What Will Memphis Vote for in the Mayor's Race?

Most Americans would be hard-pressed to talk candidly about why they voted for a particular candidate. If you remove the fluff, the obvious reason has to do with vision or fundamentals that cause any one individual to receive someone else's support. When President George Bush was elected in 2004 over John Kerry it was in part because of President Bush's stance on the war on terror and his positioning as a conservative American. Senator Kerry, for all of his enthusiasm, simply could not avoid some fundamental flaws that defined his image in a way that caused Americans not to be able to vote for him.

Such was not the issue in 2000 when Al Gore and George Bush ran against each other. A staunch democrat with roots in the Deep South, Al Gore was an American Democrat, blue-blooded to the hilt, and an advocate for global warming and the economy. Al Gore's biggest problem was not George Bush and his vision and fundamentals. They were essentially the same. What Gore failed to realize was the value in furthering a vision others had already bought into. In the case of Gore, he had been vice-president for eight years under William Jefferson Clinton. If he had followed in Clinton's footsteps instead of trying to make his own, he would still be at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

While a local election is not nearly as polarizing as a national one, the divides are the same as candidates vie for a seat based on the same two concerns, vision and fundamentals. With the Memphis mayoral election set to occur on Oct. 4, the question buzzing around Memphis is what Memphis will vote for more than who it will vote for. The winner will be a vote for a particular direction or position more than anything else.

In the case of incumbent Willie Herenton and challengers Carol Chumney and Herman Morris, Memphians have a choice to make. With Herenton, the citizens get a trailblazer who is intelligent but brash, business-minded but self-serving. Herenton's worst part of his time in office may be his public image. Crime aside, Herenton's public comments have gotten him in more hot water than any political decision he has made. In fact, it would not be a stretch to say if you removed his public statements and rants, this race would not exist because most Memphians would put him back in office again.

In Carol Chumney, the citizens of Memphis would undoubtedly be saying that they had grown weary of the racial divide that comes with Mayor Herenton. He is unapologetically black and unwaveringly ardent about his perceptions on the so-called white power brokers in the city. And if Carol Chumney were to win, those voters would be voting according to their fundamentals. While Memphis has never had a female leader, Chumney is the first legitimate female candidate the citizens have had on a ballot. And with her mild-mannered, antagonisms of Herenton, his rants and her critiques may offer just enough to push her over the edge.

When Herman Morris, the former CEO of Memphis Light Gas & Water, announced he was running for mayor, the first question was whether his candidacy would split the black vote and pave the way for Chumney to win. There was only one problem with that question; Herman Morris has not been overwhelming in connecting with black voters in the city. That would eliminate the tilt question. But what his candidacy may do is offer Memphians an alternative to the two bickering politicians and offer Morris to come in and sweep the day. If you were trying to identify why Morris would win the answer would be simple. His name is not Mayor Dr. Willie W. Herenton. And it is not City Councilwoman Carol Chumney. And that may just be good enough.

You may have noticed that vision has not been a major component of this election. The reason why is because it has not been a major focal point on the campaign trail. You have not heard the candidates talk about where they want to see Memphis in say, 2020. You may hear them talk about crime statistics but they have not talked about crime solutions. You have heard them talk about education, but a practical solution to raising test scores and the number of kids graduating has not been raised. It appears that both Chumney and Morris feel they can win if they vilify Mayor Herenton enough. And as it looks, such a decision may very well serve no point.

In Willie Herenton the citizens know what they are getting. They also know he has some dreams about where he wants to take this city. Would Downtown Memphis have been revitalized under Chumney's watch? Would an NBA team have left Vancouver under Morris' tenure? Those are the real questions that must be answered by the voters when they step behind that curtain in that voting booth.

What will Memphis vote for?