File this under Very Local Politics.

Brother makes 2 Fords in 9th race

Joseph Ford, Jr., the son of County Commissioner Joe Ford, practices law in California. But he is coming back home to run for the Ninth District congressional seat being vacated by Harold Ford, Jr. as he vies for the Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Frist. (All clear?)

And I love this paragraph from the article:

Two of the most widely watched races are the battles for the seat abandoned by U.S. Senate Majority Leader and presidential hopeful, Bill Frist, R-Tenn., and the Ninth District House seat. Harold Ford Jr., D-Tenn., princeling of the Ford family political dynasty, will face off this summer against state Sen. Rosalind Kurita, D-Clarksville, who calls herself the "only Democrat" in the Democratic primary.

"Princeling", ha. But I'm impressed by "Jr"'s ability to speak extemporaneously, which I have witnessed, and he does act like he has some sense. He's suffered from Uncle John Ford's various scandals, which isn't fair, but on the other hand if he weren't a Ford (and Harold Sr.'s son at that) he wouldn't have been the political shooting star he is in the first place, so I guess he has to take the bitter with the sweet.

But another Ford, Harold Jr's brother Jake, has thrown his hat into the ring as well, so this race will be Ford v. Ford. And state Sen. Steve Cohen is going to try for it again, after having lost to Jr. in his first primary 10 years ago. Sen. Cohen probably has a better chance this time, due partly to scandals involving yet another Ford, Ophelia, whose election to the state Senate in her brother John's place was helped along by a few dead voters who won't lie down. I don't think that will hurt Jr. too much, but I think there's a certain amount of Ford fatigue in this city that Joe Jr. and Jake don't have a strong enough image to overcome.

In other news, there's been a petition to recall our city mayor. I haven't signed it, and I haven't heard too much about it in the last couple of weeks. Why haven't I signed the petition? It certainly isn't because I'm impressed with Mayor Herenton's leadership, accountability, or trustworthiness. It's because he was elected in the elections our city charter was set up to have, and therefore is my mayor (although I didn't vote for him). We don't need to be changing the rules around because we're in a snit. The rules are far too important for that. Also, he's been mayor for a number of years, won re-election 2X (I think) and was city school superintendent before that (got his contract bought out for mismanagement) so it's not like he was an unknown quantity or changed after he got in office. (I love Memphis but sometimes I think my thought processes might as well be Martian when I contemplate the decision-making that is done in this city.) Plus, unlike in CA when Gov. Davis was recalled with Arnold standing in the wings, we don't have a clear alternative for Mayor Herenton if we do recall him. I have a feeling I know who the next mayor will be and I'm not in a hurry.