So, somebody has finally made his move, and there is — as of 10:30 Wednesday morning — a more or less declared candidate for Shelby County Mayor in 2022.
It is Ken Moody, a longtime aide to Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland, who summoned media to the offices of his campaign consultant, Deidre Malone, on Madison Ave., and announced, not yet a formal candidacy as such, but the formation of an exploratory committee to make a decision, over the next 6 to 8 weeks, about running.
Moody seemed at ease and ready to go in his chat with the media. He reviewed his history as a homegrown product from Carver High School and the University of Memphis, where he famously played basketball.
He boasted of the “front row” he’s enjoyed during the last 16 years in city government, serving both Mayor W.W. Herenton and, as at present, Mayor Jim Strickand, whom, he noted, he (Moody) had been an early supporter of among African Americans. Asked if he would have Mayor Strickland’s support in a county mayor’s race, Moody simply said, “You should ask him.”
He said his support of Strickland in 2015 was due to a feeling that the city was then in need of a “new direction,” and he felt “the same way today about Shelby County.”
Incumbent County Mayor Lee Harris was the elephant in the room as Moody discussed his prospects. Asked to evaluate Harris’ performance as mayor since his election in 2018, he avoided direct criticism but said he felt Harris did not have a good relationship with the Shelby County Commission, which he saw as calling the shots in county government.
“It’s never easy to upset an incumbent,” he said. “We don’t know what his plans are for running again.”
Moody said he thought he could bring about a better relationship also with the county’s outlying suburbs. The closest he came to a direct jab at Harris was a reference to the problems encountered earlier this year in the county’s distribution of anti-Covid vaccine — a variety of difficulties that resulted in the city taking over distribution.
Asked about his own problems running Memphis Animal Services in city government, Moody said, “Those were my responsibilities. I’ll own up to that. I’ve dealt with controversy. I do not shy away from those experiences.”
He noted that the county mayor had less direct power than did the city mayor, and no “apples to apples” comparisons really worked.
Moody observed that county elections, unlike city ones, were partisan and that, as mayor, he would be dealing with Republican Commissioners as well as those in his own Democratic Party.
“My background has had me dealing with Republicans, Democrats, and Independents. You can’t work the silos. You’ve got to bring the people together.”