WEBVTT 00:09.176 --> 00:10.210  - (female announcer)   Production funding for 00:10.210 --> 00:11.645  Behind the Headlines 00:11.645 --> 00:13.680  is made possible in part by: 00:13.680 --> 00:15.682  The WKNO Production Fund, 00:15.682 --> 00:18.085  The WKNO Endowment Fund, 00:18.085 --> 00:21.088  and by Viewers Like You.   Thank you. 00:21.088 --> 00:23.891 - A look at next year's local and state elections, 00:23.891 --> 00:25.826 tonight, on Behind the Headlines. 00:25.826 --> 00:28.562 [dramatic orchestral music] 00:43.143 --> 00:44.211 - I'm Eric Barnes, 00:44.211 --> 00:45.379 Publisher of the Memphis Daily News, 00:45.379 --> 00:46.580 thanks for joining us. 00:46.580 --> 00:48.081 I'm joined tonight by Corey Strong, 00:48.081 --> 00:49.750 head of the Shelby County Democratic Party, 00:49.750 --> 00:50.884 thanks for being here. 00:50.884 --> 00:52.152 - Good evening. 00:52.152 --> 00:54.154 - Lee Mills, head of the Shelby County Republican Party, 00:54.154 --> 00:55.455 thank you for being here. 00:55.455 --> 00:56.523 - My pleasure. 00:56.523 --> 00:58.091 - Along with Bill Dries, senior reporter, 00:58.091 --> 00:59.559 with the Memphis Daily News. 00:59.559 --> 01:02.796 So we'll look ahead, we were talking a little bit before the 01:02.796 --> 01:06.967 show, many, many candidates and open offices next year, 01:06.967 --> 01:10.003 and as people begin firing up their campaigns, 01:10.003 --> 01:12.072 we've got state-wide, in terms of the Governor, 01:12.072 --> 01:14.007 we've got the Senate race, we've got everything down 01:14.007 --> 01:15.108 to judges and so on. 01:15.108 --> 01:16.877 We'll try and get to as much as we can. 01:16.877 --> 01:18.912 We don't talk a lot of national politics on this show, 01:18.912 --> 01:22.749 but it's hard not to start with the Roy Moore, 01:23.684 --> 01:26.053 and the Alabama situation because it's a Southern state, 01:26.053 --> 01:28.689 and because it's got Democrats hope up, 01:28.689 --> 01:31.325 Republicans are saying things, so let's start there. 01:31.325 --> 01:33.727 And I actually flipped a coin before the show, 01:33.727 --> 01:35.295 who I would go to the first question with just to kind of 01:35.295 --> 01:38.398 get in the season of elections. 01:39.299 --> 01:42.369 For you, Lee, your take, does it say anything about the upcoming 01:42.369 --> 01:44.137 election season, does it concern you, 01:44.137 --> 01:46.506 or is it just completely its own entity? 01:46.506 --> 01:48.709 - No, that's its own entity. 01:48.709 --> 01:53.613 It's, if you look at Alabama, Donald Trump had 1.3 million 01:53.613 --> 01:57.250 Republican voters in the 2016 election. 01:57.250 --> 01:59.853 Hillary Clinton had about 700,000. 01:59.853 --> 02:03.857 If you look at the election this is just a referendum on what 02:04.791 --> 02:06.994 some would call a poor candidate. 02:08.328 --> 02:10.263 So you had 1.3 million people vote for Donald Trump, 02:10.263 --> 02:12.799 but only 650,000 Republicans voted. 02:12.799 --> 02:15.268 So only half of the Republicans that were eligible, 02:15.268 --> 02:18.271 or voted for Trump, showed up to vote for Roy Moore. 02:18.271 --> 02:20.974 - And you would take that as the failure, 02:20.974 --> 02:23.410 the allegations, of whatever of Roy Moore-- 02:23.410 --> 02:24.411 - Absolutely. 02:24.411 --> 02:26.113 - not something about the Republican party, 02:26.113 --> 02:28.382 or a sheen of Trump on him that was dragging him down. 02:28.382 --> 02:31.284 - No, if you look at national polls as far as Trump approval 02:31.284 --> 02:33.987 ratings, Alabama is one of the highest states that approves of 02:33.987 --> 02:37.057 Trump, Tenneesee is pretty high up there too. 02:38.358 --> 02:41.762 But, now this is just a very, very unusual thing. 02:41.762 --> 02:46.767 I don't attribute it to Roy Moore's horse or anything, 02:46.767 --> 02:49.669 just a bad candidate, and you don't know whether these 02:49.669 --> 02:51.838 allegations are true, whether they're not true, 02:51.838 --> 02:54.541 but they certainly played a role. 02:54.541 --> 02:57.310 One of the Alabama.com stories says there might have been 02:57.310 --> 02:59.746 22,000 write-in votes for Nick Saban. 03:02.616 --> 03:05.185 And that wouldn't surprise me, but also, 03:06.753 --> 03:10.290 the Senator Shelby said, "Let's do a write-in candidate." 03:10.290 --> 03:11.892 So that played a lot into it. 03:11.892 --> 03:13.827 - Yeah the Republican Senator, long-time Republican Senator in 03:13.827 --> 03:15.595 the other seat in Alabama said write in 03:15.595 --> 03:17.097 "I'm not going to vote for Roy Moore." 03:17.097 --> 03:18.698 - That's correct, and I think that played a big role. 03:18.698 --> 03:21.334 - Corey, your take, I mean obviously Democrats nationally 03:21.334 --> 03:24.304 are excited, they see it differently than what Lee 03:24.304 --> 03:27.774 described, what do you all in terms of the local Democratic 03:27.774 --> 03:29.976 Party, and looking ahead to state-wide elections, 03:29.976 --> 03:32.512 what do you take from that Alabama experience. 03:32.512 --> 03:37.117 - Well I tend to agree that that is a very unique situation, 03:37.117 --> 03:40.320 I mean you have more of a referendum on more of a lack of 03:40.320 --> 03:42.889 excitement about a particular candidate there, 03:42.889 --> 03:46.259 but I think you can glean lessons from it. 03:46.259 --> 03:48.295 The ground game, a very strong ground game, 03:48.295 --> 03:49.996 support from the national party, 03:49.996 --> 03:51.431 which is something on the Democratic party 03:51.431 --> 03:53.100 we're looking at heavily in the state of Tennessee. 03:53.100 --> 03:55.235 This is conversation we've had with the DNC, 03:56.136 --> 03:57.571 also a good candidate on our side. 03:57.571 --> 03:59.172 Field a good candidate, that's a lesson we can learn 03:59.172 --> 04:01.441 in the Democratic party. 04:01.441 --> 04:05.512 The elected Senator Jones has a great record in Civil Rights, 04:05.512 --> 04:09.282 and that is something that the community could turn out for, 04:09.282 --> 04:13.153 particularly the black community which voted in droves there, 04:13.153 --> 04:15.755 so I think there are some lessons you can glean from it, 04:15.755 --> 04:17.858 and I think we're paying very close attention 04:17.858 --> 04:20.794 to how does that impact us. 04:20.794 --> 04:22.462 And we looked at the national election, 04:22.462 --> 04:24.431 it's very correct that Donald Trump won that area, 04:24.431 --> 04:27.768 but also looking at a Tennessee, or Shelby County specifically, 04:27.768 --> 04:30.937 Hillary Clinton won this area, pretty significantly. 04:30.937 --> 04:33.673 And that was also buoyed by a predominantly black voting 04:33.673 --> 04:36.042 populace here, and so that's definitely lessons that we're 04:36.042 --> 04:38.845 looking at and the importance of going to our base as the 04:38.845 --> 04:41.314 Democratic party and that's something that we'll be focused 04:41.314 --> 04:44.050 on in the very near term throughout both local and 04:44.050 --> 04:45.385 national elections next year. 04:45.385 --> 04:47.120 - Yeah and we'll explore a lot of what you both said, 04:47.120 --> 04:50.090 but let me get Bill in here. 04:52.125 --> 04:56.496 - So, Corey, did you have some folks who went to Alabama to 04:57.397 --> 04:59.733 work in the campaign there, were there some 04:59.733 --> 05:01.568 Democrats from here involved? 05:01.568 --> 05:03.270 - So there were a smattering of Democrats, 05:03.270 --> 05:05.539 I think maybe one or two people on the grassroots council that 05:05.539 --> 05:08.208 got involved, but I think generally it's these broader 05:08.208 --> 05:12.846 organizations, these individuals and organizations like that, 05:12.846 --> 05:15.148 that have gotten involved, some of the activist organizations 05:15.148 --> 05:18.385 that we are starting to partner with, 05:18.385 --> 05:20.353 with this kind of new energy we've seen since last year. 05:20.353 --> 05:22.856 - Right, and Lee, did you have any folks? 05:22.856 --> 05:25.058 I know phone-banking is something 05:25.058 --> 05:26.793 that both party bases... 05:26.793 --> 05:29.596 - We didn't do it locally, I'm sure the national party did, 05:29.596 --> 05:32.933 but that's a good point that he made. 05:32.933 --> 05:35.702 This election was for the people of Alabama, 05:35.702 --> 05:39.573 and the amount of outside influence was unbelievable. 05:39.573 --> 05:43.210 There's no way, I'll say no way, but it's a slim chance a 05:43.210 --> 05:45.812 Democrat wins in Alabama, a pro-choice, 05:45.812 --> 05:49.049 Democrat wins in Alabama without Roy Moore as the candidate on 05:49.049 --> 05:50.884 the Republican side. 05:50.884 --> 05:54.988 - Switching to Tennessee, did, does Bredesen entering, 05:56.189 --> 05:59.192 former Democratic Governor of the state, 06:00.927 --> 06:02.729 a more moderate, and very well liked, 06:02.729 --> 06:05.532 he had very high approval ratings when he left office, 06:05.532 --> 06:08.935 does it concern Republicans in the state that he might get more 06:08.935 --> 06:10.904 national money now, because the DNC, 06:10.904 --> 06:13.473 because the state, you know, this Federal money will say hey, 06:13.473 --> 06:14.975 you know, we can win in the South, 06:14.975 --> 06:16.843 we've got a popular former Governor, 06:16.843 --> 06:19.412 we've got a chance here, does that at all concern you? 06:19.412 --> 06:21.281 - Sure it concerns us, you're either running scared, 06:21.281 --> 06:23.383 or running un-opposed. 06:23.383 --> 06:27.320 But you see that, I think the demographics of Tennessee have 06:28.822 --> 06:31.458 shifted, there's only really three or four large Democratic 06:31.458 --> 06:35.161 counties, and so it's going to be tough for him, 06:35.161 --> 06:39.132 but the whole election comes down to voter turnout. 06:39.132 --> 06:40.967 It always comes to voter turnout, 06:40.967 --> 06:43.937 and that's a problem that we struggle with in Shelby County, 06:43.937 --> 06:47.841 both from a Democratic Party, and the Republican Party. 06:47.841 --> 06:50.243 I tell our folks that we have a saying, 06:50.243 --> 06:52.078 and they can say the same thing, that 06:52.078 --> 06:54.381 "Republicans who don't vote are like Democrats." 06:54.381 --> 06:56.283 And the same could be true from their side, 06:56.283 --> 06:58.752 except they have a numbers advantage in Shelby County, 06:58.752 --> 07:01.121 so it's going to be all about turn out, 07:01.121 --> 07:03.456 and getting good candidates to run. 07:03.456 --> 07:06.059 - And your thoughts on the Governor's race as well, 07:06.059 --> 07:10.764 so we've got a Governor's race, big field of Republicans, 07:12.232 --> 07:14.100 do you all take that for granted, 07:14.100 --> 07:15.935 I mean there is a sense of complacency among some 07:15.935 --> 07:17.637 Democrats that I know who, 07:17.637 --> 07:18.705 "Well, this is a Republican state", 07:18.705 --> 07:20.106 they control the state house, 07:20.106 --> 07:23.410 the state senate, Governorship, a Democrat is 07:23.410 --> 07:24.611 never going to win, 07:24.611 --> 07:26.146 it's just about which Republican wins the primary. 07:26.146 --> 07:29.282 - Well, Democratic complacency is great for us, 07:29.282 --> 07:32.452 it's not good for them, but it's a different state than 07:33.553 --> 07:35.355 when Phil Bredesen was here. 07:35.355 --> 07:37.390 It's a red state. 07:37.390 --> 07:40.593 That kind of shift started when Al Gore ran for President and he 07:40.593 --> 07:45.265 didn't win his state, and it's shifted since then. 07:45.265 --> 07:46.766 So we'll see. 07:46.766 --> 07:49.703 - Corey, your thoughts, first lets start with the Senate race, 07:49.703 --> 07:51.871 you all expect, having a big name candidate, 07:51.871 --> 07:55.041 a wealthy candidate who can put a lot of his own money in terms 07:55.041 --> 07:58.411 of Phil Bredesen, do you all think you'll get more Federal, 07:59.279 --> 08:01.648 or more national level Democratic money as a result, 08:01.648 --> 08:05.051 both of his popularity, some years ago, 08:05.051 --> 08:06.353 and the win in Alabama? 08:06.353 --> 08:09.956 - Absolutely, so Virginia, New Jersey, 08:09.956 --> 08:11.825 cities across the country, Alabama, 08:11.825 --> 08:14.928 there's a narrative that involvement at the National 08:14.928 --> 08:17.163 level is important, and so, he mentioned something, 08:17.163 --> 08:19.199 yes, there was a lot of people in Alabama, 08:19.199 --> 08:20.734 but in state's where people are successful, 08:20.734 --> 08:23.870 particularly where there's close competitions, 08:23.870 --> 08:25.472 tight competitions, yeah, there's going to be national 08:25.472 --> 08:28.208 money that comes in, whether it's from the national parties, 08:28.208 --> 08:32.145 or whether it's from you know, this PAC, or that PAC, 08:32.145 --> 08:33.313 you know the Koch brothers put 08:33.313 --> 08:34.681 a lot of money down here. 08:34.681 --> 08:36.783 That happens in every state, so there's someone weighing in 08:36.783 --> 08:38.284 because there are... 08:38.284 --> 08:41.154 all politics are local, but the stakes can be very high at the 08:41.154 --> 08:43.289 Federal level, so. 08:43.289 --> 08:45.658 I actually got a phone call last night from James Mackler, 08:45.658 --> 08:47.527 who dropped out of the race-- 08:47.527 --> 08:49.028 - On the Democratic side. - on the Democratic side 08:49.028 --> 08:50.530 because Bredesen got in, 08:50.530 --> 08:54.734 fellow brothers-in-arms and there is a desire to make sure 08:56.269 --> 08:58.071 that we circle the wagons, and make sure that we are supporting 08:58.071 --> 09:00.140 one candidate. 09:00.140 --> 09:01.674 And the decision was made by Mackler, 09:01.674 --> 09:04.310 who did a phenomenal job to serve the party, 09:05.812 --> 09:07.447 to serve the country, and say hey, 09:07.447 --> 09:08.982 I'm going to drop out and support this effort, 09:08.982 --> 09:10.717 so I think that he will bring attention, 09:10.717 --> 09:12.986 and we have two great candidates on the Governor side as well, 09:12.986 --> 09:14.687 in Fitzhugh and Dean. 09:14.687 --> 09:18.591 And both of them are great, seasoned Democrats, 09:18.591 --> 09:21.194 and I think that Dean in his particular case will also bring 09:21.194 --> 09:26.332 national attention, so having that calibre of person run is 09:26.332 --> 09:28.067 very good on our side because that's something we've had 09:28.067 --> 09:30.236 trouble with the last few years. 09:30.236 --> 09:31.905 - And before I go to Bill, one more, 09:31.905 --> 09:34.240 I mean, the turnout, as you pointed out, 09:34.240 --> 09:36.743 as Lee mentioned I think to, you know Shelby County is a heavily 09:36.743 --> 09:40.880 Democratic area, went for Hillary in the last election, 09:42.449 --> 09:44.717 Hillary Clinton, what do you all have to do 09:44.717 --> 09:47.454 to get turnout in an off year? 09:47.454 --> 09:49.389 Do you see, how do you get turnout, 09:49.389 --> 09:50.890 what does that mean, is it money, 09:50.890 --> 09:52.725 is it people, is it all of the above? 09:52.725 --> 09:56.463 - It's all of the above, but our focus, 09:56.463 --> 09:59.933 and I had a meeting with the Associate Chair of the DNC when 09:59.933 --> 10:01.534 he came in not too long ago. 10:01.534 --> 10:03.903 He did a labor meeting, Jamie Harrison, 10:03.903 --> 10:06.172 and the conversation with him was pretty clear, 10:06.172 --> 10:08.041 this race is going to run through Shelby County, 10:08.041 --> 10:10.076 at the state level. 10:10.076 --> 10:12.879 If we turn out here, that has state-wide impact. 10:12.879 --> 10:16.983 We have enough votes on the tree to shake out, 10:16.983 --> 10:19.652 that it has to go through Shelby County. 10:19.652 --> 10:23.089 And so understanding that, the reality is that we have a local 10:24.724 --> 10:28.528 election prior to that, and so if we are able to be successful 10:28.528 --> 10:30.563 on a county wide level in August, 10:30.563 --> 10:32.899 then that wil pay dividens in November. 10:32.899 --> 10:34.367 So if people believe you can do it, 10:34.367 --> 10:37.537 and win a county mayorship, or county level offices here, 10:37.537 --> 10:39.539 then we can fold that into something and keep the momentum 10:39.539 --> 10:41.207 going into November. 10:41.207 --> 10:43.109 - 15 minutes left, Bill? 10:43.109 --> 10:48.047 - Lee, by the same token, the Republican base outside of the 10:48.047 --> 10:50.917 City of Memphis bubbled inside Shelby County, 10:50.917 --> 10:55.121 is the largest base depending on turnout of any single county in 10:55.121 --> 10:58.725 the state as well, so we've kind of got both of those dynamics 10:58.725 --> 11:01.995 going on here, and outside of the city, 11:03.296 --> 11:07.500 what would you say the state of that very significant Republican 11:07.834 --> 11:10.637 base is going into 2018. 11:12.338 --> 11:17.844 - Corey makes a great point, they are the largest Democratic 11:17.844 --> 11:20.213 county in the state, but we're also the largest Republican 11:20.213 --> 11:22.415 county in the state, just as you said. 11:22.415 --> 11:26.719 Our voters are excited, they're going to turn out. 11:26.719 --> 11:28.555 We do a couple things as Republicans, 11:28.555 --> 11:31.324 we always have multiple candidates, 11:31.324 --> 11:34.527 so where they kind of coalesce around one candidate, 11:34.527 --> 11:38.031 we kind of, we've got more people in the race, 11:38.131 --> 11:40.500 in almost every race we'll have multiple candidates. 11:40.500 --> 11:43.603 That helps, I believe, our turnout, 11:43.603 --> 11:47.240 because each individual candidate will get their folks 11:47.240 --> 11:48.575 out to vote. 11:48.575 --> 11:52.812 Now another thing that helps us with is our general election is 11:54.581 --> 11:57.617 on the state primary election, so when people are voting for 11:57.617 --> 12:01.688 Governor and Senator, which we have a lot of candidates in, 12:01.688 --> 12:05.091 they'll be voting in our general election and because we're at a 12:05.091 --> 12:08.928 disadvantage numbers wise, if 30% of our voters turn out and 12:08.928 --> 12:11.664 20% of their voters turn out, we still lose. 12:12.332 --> 12:13.266 Right? 12:13.266 --> 12:15.635 So we have to significantly increase the number of voters 12:15.635 --> 12:18.905 which means we have to address the apathy which is rampant in 12:18.905 --> 12:21.374 both of our parties in Shelby county. 12:21.374 --> 12:22.909 - We've got, before I go back to Bill, 12:22.909 --> 12:24.544 we've got a graphic we'll show some of the dates that are 12:24.544 --> 12:27.046 coming up because there are a whole lot of, 12:27.046 --> 12:28.481  there are a lot   of people running, 12:28.481 --> 12:30.383  a lot of offices   open, and some key dates. 12:30.383 --> 12:33.319  - (Bill)   So in terms of the 12:33.319 --> 12:37.290  county offices, we have   a lot of Republican incumbents 12:40.059 --> 12:41.694 county-wide, who are term-limited, 12:41.694 --> 12:44.130 some of them are picking different 12:44.130 --> 12:49.636 offices, some of them are not running for re-election. 12:49.636 --> 12:53.539 How does it change the dynamics from having a lot of open county 12:53.539 --> 12:57.777 wide positions in 2010, to being the incumbents who are moving 12:57.777 --> 13:00.146 around in 2018? 13:00.146 --> 13:02.849 - It changes it quite a bit, but the good news is is when 13:02.849 --> 13:07.253 Republicans took over in 2010, Shelby county had a $1.8 billion 13:07.253 --> 13:10.256 debt, roughly $2 billion, today we've paid down 13:10.256 --> 13:14.160 $750,000-$800,000 of that debt, which is significant, 13:14.160 --> 13:17.597 and I think that if the voters look at the record, 13:17.597 --> 13:19.799 they'll continue to elect Republicans who have done a good 13:19.799 --> 13:21.768 job for the last... 13:21.768 --> 13:25.905 - So Corey, can Democrats, less than a year after the 13:25.905 --> 13:30.376 re-organization of the party, can you do what Republicans did 13:32.111 --> 13:34.781 in 2010 in the county elections? 13:34.781 --> 13:37.250 - I think we can, and I think we need to make it a referendum, 13:37.250 --> 13:39.385 not just on numbers and facts on a sheet of paper, 13:39.385 --> 13:41.821 but the impact on people's lives, 13:41.821 --> 13:45.992 and so if you look at, there was a poverty study done in 2015, 13:45.992 --> 13:47.994 Shelby County, and by Shelby County 13:47.994 --> 13:49.529 I mean Shelby County outside the 13:49.529 --> 13:52.131 municipality of Memphis is doing phenomenally as it pertains to 13:52.131 --> 13:55.101 poverty, actually a lot of the citizens there, 13:55.101 --> 13:57.537 and in some cases, it's the white demographic there are 13:57.537 --> 14:00.006 under the national poverty level. 14:00.006 --> 14:02.341 But if you look at Memphis and Shelby County proper, 14:02.341 --> 14:05.344 we are one of the highest counties and depending on which 14:05.344 --> 14:07.747 study you look at the highest county as poverty, 14:07.747 --> 14:10.516 so telling a bunch of citizens in Memphis, 14:10.516 --> 14:12.752 hey, we're doing great with the debt, 14:12.752 --> 14:16.923 when the majority of them are living in abject poverty, 14:16.923 --> 14:18.591 well, what about me? 14:18.591 --> 14:20.560 I would like some of those resources to come to us. 14:20.560 --> 14:22.395 So we're going to make it a referendum on the lives of the 14:22.395 --> 14:24.697 people in the city, do they have an economy that 14:24.697 --> 14:26.466 will work for them, services that work for them, 14:26.466 --> 14:29.102 do we have job opportunities that are meaningful, 14:29.102 --> 14:31.637 and currently we have a county government 14:31.637 --> 14:33.673 that's very concerned about building new roads 14:33.673 --> 14:36.843 in Eads, Tennessee, and doing things at the margins, 14:36.843 --> 14:40.012 as opposed to doing actual meaningful work at the core of 14:40.012 --> 14:42.715 the citizens of Shelby County, which Memphis is a big part of. 14:42.715 --> 14:44.917 And so we'll make it a referendum on that. 14:44.917 --> 14:46.586 - Well, I take exception to that, 14:46.586 --> 14:48.721 Shelby County is doing great, we have good leadership, 14:48.721 --> 14:51.491 the reason Memphis is doing bad is because Memphis has suffered 14:51.491 --> 14:54.160 from bad leadership, bad Democratic leadership 14:54.160 --> 14:55.862 for decades. 14:55.862 --> 15:00.166 So to blame this on Republicans is kind of not real fair. 15:00.166 --> 15:02.969 The county is doing good because Republicans have run the county 15:02.969 --> 15:06.139 for seven years, the city could do good if Republicans ran 15:06.139 --> 15:07.940 Memphis city. 15:07.940 --> 15:09.976 But unfortunately it's Democrats that run Memphis city, 15:09.976 --> 15:12.545 so really the blame has to be shifted inward, 15:12.545 --> 15:15.882 and I think that's the big problem. 15:17.250 --> 15:20.753 - Corey I know the Democrats have talked a lot about the 2016 15:20.753 --> 15:23.356 State House race where Dwayne Thompson, 15:23.356 --> 15:27.059 the Democrat, upset the Republican incumbent 15:27.059 --> 15:28.995 Steve McManus. 15:28.995 --> 15:32.331 Does that indicate that things are changing in the county 15:32.331 --> 15:34.167 outside of the city? 15:34.167 --> 15:37.170 - In that district it may, but not anywhere else. 15:37.170 --> 15:40.173 I'm not going to talk bad about Representative McManus, 15:40.173 --> 15:44.210 but I don't believe, my personal opinion, 15:44.210 --> 15:46.279 that he worked as hard as maybe he could have, 15:46.279 --> 15:48.915 that he spent as much money as he should have. 15:48.915 --> 15:51.350 And they got a lot of outside influence from the national 15:51.350 --> 15:54.854 party, from the state party, so again the outside money, 15:54.854 --> 15:57.490 and the outside mailers and the callers and the things they did, 15:57.490 --> 16:00.159 they did it right, because they won. 16:00.159 --> 16:02.562 I think had our side not really been, 16:02.562 --> 16:04.530 they were blindsided. 16:04.530 --> 16:07.300 They didn't expect as much resistance as they got, 16:07.300 --> 16:09.101 and the Democrats took one from us, 16:09.101 --> 16:10.703 but I think we can take that one back. 16:10.703 --> 16:12.672 - I suspect your view is going to be different. 16:12.672 --> 16:16.275 Is Dwayne Thompson's election an opening for the party in the 16:17.710 --> 16:19.212 county outside of the city? 16:19.212 --> 16:21.781 - In the same way that I said we can glean lessons from Alabama, 16:21.781 --> 16:24.383 we can learn lessons from what Dwayne did there. 16:24.383 --> 16:25.718 Did Dwayne get some support? 16:25.718 --> 16:27.353 Yeah, because he's a good candidate, 16:27.353 --> 16:29.255 but Dwayne worked his butt off. 16:29.255 --> 16:31.557 Dwayne knocked on doors, Dwayne knew that community, 16:31.557 --> 16:33.726 Dwayne understood the demographics. 16:33.726 --> 16:35.394 And I'll tell you, it's funny you... 16:35.394 --> 16:37.330 people that live at the same address. 16:37.330 --> 16:39.832 It's interesting the number of people that can say, 16:39.832 --> 16:41.601 "I know that campaigns that have knocked on my doors over the 16:41.601 --> 16:44.003 past 20, 30 years." 16:44.003 --> 16:46.405 In Cordova, a lot of those people now know Dwayne Thompson 16:46.405 --> 16:48.474 because he's come to them consistently. 16:48.474 --> 16:51.744 So a candidate that's present, and a candidate that connects 16:51.744 --> 16:54.547 with you personally, and lets you know we're going to try to 16:54.547 --> 16:57.683 expand that, and scale that up across the county with our good 16:57.683 --> 17:00.086 candidates, and so we're learning a lot of lessons from 17:00.086 --> 17:03.022 Dwayne, and we serve on an executive committee together, 17:03.022 --> 17:04.991 and I can tell you he's a hard worker. 17:04.991 --> 17:08.527 - Alright, let's talk a little bit about crossover. 17:08.527 --> 17:11.964 Lee in 2010, a lot of Republicans told me that the key 17:11.964 --> 17:16.802 to success was that the Republicans had nominees who had 17:18.471 --> 17:20.573 crossover potential, that some segment 17:20.573 --> 17:23.209 of Democrats could support. 17:23.209 --> 17:28.814 Is crossover still the factor it was then in what I'll call the 17:28.814 --> 17:31.450 'Age of Trump' generally? 17:31.450 --> 17:33.152 - Yes. 17:33.152 --> 17:35.388 It's very important for us, because again, 17:35.388 --> 17:38.124 we're at a numbers disadvantage, right? 17:38.124 --> 17:39.992 I said if 30% of our voters turn out, 17:39.992 --> 17:41.961 and 20% of their voters turn out, 17:41.961 --> 17:44.597 and they vote straight ticket, then we lose. 17:44.597 --> 17:46.332 So we need some of that crossover vote, 17:46.332 --> 17:48.367 and I think we'll get it. 17:48.367 --> 17:50.937 There's things that Republicans and Democrats can agree on, 17:50.937 --> 17:53.506 crime, jobs, education, those things, 17:53.506 --> 17:55.608 we can agree on. 17:55.608 --> 17:57.843 And I think our candidates will stand out, 17:57.843 --> 18:00.713 and people will see that they're the better candidate. 18:00.713 --> 18:02.114 I hope. 18:02.114 --> 18:03.649 - Do you- Go ahead Bill. - Does... 18:03.649 --> 18:05.751 Does that change when you get to the state level though, 18:05.751 --> 18:10.556 with the Senate race, and the race for Governor? 18:10.556 --> 18:14.393 - No. I mean... yes, it does. 18:14.393 --> 18:17.797 In Shelby county, maybe, but Shelby county is kind of an 18:17.797 --> 18:20.566 off-set, the same as Nashville and Knoxville, 18:20.566 --> 18:23.569 but state-wide, no, I mean Republicans 18:23.569 --> 18:25.404 are going to vote for Republicans, 18:25.404 --> 18:26.639 and Democrats are going to vote for Democrats. 18:26.639 --> 18:28.107 And the crossover vote really doesn't matter, 18:28.107 --> 18:30.376 except maybe in those few counties. 18:30.376 --> 18:33.879 - And let me just continue with the crossover question, 18:33.879 --> 18:36.749 because it seems to be a different dynamic among 18:37.850 --> 18:40.086 Democrats, and for the reasons that Lee mentioned, 18:40.086 --> 18:44.156 Corey, that Democrats have the advantage in terms of numbers, 18:45.758 --> 18:48.794 and you all had quite the discussion about crossover and 18:48.794 --> 18:51.864 who's a Democrat, and who's not a Democrat in terms of who the 18:51.864 --> 18:54.300 party supports. 18:54.300 --> 18:56.068 So what's the role of crossover with your candidates in the 18:56.068 --> 18:57.937 county-wide elections? 18:57.937 --> 19:00.873 - A crossover is a symptom of a problem. 19:01.674 --> 19:03.576 If a cand... 19:03.576 --> 19:05.578 I had this conversation with a group of Democrats 19:05.578 --> 19:07.913 at Trezevant Manor. 19:07.913 --> 19:11.717 A woman whose been a Democrat, she's 96 years old, 19:11.717 --> 19:13.886 so she's been a Democrat longer than my 19:13.886 --> 19:15.988 parents have been alive, right? 19:15.988 --> 19:19.325 And she says, "Yeah, I didn't know y'alls candidates, 19:20.593 --> 19:23.396 but I know this one, and I know his parents and I know 19:23.396 --> 19:25.331 he's a good person." 19:25.331 --> 19:27.666 And so that means we either don't have good candidates or 19:27.666 --> 19:30.102 we're not working hard enough to get the records of those 19:30.102 --> 19:31.871 candidates in front of our voters. 19:31.871 --> 19:33.639 That ends here. 19:33.639 --> 19:35.608 So, you know, my parents grew up picking cotton, 19:35.608 --> 19:39.211 I've worked you know, I come from a rural area where my roots 19:39.211 --> 19:41.647 are, I worked in the navy for eight years, 19:41.647 --> 19:43.082 we're going to work. 19:43.082 --> 19:45.718 And so my party is kind of, they're afraid, 19:45.718 --> 19:48.421 it's about to come, but we're going to work to make sure. 19:48.421 --> 19:51.190 It's not going to be a referendum on, 19:51.190 --> 19:52.992 hey, we don't know your candidate, 19:52.992 --> 19:54.894 that's not going to happen anymore. 19:54.894 --> 19:56.529 And also I think with the national things that are going 19:56.529 --> 20:00.199 on, and the state of the County, that people, 20:00.199 --> 20:02.334 good people are getting involved, 20:02.334 --> 20:04.270 and running for office on both sides, 20:04.270 --> 20:06.138 but particularly on the Democratic side, 20:06.138 --> 20:09.508 and so that gives me hope that not only when we work 20:09.508 --> 20:11.177 that we're going to be able to get to the voters, 20:11.177 --> 20:12.878 but also to give them a candidate 20:12.878 --> 20:14.847 that they'll be happy about. 20:14.847 --> 20:16.882 - Let me as, we talk about, excuse me, 20:16.882 --> 20:19.952 we talk about crossover and we're talking about a referendum 20:19.952 --> 20:22.354 almost, you know the Republicans in what was that, 20:22.354 --> 20:25.958 2010, used the unpopularity of Obama in, 20:25.958 --> 20:28.994 among Republicans, I mean the visceral unpopularity of Obama, 20:28.994 --> 20:33.132 specifically Obamacare, they parleyed that into state-wide 20:34.333 --> 20:36.235 races, into state House, state Senate, 20:36.235 --> 20:37.970 even local. 20:37.970 --> 20:40.039 Do you worry Lee, that... 20:40.039 --> 20:42.608 I don't think anyone questions Trump's popularity in rural 20:42.608 --> 20:45.211 Tennessee, but that among educated, 20:45.211 --> 20:49.315 suburban, particularly women, at a time of the MeToo moments, 20:49.315 --> 20:51.450 we've got a President that has allegations 20:51.450 --> 20:54.987 of 15, 20 , sexual harrassment, I mean, you know all kinds 20:57.356 --> 21:00.092 of accusations, then you've got this Mueller investigation. 21:00.092 --> 21:02.261 Is there a drip, drip, drip with that? 21:02.261 --> 21:04.096 I don't want to necessarily debate whether those are true, 21:04.096 --> 21:05.998 but they're out there, and they're talked about constantly 21:05.998 --> 21:08.167 and they're off-putting for a lot of educated, 21:08.167 --> 21:11.203 increasingly it seems, it seems, people point to, 21:11.203 --> 21:14.373 educated suburban, traditionally Republican voters, 21:14.373 --> 21:16.709 just maybe they just don't turn out. 21:16.709 --> 21:18.277 Because of that. 21:18.277 --> 21:19.845 And does that begin to reflect on local, 21:19.845 --> 21:21.747 at the local level? 21:21.747 --> 21:25.151 - So my job as Shelby County Chairman is to take care of 21:25.151 --> 21:27.419 Shelby County. 21:27.419 --> 21:29.555 And I think you're correct. 21:29.555 --> 21:33.325 But I also say that this is the reason that I divorce myself 21:33.325 --> 21:36.829 from President Trump when we talk about local elections, 21:36.829 --> 21:38.497 ok, he said local elections matter, 21:38.497 --> 21:39.965 that's true. 21:39.965 --> 21:43.702 And here's the point, I have to, my job as Republican Party 21:43.702 --> 21:46.472 Chairman is to highlight our candidates, 21:46.472 --> 21:49.575 our state candidates, and try to divorce ourselves 21:49.575 --> 21:52.011 from Donald Trump, we have to do that, 21:52.011 --> 21:54.713 because it's exactly the way you said. 21:54.713 --> 21:56.816 There was a lot of, this was a weird 21:56.816 --> 21:59.018 Presidential election right? 21:59.018 --> 22:01.020 We had Republicans voting for Democrats, 22:01.020 --> 22:02.855 Democrats voting for Republicans, 22:02.855 --> 22:05.991 it was a crazy Presidential election, 22:05.991 --> 22:09.261 so you're exactly right, but our job is to focus on 22:09.261 --> 22:13.465 Shelby County, and try to keep the national politics out of it. 22:13.465 --> 22:15.801 - Do you worry that that divorce you're talking about, 22:15.801 --> 22:17.803 could get so bad, that you almost have to divorce yourself 22:17.803 --> 22:20.272 from the Republican brand, so instead of talking about, 22:20.272 --> 22:22.341 you know David Lenoir as a Republican, 22:22.341 --> 22:24.009 you talk about David Lenoir. 22:24.009 --> 22:25.644 You talk about the candidates and the personality, 22:25.644 --> 22:28.614 do you worry that that affect within the next six to eight 22:28.614 --> 22:31.116 months could be, that you're not just divorcing yourself from the 22:31.116 --> 22:34.486 elected President, but from the party he represents? 22:34.486 --> 22:36.155 - No, no. 22:36.155 --> 22:38.190 I don't think it's that bad. 22:38.190 --> 22:40.826 But we concentrate on our candidates, 22:40.826 --> 22:42.695 that's what we do in the Republican party, 22:42.695 --> 22:44.964 we, and they have started to do that. 22:44.964 --> 22:46.999 He, he's a good Chairman, I can tell already. 22:46.999 --> 22:48.367 - Y'all just met, right? 22:48.367 --> 22:49.735 - Yeah, we just met before the show. 22:49.735 --> 22:51.503 But I can tell because of the way he's talking, 22:51.503 --> 22:54.306 because Democrats have suffered for years in Shelby County 22:54.306 --> 22:56.475 because they haven't put up good candidates. 22:56.475 --> 22:59.245 They just haven't been good candidates. 22:59.245 --> 23:02.047 Senator Lee Harris is a great candidate, ok. 23:02.047 --> 23:04.416 So it's going to be tough, and we're going to concentrate our 23:04.416 --> 23:07.286 personalities, and their strengths, 23:07.286 --> 23:09.355 and not worry about the national politics. 23:09.355 --> 23:10.823 - We're throwing so many names out. 23:10.823 --> 23:12.057 Lee Harris, who used to be City Council, 23:12.057 --> 23:14.760 is now a state Senator and is in the race as the Democrat for 23:14.760 --> 23:16.528 County Mayor, and I should say that David Lenoir, 23:16.528 --> 23:19.732 who's now the trustee, who I mentioned is running for County 23:19.732 --> 23:21.533 Mayor as well. 23:21.533 --> 23:24.870 For you all, how much do you use among Democrats certainly, 23:24.870 --> 23:27.573 but again maybe among moderates and independants the 23:27.573 --> 23:30.743 unpopularity of Trump. 23:30.743 --> 23:33.279 When we're talking about the Assessor race, 23:33.279 --> 23:35.080 or we're talking about the County Mayor race, 23:35.080 --> 23:36.882 does Trump's name help you all? 23:36.882 --> 23:39.051 Or do you just need to focus on issues and candidates? 23:39.051 --> 23:40.719 - I don't think so, I mean, where's our base? 23:40.719 --> 23:44.523 Our base is in... 23:44.523 --> 23:46.725 in our black, urban communities, right? 23:46.725 --> 23:48.394 And so it's hard for me to go to South Memphis, 23:48.394 --> 23:49.828 it's hard for me to go to Smoky City, 23:49.828 --> 23:52.464 Whitehaven, Frayser, and say Trump's name 23:52.464 --> 23:54.933 when the street isn't paved. 23:54.933 --> 23:57.002 When I've got to walk 20 minutes to catch a MATA bus, 23:57.002 --> 23:59.238 like, that's not playing, right? 23:59.238 --> 24:01.440 And so we have to focus on candidates and issues as well, 24:01.440 --> 24:03.742 so I agree with Lee with that 100%, 24:03.742 --> 24:06.812 but also connect what we're talking about to a change 24:06.812 --> 24:08.947 in someone's life. 24:08.947 --> 24:10.516 And so that is what we're working on, 24:10.516 --> 24:12.751 and I agree 100% that if we get too involved in national 24:12.751 --> 24:14.787 politics, yeah, we're concerned with healthcare, 24:14.787 --> 24:17.389 there's hospitals closing all over Tennessee because... 24:17.389 --> 24:21.026 that, that's happening, but our focus and the thing that's going 24:21.026 --> 24:23.796 to convict our voters is how it's going to impact their 24:23.796 --> 24:26.065 day-to-day lives. 24:26.065 --> 24:27.666 - We have so much we didn't get to, 24:27.666 --> 24:29.468 we've got just a couple minutes left, 24:29.468 --> 24:31.303 maybe we just get both your take on rank-choice voting, 24:31.303 --> 24:32.971 which is... 24:32.971 --> 24:34.807 Bill can you kind of give everybody who doesn't 24:34.807 --> 24:35.808 necessarily follow this the way we do-- 24:35.808 --> 24:36.809 - Yes. - what is rank-choice 24:36.809 --> 24:37.776 voting, what's the issue, 24:37.776 --> 24:39.044 and then get your guy's opinions on that. 24:39.044 --> 24:41.413 - It's also called instant-run-off voting. 24:41.413 --> 24:46.251 City voters approved it as a City Charter amendment in 2008. 24:47.086 --> 24:50.255 It basically eliminates a separate run-off election, 24:51.890 --> 24:55.027 when you go into a vote in a single member district city 24:55.027 --> 24:59.164 council race, you would instead of voting for one candidate, 24:59.832 --> 25:00.899 you would mark your preferences 25:00.899 --> 25:03.402 one, two, three, or one-of-two, 25:03.402 --> 25:06.372 or however many you want to. 25:06.372 --> 25:12.177 If none of the candidates get 50% plus one of the votes, 25:14.046 --> 25:15.681 then as things stand now, you would go to a separate run-off 25:15.681 --> 25:18.183 election among the top two. 25:18.183 --> 25:21.387 With rank-choice, or instant run-off, 25:22.287 --> 25:24.857 there would be a second vote count of the same ballots, 25:24.857 --> 25:27.926 where you would take the number two votes, 25:27.926 --> 25:29.762 from the lowest vote total and apply it to the other 25:29.762 --> 25:32.131 candidates, and you keeep on doing that until someone gets a 25:32.131 --> 25:34.933 majority of the voters. 25:34.933 --> 25:36.468 So, with that-- 25:36.468 --> 25:39.071 - Right now I think we're in local, 25:39.071 --> 25:40.839 you've got the court to get clarity, 25:40.839 --> 25:42.508 because the state election commission said it wasn't 25:42.508 --> 25:44.309 possible, it's a complicated issue, 25:44.309 --> 25:46.645 I'm giving you almost no time, your take on what should happen 25:46.645 --> 25:48.080 on this issue. 25:48.080 --> 25:49.515 - I support it 100%. 25:49.515 --> 25:54.052 The voters of the City of Memphis said yes, 25:54.052 --> 25:57.456 and it is being done in progressive cities across the 25:57.456 --> 25:59.591 country, and I think we should move in that direction. 25:59.591 --> 26:01.226 - Your take on that. 26:01.226 --> 26:02.661 - I'm not sure about it, but I think the state has an issue 26:02.661 --> 26:05.297 with it, I'm not sure it's legal on the state level. 26:05.297 --> 26:07.833 - Which if they clarify would you like to see it happen? 26:07.833 --> 26:09.668 - Have to see, becaues it's a huge expense. 26:09.668 --> 26:10.969 - Ok. 26:10.969 --> 26:12.471 Not enough time for that issue, but thank you all for being 26:12.471 --> 26:14.573 here, thank you Bill, thank you for joining us, 26:14.573 --> 26:16.708 join us again next week. 26:17.910 --> 26:20.913 [dramatic orchestral music] 26:33.792 --> 26:35.794 [acoustic guitar chords]