Group to set up grading system for local candidates -- Coalition meets today to begin planning

The Commercial Appeal, January 5,2006
Copyright 2006, commercialappeal.com- Memphis, TN. All Rights Reserved.

In an effort to better educate Memphis voters and perhaps encourage more qualified folks to run for office, a group is meeting today to plan a grading system for candidates.

Based on a similar program used in Atlanta for the past eight years, the Coalition for a Better Memphis hopes to give ratings for candidates for local office.

"The more information a voter has about a candidate, the better choice they will make and at the end of the day we will have better public officials," said Dean Deyo, the former president of Time Warner Cable who is organizing the preliminary meeting with Calvin Anderson, a vice president of Blue Cross-Blue Shield.

Deyo got involved through the Chamber of Commerce but said the program will work only if a wide range of organizations and corporations support it and take part.

"It can't have an identity with any agenda," Deyo said. "It can't be Democratic or Republican. It can't be black or white. It really has to speak for the population of Memphis. If it can have the right membership, then when ratings and scores are done, people can have confidence that it is independent and nonpartisan."

Today's meeting, at 1:30 p.m. at the FedEx Institute at the University of Memphis, will be the first with various area businesses and community groups, as well as office holders, Deyo said.

Members of the Committee for a Better Atlanta, which implemented the program there, will be on hand to answer questions.

In Atlanta, the group interviews candidates and asks them to fill out a form. They are then graded on a scale that starts at unqualified and rises through average, qualified, very qualified and excellent.

The criteria include the candidates' background and experience, their vision and their ability to put that vision into motion. The group also wants to see their grasp of the issues.

Deyo said the system could also provide momentum for qualified candidates who may not have the name or connections to get off the ground. With a high rating, they may be able to attract backing and support.

At the very least, the system could help identify "nuisance" candidates, like Robert 'Prince Mongo' Hodges, Deyo said.

In Senate Dist. 29, Deyo said as an example, Hodges recently garnered 89 votes in a race that was decided by 13. With a rating system, Hodges might have been judged unqualified, shifting some of his votes to the other candidates and changing the dynamics of the race, he said.