Floyd Bonner Elected First African-American Sheriff in Shelby County
WREG.com, News Channel 3, Bridget Chapman, 8/3/18 – MEMPHIS, Tenn. — History was made Thursday night when Shelby County voters elected an African-American sheriff for the first time.
Floyd Bonner has been serving as chief deputy with more than 30 years of experience.
He beat out conservative opponent Dale Lane.
As the election night went on, the singing, dancing and chanting grew stronger at Bonner’s watch party in East Memphis.
The win means much more to Bonner than a new badge.
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Jim Strickland Elected New Mayor Of Memphis
Tenn.’s largest city elects 1st white mayor in 24 years
The Commercial Appeal, Clay Bailey and Thomas Bailey Jr., 10/9/15 – Voters in this majority-black city elected their first white mayor in 24 years, rebuffing a three-term incumbent whose campaign sagged under rising crime, poverty and troubled finances, according to unofficial election returns.
Although a computer glitch caused a delay of several hours in tallying the vote, Mayor A C Wharton conceded to Councilman Jim Strickland shortly after 10 p.m. CT Thursday, saying he had no regrets about the race. Strickland declared victory a few minutes later.
Complete but unofficial returns showed Strickland took 42% of the vote to Wharton’s 22%. Harold Collins, also a councilman, captured 18% and Mike Williams, president of the Memphis Police Association, had 16%.
Six other candidates stood at less than 1% each. The city’s mayor’s race has no runoff.
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Amy Weirich defeats Chumney for Shelby County DA’s office
Commercial Appeal, Michael Lollar, 8/2/12 – Shelby County Dist. Atty. Gen. Amy Weirich took an early and comfortable lead over her Democratic challenger Carol Chumney on Thursday in an outcome that many considered predictable.
Weirich won almost two-thirds of the votes in early voting and followed through on election day with the same margin. She had 65.24 percent of the vote to Chumney’s 34.68 percent.
Chumney has run 19 primary and general election campaigns in her career, but Weirich, a Republican, easily outpaced her with strong support from some of the most high-profile Democrats in the city.
Kemp Conrad’s What Government Should Be TV Ad
MyFox Memphis, Fox13 News, 10/6/11 – All of the city council seats were up for grabs Thursday night, but one of the hottest races was in Super District 9 Position 1 where Republican incumbent Kemp Conrad faced Democrat Paul Shaffer.
Both Shaffer’s and Conrad’s campaigns raised a lot of money, and in the end that cash bought Conrad a victory on the Memphis City Council.
Conrad raised more than $140,000, and some are calling that a council record. Shaffer brought in about $75,000, and gained the support of nearly every city worker union.
Kemp Conrad: 19,919 votes, 64%
Paul Shaffer: 11,313 votes, 36%
*88 of 88 precincts reporting
A C Wharton’s Resounding Win
Commercial Appeal, Amos Maki, 10/6/11 – Memphis Mayor A C Wharton swept aside nine challengers and overcame fierce union opposition to snare a decisive election to his first full term in office.
After months of campaigning, the outcome of the mayoral race was never really in doubt. The only questions remaining as voters went to the polls Thursday were about turnout and how big Wharton’s margin of victory would be.
With all 178 precincts reporting, Wharton overcame voter apathy and low turnout to win with 65 percent of the vote. Wharton’s closest competitor was former City Council member Edmund Ford Sr., who gained the support of unions representing city workers and garnered 28 percent of the vote.
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A C Wharton Invests in Safety and Public Security
Memphis, TN, 10/1/09 – “Just as we have shown no limits in investing in our buildings, I’m going to show no limits when it comes to investing in our people,” Wharton says in the 30 second ad that begins on television today.
Wharton pledges to make health, safety, and education a priority as the next Mayor of Memphis. In the ad City Hall provides a backdrop to highlight the Mayor’s commitment to public safety and providing better technology in the war on crime. Wharton, whose leadership as County Mayor lead to the formation of Operation Safe Community, was recently endorsed by the Memphis Police Association.
Shelby County Mayor AC Wharton Rolls Out A New Television Ad
Memphis, TN, 9/11/09 – Continuing a message of unity, Mayor AC Wharton released a new television ad today in his campaign for Memphis Mayor. The 30- second ad entitled “No Tolerance” will be heavily broadcast throughout Memphis over the next two weeks.
The commercials are part of a broad campaign entitled “One Memphis” and were written and produced by Memphis advertising executive Steven Reid, with Sutton/Reid Advertising.
“I absolutely have no tolerance for anyone who believes the best way for me to get ahead is to push you down or shut you out,” Mayor Wharton says in the sequel to his “One Memphis” commercial that debuted last week.
The commercial was shot at a town hall meeting held on August 22 at his campaign headquarters in White Station Plaza. Surrounded by supporters, Mayor Wharton talks about how his style of leadership has always been about unity and inclusion.
Mayor Wharton is still the only candidate to purchase broadcast television advertising in the race for Memphis Mayor.
Wharton Unveils Campaign Ad
Commercial Appeal, Alex Doniach, 8/31/09 – In a 30-second spot that plays heavy on a unity theme, Shelby County Mayor A C Wharton released his first campaign commercial this week in his bid for Memphis Mayor.
The ad, titled “One Memphis,” uses footage gathered at a rally last week at a campaign headquarters opening event. It will air on the major networks throughout Memphis this week.
“There is absolutely nothing we cannot overcome if we work toward that goal as one Memphis,” Wharton says to a room of rousing supporters, cast against an epic-sounding score.
