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Lawler's Love For City Is No Joke

Posted: Sep 28th 2009 By: CMBurnham

I happily sat down with Jerry "The King" Lawler recently for one of those get-to-know-you-better lunches at The Cupboard restaurant in Midtown.

What a treat. The guy is personable, full of stories and brimming with confidence.

It wasn't the first time we had met. That happened 10 years ago on stage at the University of Memphis Fogelman Executive Center for a debate during Lawler's first run for mayor of Memphis.

I'll never forget the zinger Lawler lobbed that night at opponent Joe Ford who had said that, if elected, he would consider naming his brother Harold as one of three deputy mayors.

"We're going to get the whole fam damily, it looks like," Lawler quipped. "One mayor is more than enough."

The line was vintage Lawler, sarcastic and downright funny.

It reminded me of another Lawler gem in the late 1970s after the telecast of "Roots," which spurred people to research their family lineage. Lawler, appearing on his Saturday morning wrestling show, joked that one of his opponents in the ring had looked up his own family tree and "found out he was the sap."

What else would you expect? Lawler is, after all, an entertainer. You have to be to make it in the pro wrestling game. And for almost 40 years, Lawler has made it big.

But during our lunch meeting at The Cupboard, Lawler, 59, wanted to stress his serious side. I had just written a column saying most of the more than two dozen candidates in the Oct. 15 special election for Memphis mayor are not serious contenders.

Lawler wanted to assure me he was not one of them.

In fact, he's darn serious, thank you kindly, about winning this election because he believes he has a lot to offer the citizens of Memphis.

He's run a successful business for years staging wrestling matches throughout the region. But during all that time and in all those places, he hasn't just promoted wrestling. He's also promoted Memphis.

And isn't that the mayor's No. 1 job, promoting the city?

He also believes he has enough name recognition to do well in a special election with a shortened campaign and so many other candidates on the ballot.

Besides, he reminded me, he'd garnered praise for his performances during WMC-TV's Aug. 27 mayoral debate and at other mayoral forums around town.

At the end of our lunch, Lawler, the sharp-tongued, rowdy wrestler, almost had me convinced that he was indeed a top-tier contender for the mayor's office.

And then a week later, he got body slammed by an independent poll commissioned by The Commercial Appeal and WREG-TV Channel 3.

The scientific poll, conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research, showed Lawler with barely a blip of support -- just 2 percent -- among likely voters.

According to the survey, Shelby County Mayor A C Wharton is the runaway leader with 45 percent, followed by former City Councilwoman Carol Chumney at 11 percent, Mayor Pro Tem Myron Lowery at 10 percent, attorney Charles Carpenter at 5 percent and city school board member Kenneth Whalum at 3 percent.

A dejected Lawler fired back, describing the poll as pure media propaganda and grossly inaccurate.

I must admit, I was surprised by Lawler's low numbers. I at least expected him to do better than 6 percent among white voters. But I believe the poll is accurate.

Not because my newspaper co-sponsored it. But because Wharton's high rating is consistent with surveys taken earlier by would-be candidates who, after seeing the numbers, decided they had no chance.

As for Lawler, well, he will always be quintessential Memphis, as much as anyone else this city has produced.

People know him and, for the most part, they like him. They like his entrepreneurship, his creativity, his longevity in the ring and his skills as a promoter.

For most Memphians, however, that likability just is not transferable to the mayor's office.

Because it's one thing to sharply criticize local business leaders. But the mayor has to deal regularly and effectively with that group, and even cater to them once in a while.

And it's one thing to gloat that you're not a politician. But political savvy that remains ethical can come in handy in the mayor's office. It's how you get things done.

Frankly, I'd love to see Lawler more involved in civic and community affairs. But mayor? Sorry, King, I don't see it. One king as mayor is more than enough.

Tags: Jerry Lawler