Posted on 05/07/2002 8:06:28 PM PDT by GailA
Flinn upsets Scroggs, will face Wharton in Aug. 1 general election By Thomas Jordan jordan@gomemphis.com May 7, 2002
Political newcomer George Flinn apparently was heading toward an upset of state Rep. Larry Scroggs in the Republican primary for county mayor Tuesday, while Public Defender A C Wharton glided to victory in the Democratic primary.
Flinn, 58, a physician and broadcast mogul, will face Wharton, 57, who defeated Carol Chumney, in the county general election Aug. 1.
Scroggs, 60, entered the race as the favorite, but Flinn garnered name recognition by spending heavily for advertising in the weeks leading up to the primary.
Flinn spent $430,000 he lent his campaign, more than four times what Scroggs expended.
Wharton entered the race as the front runner. Chumney, 41, despite a vigorous campaign was not able to encroach significantly on Wharton’s lead.
There also were four minor candidates in the two primaries.
With 168 of 283 percent of precincts reporting, results in the county mayor’s race were:
DEMOCRATS
C. C. Buchanan
630 Carol Chumney 7,052 C. J. Cochran 446 A C Wharton 31,191 REPUBLICANS
George Flinn
16,712 Jason Nabors 376 Larry Scroggs 12,526 Mary Taylor-Shelby 713
Republicans Clair Vander Schaaf and Morris Fair were easily defeated in Tuesday’s primary election, becoming the first incumbent County Commission members to lose re-election bids in 20 years.
Until Tuesday, no incumbent commissioner had been unseated since Julian Bolton ousted Minerva Johnican in 1982. The defeats of Fair and Vander Schaaf were part of a surprising election day that saw GOP voters soundly reject their party’s established leaders.
State Rep. Larry Scroggs, drafted by local Republicans to try to hold onto the county mayor’s seat, was soundly thrashed by physician and radio station owner George Flinn.
Meanwhile, John Ryder, a longtime Republican strategist and member of his parties national committee, lost the GOP primary for the County Commission District 5 post to political newcomer Bruce Thompson.
District 5, which includes parts of East and Southeast Memphis, could be competitive between the Republicans and Democrats.
The party that controls that district, the only single member, would likely majority.
The Republicans have a 7-6 edge.
Thompson’s Democratic opponent in District 5 was still unsettled late Tuesday evening. With about half the votes counted in the Democratic primary, Joe Cooper held a slight lead over Guthrie Castle, who had been favored by his party’s establishment.
Other incumbent commissioners won primary contests, and a number of candidates were automatically re-elected because they have no opposition in August.
In other important contests, longtime Republican David Lillard appeared headed toward a win in the GOP primary to succeed retiring Commissioner Tommy Hart. Meanwhile Deidre Malone was winning the Democratic primary to succeed retiring Commissioner Bridget Chisholm.
And in a race that pitted brother against sister, Joe Ford beat Ophelia Ford in the Democratic seat once held by their late brother, James.
Thirty-nine candidates were vying for the 13 Shelby County Commission seats in Tuesday’s primary election.
In the August general election, the winners of the primaries will face 10 independents.
The influx of commission hopefuls — up from 18 four years ago — came as several hot-button issues, including two tax hikes and a commission pay raise, were approved by commissioners in the past year.
Another hot topic was whether a new arena for the Memphis Grizzlies should be funded publicly.
Tuesday’s primary came on the eve of the commission’s final vote to finance the project. That vote is scheduled for 8 a.m. today.
Starting Sept. 1 commissioners’ maximum pay will be $30,600 annually, mostly tied to attendance at meetings.
Incomplete vote totals in the key races were:
DISTRICT 1, POSITION 3
Republican primary: Morris Fair (I) 6,408 John Willingham 9,200 (No Democratic candidates)
DISTRICT 2, POSITION 3
Democratic primary: Reginald Fentress 3,764 Deidre Malone 8,998 Renita Scott-Pickens 1,490 (No Republican candidates)
DISTRICT 3, POSITION 3
Democratic primary: Joe Ford (I) 12,405 Ophelia Ford 5,758 (No Republican candidates)
DISTRICT 4, POSITION 1 *
Democratic primary: Robert Koenig 4,109 Republican primary: Joyce Avery 13,933 Clair Vander Schaaf (I)5,526
DISTRICT 4, POSITION 3 *
Republican primary: Stuart Acree 980 David Lillard 10,554 Mundy Quinn 958 David Shirley 6,008 (No Democratic candidates)
DISTRICT 5 * Democratic primary: Guthrie Castle 840 Joe Cooper 937 Zelda Hill 534
Republican primary: Jerry Cobb 288 John Ryder 785 Bruce Thompson 1,899
This rids us of scroggs at the State level as he did not run for re-election as rep, vander scaff and fair.
The vote on the nba arena bonds by the county commission is tomorrow...wonder if this upset will change some minds? Wonder if it will send a message to Shelby Co Republican reps and Senators about taxes?
Shelby County will be fighting an extreme move LEFT. It will be like bore v W only on a county level.
If the demon-rat wins in August then you can look for a massive new white flight out of Shelby Co as property taxes will soar yet again.
AC's biggest problem is his defense of criminals..this can be used to an advantage by Flinn. Consilidation will be an issue as is the tax issue.
FYI -- Lillard ran for an open seat that is vacated by Tommy Hart, and did not defeat an incumbent. Commissioner Morris Fair was defeated by John Willingham, and Clair Vander Schaaf was defeated by Joyce Avery. LArry Scroggs is a decent and thoughtful public servant and was better than George Flinn. AC Wharton will coast to election this fall. Moderates have received the message -- the GOP is a conservatives-only party, and many moderates will jump ship in the August general.
The GOP has successfully positioned themselves as the anti-NBA party, and risks turning off younger voters in that quest for ultraconservative votes.
No doubt, Flinn's got the money. But will Flinn get the moderates back into the GOP? I doubt it, since many Republicans are supporting Wharton. Flinn is just too far to the right for mainstream folks here. AC will defeat Flinn by at least 20 points.
AC's biggest problem is his defense of criminals..this can be used to an advantage by Flinn.
This is a totally assinine statement, and only the gullible will use that argument. Of course AC defended criminals -- that explains his job title of Shelby County Public Defender. Every community has one to defend the accused. The fact that every accused person has a right to legal representation is one of the cornerstones of our justice system.
Flinn's smart enough to know that AC's job is that of public defender and that the pd is required by law to take defense cases that private attorneys won't. Unless you want to change the law that provides the accused such legal counsel, you really can't intelligently criticize the fact that AC defended criminals -- it was the job you and I and the other taxpayers pay him for.
I'm gladly supporting Wharton over Flinn. Moderates won't back right-winger George Flinn esp since Wharton (who was criticized by his liberal partymates as being "too Republican") is closer to the center. See what anti-NBA fanaticism does for the GOP -- it splits the party and leaves them unable to compete county-wide.
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