(The following public comments are published as they were received by the Main Street Journal.)

(MSJ note: the following is in response to this article in the July 2 - 8, 2009, issue of the Memphis Flyer.) UPDATE: Jackson Baker responds in the Flyer!

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Dear Jackson Baker and the Memphis Flyer-

We are going to win this election!

In the interest of fair reporting, I hope you will print my response to the comments in your article posted online today:

1. In the last mayoral election, our campaign raised $250,000 which is more than Strickland and Conrad state that they can raise.

2. I stand by my call for an independent investigation of the Wharton car inspection, which was supported by your competitor- The Commercial Appeal editorial board, saying that my approach “makes sense” and an independent investigator was the “correct course to take”.

(http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2009/jun/25/fresh-look-at-a-scandal/

3. Here is the link to the video from the 4th of July fire on Riverside Drive
which speaks for itself. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mklEyjb3L-o

4. I served as a State Representative for 13 years, and on the Memphis City
Council for 4 years.

5. I have a solid record of getting things done-including statewide child care
reform, the Memphis Plan providing medical care for thousands of working poor,
health care reform, laws to protect victims, and ethics reform.

So, in light of the above, why would you treat me as some airhead female seeing flying saucers? This is demeaning to women, sexist, and totally unacceptable in 2009. It is really disturbing that a reporter of your stature would stoop to this type of hatchet job journalism in an election this important to the citizens of Memphis.

Jackson, even if you disagree with my candidacy and favor another candidate, this still does not give you the license to use one standard for a female candidate, and a totally different one for the male candidates.

While, I generally try to avoid making an issue of gender bias, as both a professional attorney, and a veteran public servant, I hope for the sake of your readers, you will provide fair and more balanced reporting in this election that is free from gender, or any other bias.

I am the candidate that the voters know they can count on to move Memphis ahead.

Carol Chumney

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From Jackson Baker:

> Carol, there was no suggestion, stated or implied, in what I wrote
> that you were an “airhead female seeing flying saucers.”
>
> The reference to flying saucers was made, as I indicated, by
> someone, a media skeptic, who was challenging my intent to report
> your observations about Tom Lee Park. I was DEFENDING the need to
> report candidate statements, of whatever kind, not attacking — or
> even judging –yours! If you want to challenge somebody, challenge
> Officer Karen Rudolph, whose official account on behalf of MPD
> minimized the extent of the trouble you reported. (Again, I
> personally did not dispute it; I reported what you said; I reported
> what she said.)
>
> Officer Rudolph, you will note, is both a female and a trusted
> authority figure., which brings me to your unfounded assertions of
> gender bias. There was no reference to your gender, or anyone
> else’s, in the account I wrote, and certainly no indication that
> your gender, or that of any of your opponents, should be a factor in
> this race. As for “airhead,” just where did that word appear?
>
> Please. I both like and respect you, and I am impressed by your
> determination to forge ahead in your race for mayor despite the
> obvious obstacles (noted in the article) in your path. There was no
> name-calling here; don’t indulge in it yourself. You’ll be treated
> fairly, but I can’t guarantee that you, or any other candidate, will
> be pleased by every report or piece of analysis filed by me or any
> other reporter.
>
> Politics ain’t beanbag.

UPDATE: Jackson Baker responds in the Flyer!