Posted on 08/05/2005 3:52:50 AM PDT by GailA
Ophelia Ford won a razor-thin 20-vote victory in the Democratic primary for state Senate District 29 Thursday, while Terry Roland crushed his opponent in the Republican primary.
Ford's win puts her a step closer to winning the state Senate seat her brother John Ford held for 31 years. He resigned following his indictment on federal bribery charges in May.
Ophelia Ford will face Roland in the general election Sept. 15.
"This is a joyous night," said Ford, 55, surrounded by family and friends at her campaign headquarters in the Southgate Shopping Center. "I want to say to all my opponents, you ran a wonderful race, now we need to come together."
Joe Ford, who celebrated with his sister Thursday, said he expected a tight race among the nine Democrats. "We thought it would be close, maybe five to ten votes," Joe Ford said.
Ford edged state Rep. Henri Brooks by 20 votes, 1,336 to 1,316. Brooks did not return a reporter's repeated phone calls.
Political newcomer Stephen Haley, a teacher at Southwest Tennessee Community College, finished a surprising third with 647 votes.
"I'm quite happy with what I did, considering I came in third. If the voters look at the results, it's obvious many wanted a fresh face and new ideas," Haley said.
As far as uniting with Ford, said Haley: "We'll have to see about that."
State Reps. Barbara Cooper and John DeBerry finished fourth and fifth, followed by Jennings Bernard, Kevin McLellan, John A. Brown and Laura Davis.
In the Republican race, Roland easily won that two-candidate primary to advance to the general election.
Roland, 44, a Millington business owner and vice chairman of the local Republican Party, beat political rookie John Farmer in a primary that drew just over 1,300 of the 5,995 votes cast in both primaries.
Roland pledged an aggressive general election campaign in all parts of the heavily Democratic district that takes in Northern Shelby County, Millington, Downtown, North Memphis and parts of South Memphis.
"We are going to go to every neighborhood. We will do everything possible to get our message out," Roland said. "This message is not about race. It's about right and wrong and trying to put trust back into government. Right now, we're corrupt and we're broke."
Voter turnout was low as expected -- 4.3 percent or 5,995 voters out of 138,000 registered voters.
In the Democratic primary, with 60 of 60 precincts reporting, unofficial returns showed:
Ford 1,336 or 28.7% Brooks 1,316 or 28.3% Haley 647 or 13.9% Coope r598 or 12.9% DeBerry 425 or 9.1% Bernard 118 or 2.5% McLellan 111 or 2.4% Brown 75 or 1.6% Davis 26 or .6%
On the Republican side unofficial returns were:
Roland 1,217 or 90.6% Farmer 126 or 9.4%
-- Stephen D. Price: 529-2786
Reporter Bill Dries contributed to this article
WHAT'S NEXT?
Sept. 15 general election.
Candidates:
Ophelia Ford -- Democrat.
Terry Roland -- Republican.
Robert 'Prince Mongo' Hodges -- Independent.
Early voting hours and locations will be posted at shelbyvote.org
For more about the Dist. 29 race, go to commercialappeal.com/mca/politics
http://www.billhobbs.com/
Ophelia Ford, sister of disgraced former state Sen. John Ford, who was videotaped taking cash bribes from undercover FBI agents in a corruption sting, says she's going to run for his former seat
http://tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050617/NEWS0206/506170410
in the state Senate. One problem: she doesn't meet the residency requirements. But the local elections commission appears inclined to let her run anyway, despite the law.
From today's Tennessean:
She does not live in District 29, but said she plans to move there soon. She said Shelby County Election Commission officials told her that would not be an issue. Oddly, the paper's online edition doesn't have the rest of that same paragraph that's in the print edition: However, the Tennessee Blue Book of official state information says that one qualification for the Senate is residency in the district for one year preceding the election.
The primary election is Aug. 4, and the election is Sept. 15, less than three months from today.
Ophelia Ford does not meet the residency qualifications as required by law. She must break the law in order to become a lawmaker and take her allegedly-lawbreaking brother's place in the state Senate. I wonder what Harold Ford Jr. thinks about that.
Gail,
So when did the rules ever apply to the Ford's??????????
I hope the Republican canidate will take this to the courts.
Hey, I want to learn more about this Prince Mongo guy. Sounds like somebody who could use some support.
";^)
Well, it looks like he's going to get at least one vote.
http://www.crackhore.com/
mongo is a crackpot deluxe who thinks he's from the planet Mongo, who runs booze dens that caters to under aged kids.
He sounds perfect for that district. When elected will he be "King Mongo"?
The whole thing leaves you shaking your head? Why aren't these voters fighting mad over Ford???? Why aren't they p*##*$ over the drugs, teen pregnancy rates, public schools, crimes, etc??!?
Somestimes I wonder why anyone attempts to do any good for the inner-city communities? They aren't interested in helping themselves...
Yes, someone can beat the "Ford mafia". I ran in the District 29 primary to get my "feet wet" with the process. I had filed with the FEC (6/2005) for a congressional district run in 2006. I pretty much stayed out of the public arena and left the field to Terry Roland (did not want to fracture the base) and now I am actively campaigning for him in Memphis.
"We the people..." can beat the "mafia". The people of District 29 have to stand up and be counted. Terry Roland is committed to bringing integrity back to Memphis Politics, but he needs you to do it.
Terry and I (along with others) will be leading the effort in 2006 to move Memphis into a new period of hope and progress. We can't do it then (or now) without your help.
www.farmerforcongress.com
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