Category Archives: TN House Elections

After Ulysses, Kerry on

Posted on by
Reply

Kerry Roberts, of Tennessee’s Springfield (there’s one in every state), won the Senate District 18 election with 8,827 votes to Portland Mayor Ken Wilber’s 4,316, according to unofficial results posted on the Secretary of State’s website. Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, who had endorsed William Slater in the primary, came to Roberts’ aid in the general election with personal and PAC donations. Ramsey congratulated Roberts Tuesday night in a press release.

“I’m very proud of Kerry Roberts tonight,” said Lt. Gov. Ramsey. “Despite strong opposition by government employee unions, Kerry was able to come away with a decisive victory.”

“Kerry is a strong conservative who focused his campaign on job creation and low taxes in Robertson and Sumner counties. He will be a strong asset in the state Senate.”

Ramsey also assigned Roberts to three Senate committees: General Welfare, Health & Human Resources; Environment, Conservation, and Tourism; and Government Operations.

In the state House, Antonio “2 Shay” Parkinson was officially selected to serve District 98. Parkinson was unopposed on the general election ballot, as only Democrats had filed to run. Though there apparently was a write-in campaign by Artie Smith, Parkinson garnered 98 percent of the vote.

Here’s a poem titled “After Ulysses.”

Special election today

Posted on by
Reply

The polls have just opened in Tennessee House of Representatives District 98 and Tennessee Senate District 18. Today’s election is a primary, but as each district heavily favors one party, it is very likely (certain in House 98) that the winner will be chosen today. The general election for Senate District 18 is March 4.

Click here to see who’s running in the House District 98 Democratic primary.

Click here to see who’s running in the Senate District 18 Republican primary.

Special election update: House District 98

Posted on by
1

The death of a House member and the election to Congress of a state Senator have resulted in a special election being set for the 8th of March. However, in at least one of the two races, the decision will be made in just over two weeks, in the primary that will be held on Thursday, the 20th of January.

Four Democrats have filed to replace the late Rep. Ulysses Jones in the 98th District:

The Shelby County Commission could have named an interim representative to fill the seat until the special election. For whatever reason, they postponed that decision until the 24th. The primary winner will be known by then (one assumes), so that person will be named the interim representative until the general election—in which no Republicans nor independents qualified—makes it official. A few of those running in the election had also expressed interest in the appointment, so the timing change solves the potential problem of an unfair advantage being held by the appointee.

Sources in the area say Parkinson may have the organization and funds to win, but that the whole election is “being totally overshadowed by” the Memphis City Schools charter surrender vote, and that Gatewood’s proximity to the issue may raise her visibility. Others have heard that some legislators are “quietly helping Oats-Williams.” Whichever candidate is elected will serve nearly a full term until the 2012 elections.

Early voting begins tomorrow (Tuesday, 4 January 2011).

A decade in Tennessee politics: Turning a redder shade of purple

Posted on by
Reply

The first decade of the twenty-first century is ending, and though there is no rule that says retrospectives must be timed to coincide neatly with flips of pages in man-made calendars, such is, in practice, when they are written. Following is a brief recap of Tennessee politics, from the perspective of one who, in late 2000, was just starting to pay attention. Continue reading →

Political phantoms

Posted on by

The Tennessee election season has entered its final weeks, and some citizens are just now getting around to paying attention. It’s a pity that they face a dearth of candidate appearances; and when they do hear from or about one, they might not be able to trust the information.

Republican House of Representatives candidate Charles Williamson, of “bison poop” fame, says he is not behind a recent round of negative robo-calls aimed against his Democratic opponent, incumbent District 51 Rep. Mike Turner. Williamson’s campaign says he “has held fast to a ‘no-mudslinging’ rule and demanded the same of his staff and volunteers. He has also promised no robotic telemarketing.”

“If voters get a call from my campaign,” Williamson says, “It will be from a real human who can answer questions and thoroughly engage in conversation. I hate robo-calls and they are not a part of this campaign plan.”

This year, voters are having a hard time hearing from candidates in another expected format. Yes, we’re talking about debates. In the Third Congressional District, Republican nominee Chuck Fleischmann is taking heat from the Democrat and from the independents for not agreeing to debate them. A second “LiberTea” debate will be held Saturday, October 16, at the Woodland Park Baptist Church site that hosted the first one. Unlike the first one, Fleischmann will not be there. Democratic candidate John Wolfe, and independents Mark DeVol and Savas Kyriakidis are expected to attend.

Voters in the Eighth Congressional District are missing out, too. Some place the blame on GOP nominee Stephen Fincher, and say he is the one avoiding his opponents in a head-to-head verbal contest. A debate that had been scheduled for today (Tuesday, October 5) at Union University in Jackson has been canceled, and is replaced with solo appearances by each candidate. At this writing, no other debates are scheduled in the district.

Gubernatorial candidate and Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam agreed to three debates against his chief opponent, Jackson businessman Mike McWherter; but additional events had already been planned, or were in the works, and Haslam has no plans to attend those. The Chattanooga Young Professionals chapter is putting on its second annual “Drink and Debate” on Thursday, October 14. According to the YPAC press announcement, McWherter is scheduled to attend, along with independent candidates Bayron Binkley, Brandon Dodds, Samuel Duck, David Gatchell, June Griffin (Prohibition Party), Howard Switzer (Green Party), and Carl Whitaker. (Note: Duck and Whitaker have recently dropped out and endorsed Dodds.) Unfortunately for YPAC, their first “Drink and Debate” was similarly lacking a key candidate: Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield had a conflict, which left Rob Healy and Thomas Smith II (who’s now on the ballot for governor, by the way, but apparently not debating) to bedazzle the curious yupsters.

Not to be left out, Democratic state Rep. Jimmy Naifeh is accused of ducking debates by his opponent, Jim Hardin, who said he is “far from shocked.” “I think the last thing Mr. Naifeh wants to do is have his liberal record questioned by the voters of the 81st District. He’s gotten away with being ‘Mr. Jimmy’ in Covington, Burlison, Stanton and Brownsville when he comes home and talks a good game, but the voters are starting to see that his votes in Nashville don’t line up with their values,” Hardin continued.

Of course, conventional political wisdom says that the frontrunner avoids debates while the challenger looks to gain ground by appearing on a shared stage. But how far does that logic go? And, as in the case of the Eighth District, what if there is no clear frontrunner?

Debates are by no means the only way for voters to vet candidates. In fact, they too often devolve into streams of talking points and petty finger-pointing. But even so, it seems that if one is certain of one’s ability to serve in the office, one ought to show voters the respect of attending, if at all possible. With just weeks to go before Election Day, I urge you to stay informed, even as some of the candidates try to sidestep you.