Millennial Rally on July 28 and the rest of my picks

The rest of my picks for people who deserve your support are in the Democratic Primaries.

 First, let's get the toughest out of the way first. With regard to Senate District 30, I like both Beverly Marrero and Sara Kyle. If I lived in that district, I would vote for Beverly because I know her better and believe that her views are a tad closer to mine than Sara, because Beverly would not have voted for the Bible bill. That said, I also understand that the majority of Sara's constituents may not believe that that was a bad vote. They are both good people, but my vote would go to Beverly. 

 There are NO Democrats running against Mark Norris in Senate 32, so I have no dog in that hunt. 

 Now, for the House races; you might see that I tend to favor incumbents. Well, I know most of them and have for a while now, so yes, other than House 90, I tend to support our folks in Nashville. 

Larry Pivnick is unopposed for the nomination in House 83, he will challenge incumbent Mark White in the fall. 

 Joe Towns is unopposed, period, ih House 84 and I am happy for that. Congratulations! 

Johnnie Turner deserves re-nomination and re-election in House 85, she is a powerhouse. Also note that the Keith Williams listed as opposing her is NOT the Keith Williams who ran for City Council last year or County Commission two years ago. it wouldn't matter to me any way, no reason that Ms. Johnnie should not win! 

 Barbara Cooper is unopposed for renomination in House 86 and will face a Republican, probably George Edwards, in the fall. Barbara Cooper works her butt off for the district and is more than worthy of your vote. 

 No one was dumb enough to challenge Karen Camper for re-nomination or re-election in House 87, and she would have beaten them like a drum any way. She is one of our stars in Nashville. 

 Larry J. Miller, a veteran and one of the foundations of the Shelby delegation, faces Stephen Christian in the House 88 primary. Stephen is a good guy, but I am backing Larry Miller here. 

 Well, I know I buried the lede here, but Raumesh Akbari, the worthy successor to the late Lois DeBerry in House 91, was named yesterday as THE ONLY TENNESSEAN to speak at the Democratic National Convention next week. She will be one of the speakers on Thursday night before Hillary Clinton officially accepts the Democratic nomination. Huge congratulations to a true rising star in our city and state! 

 Congratulations to GA Hardaway for his renomination and re-election in House 93, he is unopposed.

 No Democrats in House 95, so I have no interests there. if the GOP insists on renominating Curry Todd, that's on them. 

In House 96, Dwayne Thompson has opposition in the Democratic Primary in charter-school advocate Earl Leflore. Even if Dwayne Thompson weren't one of my political godfathers, the mere fact that LeFlore advocates for charters, which I truly believe exist only to suck money away from public schools, that would be enough to endorse Dwayne for nomination. 

 House 97 has no Democrats, so Jim Coley is re-elected. I know him, if we have to have a Republican, he is the one to have. 

 Now, in House 98, Antonio Parkinson, another of our rising stars, has been targeted by the pro-charter community because he fights endlessly to save our public schools. He busts his butt for workers AND small businesses in Raleigh and Frayser, and that's before we even get to his annual Block Parties for Peace. IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT YOU SEND THIS MAN BACK TO NASHVILLE; we cannot afford to lose him. I am not even going to bother to tell you who his opponent is; just renominate Antonio Parkinson. 

 Republican Ron Lollar is unopposed in House 99, so no Democrats, no endorsement. 

 I hit the high notes in the first post, so there you go with the rest of them, and please come out to Celtic Crossing next Thursday, even if you are an old fart like me! Oh, and VOTE EARLY! You have until July 30 to do so.

Early Voting starts today at the satellite locations. Here is a list of my choices.

Don't know where to go?  Visit this site and it will give you the locations.

First, I have the Federal Democratic primary for the 9th District:

I have had four Congressmen since living in Memphis, three of whom I have had the ability to vote for in an election.  That Steve Cohen is able to do all that he does for this city and its constituents despite being in the minority, party-wise, speaks to his abilities as a legislator, which he has done for a decade in Washington and 24 years before that in Nashville.  I am not even mentioning the people who filed against him, because they have no relevant records to match his.

I am proud to have called him by friend for well over 30 years, and I trust him to do right by Memphis, I am voting for Steve Cohen's re-election and I hope that you will as well.

In State House District 90, it is past time for a change.  Once upon a time, John Deberry would vote with the Democratic leadership on economic issues, then vote for the most right-wing issues imaginable on social issues, which could be kept in check by the Democratic leadership.  Once the GOP assumed super-majority status, he has, sadly, become a shill for those who would destroy public education. Mailers are being sent out on his behalf by PAC purporting to support children.  They support children the way Colonel Sanders supports chicken.

Fortunately, as I mentioned a few months ago, those of us in House District 90 have a MUCH preferable option in Tami Sawyer.  She is an activist in every sense of the word, and works for the betterment of EVERY citizen in the district, regardless of race, color, religion, sexual orientation, class or any other division.  She is out there every day meeting with voters and letting them know they don't have to settle for someone who sells them out in Nashville.

I ask you to vote for Tami Sawyer in House 90.

Now, to the judges and General Sessions Court Clerk.

I have a solid rule about judges: If it ain't broke, don't fix it.  I am not an attorney nor do I play one on TV, so I rely on their opinions about who would be the best candidates for each office, and they have yet to let me down.  I understand that there are those who feel that since the majority of attorneys tend to be white, this works against qualified African-American attorneys seeking these positions.

Which leads to my second Rule: if this is a non-partisan race, and you are a challenger to an incumbent, you have to make two cases.  First, you have to explain why the incumbent needs to be replaced (presumably due to malfeasance or misfeasance of duty) and second, why YOU should be the person to replace them.

For those reasons, I am supporting three incumbents.   For General Sessions Court Clerk, I am supporting Democratic nominee Ed Stanton for re-election with the caveat that his office needs to be helpful with the project that Just City is trying, with little success, to apply in Memphis.  I have heard of no other problems with his stewardship, so I am voting for him.  But I will be watching.

In Circuit Court, Division 3, Valerie Smith was appointed to fill the massive void left by the passing of the legendary D'Army Bailey.  She is a solid fair, jurist to this point and is highly respected by her peers.  I am voting to keep her in office.

Here's the tough one for me:  Jim Newsom was appointed to fill the unexpired term of  former Chancellor Kenny Armstrong, who moved up to the state Court of Appeals.  He, too, is respected by his peers at the Bar Association.  One of his opponents is Joe Jenkins, whom I have met on more than one occasion and I like him a lot.  I think either would be worth your vote here.

Tomorrow, I will talk about the races in which I don't have a vote, except for the 8th District GOP primary.  Any race where Mark Luttrell is attacked as a "Obama Liberal" is beyond comprehension and they are clearly trying to reach people who no longer live on this planet.

See you tomorrow.