Congressman Clement & the GOP

Posted by Mary Mancini on July 14, 2007 under Uncategorized |

Enclave Mike asks a good question, “To whom Bob Clement will be beholden if elected Mayor next month?”

Former Democratic Congressman Bob Clement’s mayoral campaign raised more than $150,000 during a fundraiser last night at the home of local businessman and Republican fundraiser Ted Welch.

Campaign co-chairman Larry Woods, when asked why he thought supporters continue to give in such strength to the campaign, said, first, “The election’s close, and therefore more people are paying more attention to it,” and, secondly, “I certainly think the widely held belief in the city is that Bob Clement’s going to win and going to be the next mayor, and therefore people are very favorably disposed toward him.”

Asked who attended, Woods said simply, “A large number of Republicans, mostly business people, mostly people who have been very, very active in charity and community events in this city.”

Has Congressman Clement made good on his promise to take the Urban Plunge yet?

Woodrow said,

Sorry to disappoint Mary, but Clement did follow through, like always, with his promise to the homeless power project, well before the Aug. 2nd deadline. I applaud him for not exploiting the experience for political gain like 4 of his opponents with a press conference. Here is a link to the small blurb in the Tennessean: http://support.tennessean.com/blogs/?p=3919

Clement does his homeless time
by Colby Sledge
Mayoral candidate Bob Clement followed up Saturday night on a pledge to spend time with the homeless, according to a campaign release. Clement met with members of the Homeless Power Project and the Campus for Human Development during the evening, and also stopped by the Nashville Rescue Mission and Safehaven, which offer overnight shelter for the homeless.

The release said Clement spent eight hours Saturday night and Sunday morning traversing the streets, nearly the same time that four other mayoral candidates spent out on the streets in June. Clement said then that his schedule did not permit him to participate in that night’s “Urban Plunge” led by the Homeless Power Project, but said he would take the group up on its offer before the Aug. 2 election.
Mary said,

I’m not disappointed. That’s great if he did it!
Freddie said,

The press conference from the original event involving 4 candidates was organized by the Homeless Power Project, which also organized the Urban Plunge. In fact, no press asked questions at the event; only members of the power project or homeless / formerly homeless community did. I actually find it inspiring that this group is able to be self-empowered enough to secure the commitments of the major candidates for mayor to participate in an event like this.

Oddly, Congressman Clement’s release did not reference the Urban Plunge at all, instead citing “research” on homeless issues. I’m still interested to know why he didn’t publicly acknowledge fulfilling his pledge.
ScottJ said,

Did Clement actually spend time on the streets though? Based on the photo opps on the local news and the manner in which the release was written, it appears Clement just visited some shelters. The release seems to not directly say he actually went out like the other candidates did.
Volunteer Voters » The Urban Knee-Deep Wade? said,

[...] While citing some of Mayoral candidate Bob Clement’s Republican fundraisers, Liberadio wonders whether Bob Clement will take the Urban Plunge as most of the other Mayor candidates did last month. [...]