If the mayoral election was today...

[Bears]

How about this new Draft AC campaign? Think he would change his mind and decide to run?

[Rural King]

The small group of very influential folks who started the draft AC Wharton campaign appears to be growing, so Mayor Wharton may reverse himself and run against Wharton if the call to action gets loud enough within the city that he can't ignore it. He only has a couple of weeks left though to file though.

[Memphis Love]

I really hope Wharton runs. The same people behind this campaign though should also convince Morris, Willingham, Chumney and all the others to drop out and support Wharton to get rid of Herenton. If they really want to help the city, that would be the best thing they could do.

Then, Mayor Wharton could merge city and county governments, anyway just a thought.

[Memphis Love]

well as reported by various news outlets throughout the city, AC Wharton will not be running for the mayor of the city of Memphis......is anyone else deeply saddened?

[Rural King]

Although I am a bit saddened that a candidate that citizens from every community seemed ready to rally behind has ruled out a run, I can't blame him on the political end of things for making a very astute move. He may have higher ambitions for office or may want to retire beloved and on top, either way trying to tackle and manage reforms in the city (and meet expectations) would be a bold gamble on the stakes of either of those hypothetical goals.

I think that if AC Wharton wants a future political career beyond county mayor, be it city mayor, congress, or a statewide office, he has the potential to be formidable candidate as his political position sits now. Serving out two successful terms as county mayor would certainly boost his standing and ability to run for another office at a time of his choosing.

Now as to Mayor Herenton, this certainly seems to solidify his odds of winning come the fall barring any new high profile entries into the race. The mayor has all the advantages of an established name ID, ground/turn out the vote operation, established connections throughout the city's communities/neighborhoods to be called upon, etc to overcome his high negatives and triumph in a crowded field. To beat Mayor Herenton a candidate is going to have to appeal to a varied assortment of interest groups and communities throughout the city in order to create a base of voters that can/will support, work for, and turn out in sufficient numbers to overcome the incumbent mayor's inherent advantages. We will have to see if that sort of consensus candidate can emerge from the field.

[TchulahomaKid38118]

W.W. Herenton. I really don't care what others say but I think under his tenure he has done his job. He is firm in his beliefs and any city needs a leader that is firm. In his defense, here is a list of some of the good things Herenton has done for the beautiful City of Memphis. If we do receive a new mayor, that candidate has some nice size shoes to fill.

[mandrws1]

W.W. Herenton. I really don't care what others say but I think under his tenure he has done his job. He is firm in his beliefs and any city needs a leader that is firm. In his defense, here is a list of some of the good things Herenton has done for the beautiful City of Memphis. If we do receive a new mayor, that candidate has some nice size shoes to fill.

[TchulahomaKid38118]

I am anxious to see what these candidates have in mind in addressing our crime issues.

[Rardy]

I agree that Mayor Herenton has done a great deal for Memphis. While I think the city is in need of some new leadership, he's been a good mayor IMHO. While some thought that Autozone park should be built out east, Herenton (as well as a few others) had faith in downtown. When some thought that Memphis couldn't and/or wouldn't support an NBA team, Herenton believed in us. When naysayers talk about what Memphis can't or shouldn't do, Herenton always believes WE can. He's a very strong leader. I wish he would take a strong stance against crime because I think thats whats hurting his legacy the most.

[Memphis Love]

agreed, Herenton is past his prime. I fear that Chumney and Morris will split the rest of the vote though and then Herenton will get elected again!

[sleepy]

While Hereneton did much to facilitate the redevelopment of downtown, many feel he neglected the rest of the city. Beyond that, whatever vision he ever had for much of anything is gone.

Having said that, odds are he'll be re-elected. Once he's in again, perhaps the anti-Herenton carping should end. In his final (hopefully) term, he might just be willing to work for the greater good of the city in conjunction with his perceived opponents in order to salvage some legacy of which he could be proud.

[Rardy]

Any thoughts on the mayor's race - or his acceptance speech?

[PCGrad02]

The entire city should be humiliated by this man and what he says in public. What a shame.

[sleepy]

I don't think it will make much difference at all in the future of Memphis that Herenton was re-elected. Businesses will relocate or not relocate to Memphis based on other factors than who occupies the mayor's seat.

As far as education and crime go, those issues aren't attributable or solvable by one individual or one political process.

Imho, the mayor's race was great political drama, but that's about it.

[Rural King]

Mayor Herenton had all the advantages - campaign funds, name ID, ground operations, and most importantly incumbency. Its awfully hard to unseat a sitting mayor or other elected official with those sorts of advantages, but Chumney and Morris gave Mayor Herenton a very serious and hard race. Chumney and Morris can also take solice in denying Mayor Herenton a majority of the vote by a rather large margin, a very serious development for any incumbent when looking at the political landscape.

If Memphis had a run-off system I think it would have been interesting to see how close a run-off would have been - especially a Herention vs. Morris run-off.