Say this for Charles Carpenter -- the press conference launching his mayoral campaign began at 11 a.m. sharp, just as the press release said it would.
Rare is the political event in Memphis that actually begins on time, and it meant several reporters missed the opening 10 minutes. Which meant Carpenter, a Memphis attorney who was the longtime campaign manager for current Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton, got to answer questions he had already addressed, like whether he believes the mayor really will retire at the end of the month (he definitely does).
Most of the questions fired at Carpenter involved Herenton either directly or indirectly, and one TV reporter asked Carpenter specifically if he felt the next mayor should be "a black person."
"The next mayor should be the best candidate, that can have a vision pulling people together to move our city forward," Carpenter said. "Because we have serious issues with our community. Crime is spiraling, unemployment is spiraling. We're not growing, we're not bringing in new opportunities. That needs to change."
The closest Carpenter came to directly criticizing Herenton came near the end of the press conference.
"The leadership we have has proven they cannot get the job done. Period," Carpenter said. "So now we have to have new leadership, new vision -- a comprehensive approach. We are not going to be divisive. We are going to bring everybody in because it is all of our problems. It's not just one part of the community's problems, it's all of our problems."
Now we have to discern whether Carpenter is saying all these unifying things to get elected or is he really of like mind with Willie who has done nothing but be divisive as far as black and white folk are concerned.
Why should we beleive what he says when for five Herenten campaigns he was his campaign director and I'm sure he supported Willie's beliefs.
You'd have to be ignorant not to know that he discussed his candidacy with Herenten and got some pointers and maybe his support. Is Willie going to be pulling his strings if he he becomes Mayor?
I'd say that since he was always on Willy's team from the beginning, he's lying outta his butt.
I don't care who wants to pull who's what, he can't win because he's out to hurt Memphis just like Willy.
Will he flap his arms like Whalum to immaturely ridicule someone who HAS TO assume the mayor's office, what are they all scared of?
THE END OF RACISM IN MEMPHIS!
I guess they'd be out of a job if it ended.
No class nut jobs.
Go away forever.
I don't think a person is necessarily guilty by association...I am willing to listen to him and what he has to say and offer and discern for myself if he marches to his own beat. While I don't know him personally, I know people who do and say that he is a very nice, intelligent and respectable man, a complete opposite of Willie Herenton.