John Drinnon to seek re-election

I wanted to be the first to say congratulations to Alderman John Drinnon, who recently announced he will seek a fourth term on the Board of Alderman in Germantown.

You can read about this announcement here:

Commercial Appeal Story

John Drinnon is a personal friend, who I admire and trust more than any person. This wonderful man has been like a Grandfather to me for years, and I admire his dedication to the citizens of Germantown. I ask that all of Germantown unite and elect this deserving man to a fourth term.

Contributor Information Request

My opponent was recently quoted by the Commercial Appeal regarding ethics in local government. He states that he would like to see a citizens "blue ribbon" ethics panel to study what we should do locally to change ethics rules. In addition, he is calling for more public access to information, such as posting Campaign Financial Disclosures on the internet. I have no problem with either idea, as I have always been a champion of higher ethical standards in government. However, theory is where the similarity ends on this issue between my opponent and I.

I recently challenged my opponent to submit his contributor list to the club that will be hosting our first debate - prior to the debate. I plan to submit the list of my contributors, so that the public can see that I have absolutely NO conflicts of interest that would cloud my judgment as a County Commissioner. My opponent has denied this request and will not be submitting his list of contributors. Although he claims to believe in full public disclosure of information, I assume he means AFTER you vote, not while you are making your decision. Nice try, but I believe the public is much smarter than that.

I assure you that I practice what I preach, and I plan to post my list of contributors on my web site as soon as possible. We are in the middle of a transition from .asp hosting to dotnukenet, so it may be a few weeks. However, I will make this information public, so voters will see right away that I have no conflicts of interest. I wish my opponent would do the same. However, if you attend my debate, you will see this list at that time.

First scheduled debate

Well, I have some of the best news I have heard in quite some time. The Shelby County Conservative Republican Club will be hosting the first debate for the County Commission seat I am running for. The debate details are as follows:

DATE: Tuesday, January 3rd
TIME: 7pm
LOCATION: Liberty Grill (inside Range USA on Whitten Rd.)

I strongly encourage everyone who can attend to do so, as the winner of this Republican primary will more than likely go on to become the next County Commissioner in District 1 Position 1. So far, no Democrat has pulled a petition to run in the primary for this seat.

I have challenged each of my opponents to submit their respective contributor lists, complete with names and donation amounts prior to the debate. I believe in making it as easy as possible for the public to see who is supporting each candidate, and we will soon see if my opponents feel the same. As soon as I can update my website, I will be posting my contributor list on the web for all to see that I have no obligations to special interests or big developers.

Poor Blogging & Great Blogging

I feel terrible. It has been over a month since I lasted posted to my blog. I do, however, have a good excuse...I have been extremely busy with the campaign.

That is the example of poor blogging...Now for the examples of GREAT blogging:

Half-Bakered and Fishkite were mentioned by Jackson Baker in the Memphis Flyer as two of the top local blogs. I can say, as an avid reader of both blogs, that Mr. Baker was right on the money selecting these two as great blogs. I urge you to read both of these blogs as often as you can. They are both informative and entertaining.

Congrats Mike and Mick!

Campaign Update

It seems as if it's been quite a while since the last time I posted on this blog. I have been extremely busy with work and other campaign items, and I have not had much time. I assure you that I will try to update this blog as much as possible in the future.

My campaign is finalizing the details for next Wednesday's event at Southwind Country Club. I am sure this is an event you do not want to miss. From the premium cigars to the European Coffee bar, this event is shaping up to be amazing.

I have been busy over the past few weeks trying to organize my thoughts on how this campaign will be run. Although I am the candidate, I am involved in much of the strategy for the campaign along with my campaign staff. All I can tell you right now is that we will have quite a ground organization as so many people are lining up to volunteer. Our goal is to saturate this district with the Friends of Rude organization volunteers.

Keep your eyes and ears open for an announcement in the coming weeks....