Is Mark Mallory REALLY Running For Mayor or Democratic Party Musical Chairs
Do you remember playing musical chairs as a child? Someone always got eliminated because there weren't enough chairs. The announcement by Mark Mallory tomorrow signals the beginning of the Hamilton County Democratic Party's version of musical chairs. Who will get left out?
Here's the lowdown. Mallory finds himself term limited from the State Senate in 2006. He can run for the General Assembly (a position he has already served in) or he can come home from Columbus. My sources tell me Mark wants to come home and he wants to remain an elected official. Mark has made his desire known to Tim Burke and the rest of the Democratic Party where he serves as co-chair. Since the Party didn't seem interested in helping Mallory stay in office, he announced that he was considering a run for Mayor.
This is from the Whistleblower's "Real Faxes From Real Subscribers":
Quisling Charlie has till today to try to buy me off, or I'll be running my fellow DemocRAT's white ass out of town in the mayor's race next year. --Mark MalloryOf course, Mallory isn't looking for Luken to buy him off. He is, however, a young man and he has to look out for his future. (He wouldn't want to be "retired" and sitting at home like Minette Cooper, would he?) Here is the plan.
- Mallory announces he is running for Mayor.
- His competition is Charlie Luken, David Pepper and Alicia Reece. (Mark Painter, Charlie Winburn, and Christopher Smitherman may run but they aren't Mallory's primary competition.)
- Alicia Reece is term limited from City Council in 2007. Her last race would be in 2005. Everyone knows she wants to move on to higher office. (That push by Alicia's daddy to get her selected as the Vice Presidential candidate hasn't worked and the ongoing push to have her considered for Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, or Congress hasn't exactly been effective.) She could cool her heels, support Luken, and run for Mayor in 2007. That's too risky. You can't predict who competition would be then. Roxanne Qualls? Mallory? Pepper? Some new comer? So, Mallory offers Reece a deal. Sit out the Mayor's race and take his seat in the State Senate. That way she gets out of City Hall and can continue to establish/strengthen her contacts in Columbus and upstate, and SHE DOESN'T SPLIT THE BLACK VOTE. Once Reece gets out of the race, she can officially maintain a neutral position in the Mayor's race (Mallory and Luken are both Democrats after all), or she can publicly support Luken (like she did when he ran against Courtis Fuller) while secretly telling her supporters to vote for Mallory because a Mallory win means she is "moving on up" like George and Weezie.
- But there's a problem. Tyrone Yates is a State Representative and he won't let Reece walk into the State Senate. Yates might threaten to mount a campaign of his own which could be troublesome. To counter this, Mallory has to cut a deal.
- With Reece out, Mallory can cut a deal with Pepper or Luken for what he really wants. A simple seat on City Council. Whoever cuts him the best deal guaranteeing their support for his City Council run and Alicia Reece's run for State Senate (and their opposition to Yates' candidacy) gets his support and probably becomes (or remains) the Mayor.
- If Yates is swift, he can force Reece to settle on a move to the General Assembly.
When the music stops, Mallory is on City Council, Reece is in the General Assembly, Yates is in the State Senate, Pepper is still on Council, and Luken is still the Mayor.
If you've read this far you must be wondering, Nate, if Mallory really wants to be on City Council and he is the Democratic Party's co-chair, why doesn't he just say so? Well, no Mallory has ever ran for City Council and won. His brother, Judge William Mallory, Jr. ran and lost. His dad ran and couldn't get funding or support from the Party. By running for Mayor, Mallory can force the Democrats to give him the support that they didn't give to his dad and his brother or face a potential fight that could split the Party and give Republicans control of the Mayor's Office and control of City Council. If Mallory is eventually "persuaded" to leave the race, he looks like a "good" Democrat who is more concerned about the Party than himself. If they don't cut Mallory a good deal he has the potential to win. Any way you look at it, Mallory loses nothing by running.
