TENN: Bredesen's (D)radio blitz gets help of local leaders (NO PRISON's if you elect Phil)

The Commercial Appeal ^ | 10/31/02 | Paula Wade

[GailA]

Bredesen's radio blitz gets help of local leaders

By Paula Wade wade@gomemphis.com October 31, 2002

NASHVILLE - Hoping to spur black voters to the polls, Phil Bredesen's campaign for governor is blitzing Memphis's black radio listeners with political ads featuring top local leaders.

The $75,000 buy on radio stations with heavy concentrations of black listeners - a huge amount for a single radio market - features endorsement ads from Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton, Shelby County Mayor A C Wharton, Tennessee House Speaker Pro Tem Lois DeBerry, U.S. Rep. Harold Ford Jr., City Councilman Rickey Peete, Sen. Roscoe Dixon and Rev. L. LaSimba Gray, a local minister and activist.

Each of the ads is different, but revolves around a central theme: The race for governor is so close that every vote makes a difference, and the leaders each strongly endorse Bredesen, listing different reasons. The ads began Wednesday and will run through Election Day.

"I know Phil Bredesen won't stand for building more prisons while our colleges are falling down," Wharton says in his ad.

Herenton points out that Bredesen's opponent, Republican Van Hilleary, once labeled the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis a waste of taxpayers' money, voted to privatize Social Security, and supported a measure allowing states to set a lower minimum wage. "Phil Bredesen is progressive, and he moved Nashville in the right direction," Herenton says in his spot.

Bredesen strategist Dave Cooley said the ads are meant to encourage traditionally Democratic voters to go to the polls in what has become the closest governor's race in recent memory. Various recent polls show Bredesen and Hilleary in a statistical dead heat, meaning that while one or the other may show a slight lead in any given poll, the lead is within each poll's statistical margin of error.

On both sides, partisans admit that the key to victory is voter turnout.

"I feel pretty good about the race now," said Bredesen. "Obviously, there are things that could go wrong on Election Day - it could rain or there could be an ice storm. If there is an ice storm, I just hope it's not in West Tennessee."

Contact Nashville Bureau reporter Paula Wade at (615) 242-2018.

[GailA]

MY NOTE: When bredesen was running against Taxquist one of his "visions" for fixing overcrowding in our prisons was to cut sentences in HALF!. His reasoning if they are only going to serve half their sentences...well you might as well halve them..Gee when I fight parole hearings on Jeremy's killer I was able to FORCE him to serve MORE than half his sentence.