Monday, August 24, 2009
Herenton Says He Won't Run for Mayor
Posted by Jackson Baker on Mon, Aug 24, 2009 at 5:15 PM
- Former mayor Willie Herenton
Nor, said Herenton, would be support his onetime campaign chairman, Shelby County Mayor A C Wharton, with whose policies the former city mayor said he disagreed. One case in point was the particular strategy Wharton is pursuing to achieve consolidation — one that excludes the two separate school systems, city and county.
Wharton will be the next mayor, however -- with as much as 65 percent of the vote, Herenton would add. "The only person" who could prevent that, the ex-mayor said, was "Willie Herenton," and he himself would be bending his energies to achieving victory in the 9th District congressional race against incumbent Steve Cohen.
"He [Wharton] ought to thank me [for not running]," Herenton said. He added later that, if he had run against Wharton in the special election, "I'd have had to beat up on him real bad."
The former mayor said also that he did not intend to endorse any of the other candidates in the large field that has now declared for city mayor. He devoted considerable time in the broadcast to pejorative statements about mayor pro tem Myron Lowery, who would not win and did not deserve to win, he said.
Herenton insisted that his declared race for the congressional seat now held by Cohen, whom he had endorsed in 2006, was a reality and that he would begin his campaign for the office in earnest in January.
Asked by Matthews whether he stood by his characterization in the Flyer's July 2 issue of Cohen as an "asshole," Herenton affirmed that he could think of "no better term" to describe the congressman, whom he also termed a "hypocrite."
Herenton said he had been told by several former Jewish supporters that they could not support him in his race against Cohen. "I respect that," said the former mayor, who went on to say that blacks were unique as an ethnic bloc in that they allowed themselves to be divided.
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Thank god this man is out of office!!
Shhhhhhhhh. Don't look and maybe he'll go away.
Everyone vote in record numbers and as an 9th district resident - I have supported cohen and he has done a great job and deserves to be reelected
Why do all of you journalists continue to give this man press coverage. When he was superintendent, he had a hands off management style. Principals were doing all kinds of mean things to teachers (those principals who were his cronies); I am not speaking of all of them. If you heard the show today, he said: "A C should thank me........". This is America, he does not have the right to say who succeeds him. I won't call him crazy, because he isn't. This man is power hungry. I do hope Steve Cohen wins.
And the drama continues...
That's right! SIT YO ASS DOWN, Willie.
Just in case anyone wants to hear more first-hand, front-page news, Thaddeus Matthews' radio show is 4-7pm, Monday through Friday, on 990AM-KWAM. Thank you.
Ron, do you happen to know where I can download a recording of Monday's show? I was out of my car and I missed it completely.
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