Friday, February 12, 2010
Heidi Shafer Considering Race for Open Commission Seat of Her Boss, George Flinn
Posted by Jackson Baker on Fri, Feb 12, 2010 at 11:19 PM
- Graycen Colbert
- Heidi Shafer
As well they might. George Flinn, the radiologist and radio magnate, is Shafer’s employer. Commissioner Flinn is giving up his Shelby County Commission seat this year to seek the Republican nomination for Congress in the 8th District.
And this acknowledgement by Shafer, a fixture at commission meetings and an all-purpose assistant to Flinn in his medical office and his business dealings as well, confirms a long prevalent rumor — namely,that she would seek to succeed her boss on the commission.
Dee Nollner, like some of the “5 others” on the reaction thread, is a local Republican activist, and Lang Wiseman is the chairman of the Shelby County Republican Party. So Shafer will clearly have some decent support from within the local GOP.
One of the other commenters to Shafer’s Facebook entry is one Judson Phillips, best known to the outer world as the impresario of the recently concluded Tea Party Nation convention in Nashville.
Which is to say, Shafer has friends in high places, and she is something more than a factotum. Those Shelby Countians with not-so-long memories will recall Shafer as the activist who, more than any other, launched the local protest against the now notorious FedEx Forum deal in 2001-2.
Which is to say, she is unlikely to be a rubber stamp for her current boss or for anyone else, and her emergence in a politically active role in 2010 is a reversion to type, not an occurrence out of nowhere.
Before the filing deadline of next Thursday, February 18, others will undoubtedly file for Flinn’s now open District 1, Position 2 seat, but they had best beware. If she follows through, Shafer will be a formidable adversary.
Comments (8)
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Indeed, Heidi will be a very good County Commissioner -- you are correct she will not be a rubber stamp. She is intelligent, thoughful, thorough and dedicated. If she had not led the petition against the Forum funding, Shelby would be in even deeper debt right now!
Heidi will be a very good County Commissioner. You are correct she is not a rubber stamp, she is intelligent, thoughtful and thorough. Anyone who lived here at the time should remember that if Heidi had not led that petition drive against the funding of the Forum, Shelby CO would now be even deeper in debt.
"launched the local protest against the now notorious FedEx Forum deal in 2001-2. "Say what??
The local protest which gathered very little support. Got any pictures of the Overton Park Shell rally she organized? No because no one was there to take any. 'Notorious deal'? Say what? The FedExForums operational deficits are paid for by the Grizzlies, not the taxpayers. Many other cities, including Nashville, would love to have this lease. The bonds aren't backed by Memphis and Shelby County property taxes but by hotel bed taxes which tourists pay. Bond repayments have been on time and meeting expectations, even in a weak economy. Next time you go to St Louis for a Cardinals game, look at the bed tax you pay there for the Edward Jones Dome (Rams) and new Busch Stadium. As for Heidi Schaeffer, she may or may not be a good county commisioner. I'm not going to christen her the next Ronald Reagan simply because she held a picket sign many years ago. Let's hear here speak from a factual viewpoint, not simply a personal or emotional one.
Re: Midtown Mark
I just dn't know where to start about your post. "liitle support" my butt! We all saw the numbers on the petition drive! She might not be the nxt Ronald Reagan, but she is doing alot more for our county that most people what have been in office for years. Oh and whats wrong with holding Picket Signs? Alot of Great Men and Women have held picket signs throughout the years. Shes going to be a great Commission and Public Servant. And your belittling her and the money that she has saved hundreds of thousands of Property owners; WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?
I tend to disagree with "very little local support" statement as well. Willie went to court to stop the movement from having the construction of the Forum put on the ballot because he knew that it would be voted down. Shenanigans of the first order.
We need fresh faces, and names, to come out and run for office.
Mad, I think you have your facts mixed up, Willie did not (could not) go to court to stop anything from being on a ballot not even the Forum. If I remember correctly, Heidi's successful petition drive caused a revamping of the contract to make it more acceptable to citizens -- the Grizzlies took on more of the burden than they would have without that petition.
This community is very fortunate that Heidi Shafer is willing to run for the county commission. She is honest, decent, and caring about the community. I was there with her during the fight over how the NBA arena was going to be funded. What Willie did was prevent a referendum from being held because all the "powers that be" knew that the public was opposed. We had the signatures on those petitions. I have never seen anything like what happened. The far right and far left were united in our opposition to corporate welfare. Elected officials dismissed our efforts. The groundswell of support was overlooked by the usual political reporters. Remember, this was before bloggers. Her efforts helped protect taxpayers. I still think the arena was unnecessary and that The Pyramid should have been retrofitted. I got sick and tired of hearing about how "this will put Memphis on the map" which was a bunch of crap. I will be working hard to get her elected because she is a voice of sanity and reason.
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