Much has been made ย and rightly so ย about the sports
opportunities that presented themselves to Memphians this past week. There was
the nationally televised football game between the University of Memphis and UAB,
two Grizzlies games (including the home opener with the vaunted Miami Heat), the
basketball Tigersย home opener against LeMoyne Owen ย to mention a few
significant scratches of the surface.
Things werenยt exactly lagging in the rest of the public
sphere, either. Consider what was going on just one night last week — last
Thursday evening, when the UM-LeMoyne game was going on, with (you can be sure)
an ample number of pols and office-holders in the crowd:ย ย
The local executive committees of the two major political
parties held their regular monthly meetings ย the Democrats wandering far from
their usual Midtown meeting site to huddle in Millington, home base
(coincidentally or not) of Terry Roland, the Republican who racked up an
unexpectedly large vote in his near-miss loss to Democrat Ophelia Ford in
a special state Senate election. Millington is also the bailiwick of longtime
Democratic patron Babe Howard.
The idea, as party chairman Matt Kuhn had announced
it, was to initiate a whole series of such outreach meetings, bringing the party
message to unaccustomed places in the hinterland. Last weekยs meeting, which
doubled as a fundraiser, was addressed by state Insurance Commissioner Paula
Flowers.
On the same night, the Rev. Dwight Montgomery
convened what he called Part One of a ยHealth Care Summitย at his
Annesdale Cherokee Missionary Baptist Church on
Kimball Avenue
Three legislators ย state Representatives Barbara Cooper
and Mike Kernell and state Senator Kathryn Bowers ย were on hand to hear
Montgomery and other panelists, including Dr.
Sandra L. Gadson, president of the National Medical Association (a
majority-black group) lambaste Tennessee governor Phil Bredesen for his
paring of the TennCare rolls and to pledge continued opposition to Bredesenยs
cuts ย which, all the speakers said bluntly, would result in numerous deaths.
(While he was receiving all this attention in absentia, the
governor was downtown at the Cannon Center, attending the National Civil Rights
Museumยs Freedom Awards ceremony.)
Bowers, one of those indicted in this yearยs Tennessee
Waltz scandal, had a further vow, relevant to her uncertain legislative future.
ยIยm not going anywhere!ย she proclaimed, to spirited applause.
Finally on Thursday night, this yearยs impressive list of
Freedom Award honorees were taking their bows at the Cannon Center ย each of
them, actress Ruby Dee, Rwandan hero/survivor Paul
Rusesabagina
(whose lifesaving courage was the subject of last yearยs film Hotel Rwanda),
and all-purpose celebrity Oprah Winfrey evincing enough of
themselves onstage to confirm the good judgment of the National Civil Rights
Museum board in conferring the awards.
Actress Angela Bassett, emcee for the ceremony,
capably handled introductions honorees and corporate sponsors alike.
In good form, too, was the Rev. Ben Hooks, president
of the Museum board, whose continued recovery from a disabling stroke that for
some time confined him to a wheel chair seemed virtually complete. Hooks
presided over the presentations and delivered a moving benediction to close the
proceedings.
Judgment Calls: Candidates for the numerous judicial
positions on next yearยs ballot are beginning to start their campaigns. Among
those who are having fundraisers in the next few days are Jim Lammey, an
assistant D.A. who is seeking the Division 5 Criminal Court seat being vacated
by outgoing Judge Joe Dailey; Chancellor Arnold Golden, who seeks
reelection to his Chancery, Part Two seat; and Mark Ward, candidate for
reelection as Criminal Court Judge in Davison 9.
n Other recent fundraisers for next yearยs
candidates included two at the new riverbluff home of businessman Karl
Schledwitz, one for Shelby County mayor A C Wharton two weeks ago and
another this week for 9th District congressman Harold Ford, a
candidate for the U.S. Senate.
Continuing his re-emergence as a mover in Shelby County
politics is Bartlett banker Harold Byrd, who hosted a well-attended
fundraiser for county commission candidate Sidney Chism recently at the
Poplar Avenue branch of the Bank of Bartlett.
Ironically enough, this was on the same night as the
Schledwitz affair for Wharton, whose entrance into the 2002 Shelby County
mayorยs race would in the long run cause Byrd, an early declared candidate, to
drop out.
At the time Byrd made no secret of his displeasure with
Wharton for, as Byrd saw it, going back on a prior commitment not to enter the
race.
Byrd stayed out of the public eye for some time thereafter,
but, as he confided recently, he has decided to leave the bitterness behind him.
A well-received commercial for the Bank of Bartlett featuring Byrd, a former
legislator, has spurred recent speculation that he might seek public office
again.
ยNo plans,ย said the banker.
The name of Byrdยs brother, former state Representative
Dan Byrd, was floated by hopeful Democrats some weeks back when it appeared
that current state Representative Tre Hargett, a Republican, might vacate
his seat. But Hargett, who recently gave up his post as House Republican leader,
apparently intends to serve out his term.
Like his brother, Dan Byrd has indicated no intention of
seeking public office again.
New Senate Poll: A Zogby-Wall Street Journal poll
this week matches likely Democratic Senate nominee Harold Ford Jr.
against two potential Republican opponents ย former congressman Van Hilleary
and Ed Bryant. For whatever reason, a third major Republican,
ex-Chattanooga mayor Bob Corker, was not included in the poll.
Ford, — whose Democratic opponent, state Senator
Rosalind Kurita of Clarksville, was also omitted from poll results ย trailed
both Bryant and Hilleary by roughly the same margin. Hilleary led Ford 48.4 to
40.8, while Bryantยs margin was slightly smaller, 47.5 to 41.2.
Ford had made a point recent of issuing his own poll,
showing himself running more or less even with his potential Republican
opponents. His fundraising, reportedly totaling some $3 million and including
funds in his pre-existing House campaign chest, is competitive with Corkerยs
reported totals of $3.2 million. Both Bryant and
Hilleary are still looking for their firstย $1 million.
County Commission notes: Just as maverick Shelby
County Commissioner John Willingham predicted last week after a committee
meeting seemed to clear the way for settling contingency funds to the Public
Building Authority for settlement of various legal claims, the commission chose
on Monday to postpone that reckoning one more time.
Willingham and Walter Bailey have led the fight to
get more up-to-date accounting from the PBA. Both opposed the building of the
FedEx Forum early on and have consistently questioned terms of the deal which
created it and brought the NBAยs Grizzlies to town. But even they seem to be
softening their resistance somewhat.
ยWe have the Grizzlies now,ย Willingham said. ยI still want
to get all these answers, but like everybody else I want to see them move head
and win a playoff game.ย
Two other controversial matters dominated the commissionยs
attention at its regular monthly meeting. One was a proposed development,
Gardens of Grayยs Hollow, which was widely praised by virtually all
commissioners, who agreed with Ron Harkavy, a spokesman for the project,
that it was a ยmodelย of its kind.
But after some heated discussion, during which Harkavy
complained that his client was being made the scapegoat for other, less worthy
proposals approved previously, the commission deferred judgment on the project
for 60 days. Though the Grayยs Hollow project was already in the pipeline before
the commissionยs recent passage of a yearlong moratorium on new development
proposals in the outer county, it clearly fell victim to the new cost-conscious
spirit of that resolution.
The other point of contention, a resolution urging the
state legislature to impose caps on medical malpractice claims, drew fire from
commissioners Bailey and Julian Bolton, both lawyers, but received a
positive vote from everybody else. Bailey maintained that the commission should
not even take a position on what was essentially a legislative matterย — and,
if it did, should favor the other side.
ยWe represent the people here,ย said Bolton, who said the
measure unduly favored a medical establishment that was in no need of special
help.
That point was contested was commissioner George Flinn,
a physician, who said at one point, ยJohnny Cochranยs dead, I believe,
and heยs still talking on TV about how you should sue your doctor.ย
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