True Colors Shining Through

The future of Memphis politics is going to be an exciting ride. The county commission made a surprisingly principled move today. Three blacks kept their word instead of going with the program. They did the right thing and elected Joyce Avery as chairman. Dedrie Malone tried to stage a coup of sorts, but it didn't work. I would love to be a fly on the wall to hear who defected. She didn't go out there without encouragement. They just didn't show up when it was time to vote. I have a good idea of who it was. More and more decisions fall along racial lines in this city.That even seems to supersede party affiliations. Joyce Avery won the votes of Commissioners James Harvey, Sidney Chism, Wyatt Bunker, Steve Mulroy, Mike Carpenter, Mike Ritz, J.W. Gibson and George Flinn. The other commissioners "passed" when asked their vote.

I hope those progressive minded black members of the commission are paying close attention to what is developing. Two things should have been learned today at Deidre Malone's expense. One is that whites won't double cross each other for the benefit of blacks. There is some validity to the assumption that whites cross party lines to support each other. Take for example,week before last Wyatt Bunker and Steve Mulroy were at each others throat. They put their differences aside to stick together on this though. The second thing is blacks won't stand with you no matter what they told you if it doesn't benefit them. Deidrie Malone put herself out there thus destroying any alliances she may have had with the whites. When it comes time to vote against her they won't forget. Sydney Chism as usual was playing both sides of the fence. In the end he sold the sister out. All he gained he probably lost. He hadn't expressed an interest in being county mayor but he does. Some bonds were made and broken here. If anybody improved their standing here, it was possibly James Harvey. He can do what has to be done to win. He can get votes from both sides. Since if A.C. Wharton steps down, the commission will pick the next mayor. We will see true colors shining through.