Ratings Aim to Educate Voters

The Commercial Appeal, April 19,2006
Copyright2006,commercialappeal.com -- Memphis,TN. All Rights Reserved.

During election season, political endorsements are handed out time and again.

But a group of more than 50 local businesses and organizations has taken that process a step further, creating a grading system for candidates running for Shelby County Commission.

The Coalition for a Better Memphis, a nonprofit, nonpartisan group founded this year, released its first results Tuesday in an effort to better educate local voters.

"We think that long-term, this will encourage good people to run for office," said Dean Deyo, former president of Time Warner Cable. Deyo is one of the coalition's organizers, along with Calvin Anderson, a vice president of BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee.

The coalition, based on a similar program in Atlanta, includes AutoZone, First Tennessee, BellSouth, Memphis Tomorrow, New Path and the Memphis Area Home Builders Association.

Commission candidates running in contested races in the May primary were evaluated based on their responses to a questionnaire and interviews with coalition members.

They were graded on general qualifications, such as vision and experience, as well as their views on key issues like ethics, the county's debt and economic development.

The scores from eight categories, as well as an overall score, are included in a four-page guide that will be inserted next week in The Commercial Appeal, Memphis Flyer and Tri-State Defender.

The results are available now on the coalition's Web site at bettermemphis.org.
Candidates were graded on a scale of 1 to 100, with 100 being the highest score possible.

Republican Mike Ritz, a retired bank executive running for District 1, Position 1, notched an 89, the highest overall score among the 26 candidates graded. The lowest score, 50, was shared by two candidates for District 3, Position 1: Adrian Killebrew and Georgia Malone, both Democrats.

Democrats Teddy King and Johnny Hatcher Jr. were the only candidates who did not participate. Candidates who are running unopposed were not evaluated, but their responses can be viewed on the Web site.

Mike Rude, a Republican running for District 1, Position 1, who had an overall score of 82, said the coalition's process was time-consuming, but worth it if it educates voters.

"You could tell that they did a lot of research and knew the issues," Rude said.

Deyo said the coalition will continue its work with the August general election and is eyeing the races for county mayor and sheriff, as well as the Memphis charter commission.

"Our plan would be to do every election from this point forward," he said.