relations.
Since Norman was making a point of keeping his political options open, how would he deal with criticism from several members of the county Democratic executive committee who had served with him that he had been an indifferent, absentee chairman?
Acknowledging that there had been such criticism and that he had in fact missed some six regular meetings of the committee during his two-year term that ended in March, Norman said, “That’s six out of 24, and of those six, I missed three because of obligations having to do with more important political matters.” He indicated, without explicitly specifying, that those matters concerned support activities for the 2008 presidential race of Barack Obama.
Regarding the six absenteeisms, Norman continued, “I designated that they be handled by party vice chairs.” There were two such who did so — Desi Franklin and Cherry Davis. “Desi had a hard time dealing with it, and I heard about some free-for-alls, but Cherry, I think, was able to handle it all pretty well,” he said.
As for the alleged “free-for-all” meetings, Norman suggested that they made the case for his chairmanship having been a strong one. “Nobody got out of line when I was presiding,” he said. “I was able to control things and keep the party’s attention on the business at hand.”
All in all, Norman said, he thought he had made a record as chairman that he could proudly run on.
Comments (10)
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Keith Norman's term as SCDP Chairman could be described in alot of ways. "a record as chairman that he could proudly run on." is not one of them. One need only look back at the Ballotgate affair to know that.
http://westtennessee.blogspot.com/2009/03/…
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Perhaps Pastor Norman got things backward. It is much closer to the truth that he ATTENDED 6 meetings in two years and missed the rest. He was an absentee chairman. Period.
My Memphis sources tell me that there may be a major black preacher in the next Congressional race, if the city's black leadership cannot come together and unite behind Mayor Willie Herenton. But I'm not saying who the black preacher is at this time. However, you can rest assured that be it Herenton or the mystery black preacher, Steve Cohen can start packing now. And quiet as it's kept, the next mayor may very well be a black female, according to my sources. --- Rev. George Brooks of Murfreesboro, TN.
Rev. Brooks from Murfreesboro, aren't you the guy who sent out flyers in Memphis comparing Steve Cohen to the Nazis? So your 'sources'....are you the only one who can hear them or are they corporeal?
"He indicated, without explicitly specifying, that those matters concerned support activities for the 2008 presidential race of Barack Obama."
Now THAT'S funny.
Also: Rev. Brooks, go away.
brooksie, either move to Memphis or shut up. Like you have a clue, dilettante. Go run for mayor of Murfreesboro.
Where ever there is a black person, I am part of them. But, of course, whites and Jews, who continue with their Willie Lynch tactics of trying to divide black folks, naturally don't want even blacks there in Memphis to be united. I'm still active also in New York and California, where I lived or 41 years total, because there are black folks there also. And read my July newsletter, Lynchites, for I'll be telling why white men really hate black men. It has to do with the body.
Mr. Brooks, I may be one of your biggest fans in Memphis, because I keep a copy of every single thing you have ever published concerning my home town.
Should you deign to insert yourself in Memphis' affairs again, I will be more than happy to make sure everyone in Memphis has seen your writings.
Godspeed, dear Reverend.
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