Commercial Appeal Endorses Mark Luttrell for Mayor

Sunday, July 18th, 2010

The two-headed government of Memphis and Shelby County falls short of the ideal, but it functions best with city and county mayors who work well in tandem.

With Memphis Mayor A C Wharton managing things on one side of the Civic Center Plaza, The Commercial Appeal believes, the public would be well served by an adminstration headed by MARK LUTTRELL on the other.

While lacking Wharton’s charisma, Luttrell, the two-term sheriff and Republican nominee for county  mayor, is a straight-talking public servant without a serious blemish on his record who deserves the public’s trust.

Luttrell’s main opposition is Democratic nominee Joe Ford, a former City Council chairman and County Commission chairman who ran unsuccessfully for Memphis mayor in 1999.  Independent Leo Awgowhat is also on the ballot.

Ford demonstrated a lack of trustworthiness last fall when he won an interim mayoral appointment from the County Commission by promising not to be a candidate for the permanent post.

He has avoided major slip-ups during his caretaker term but has done nothing to demonstrate why he deserves the nod over Luttrell.

And as this page has pointed out, the public always assumes a degree of risk when an individual such as Ford with serious personal financial difficulties is placed in a position of political influence.

Luttrell’s integrity, qualifications and work ethic have not been challenged.

Please read the rest of this article at The Commercial Appeal.