Monday, July 18, 2016

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.

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