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Best in Politics for December 06, 2007

TPB Presents: Best in Politics 2007

Tennessee Politics Blog is happy to present the second annual Best in Politics Awards. Each year, TPB awards the best campaigns, campaigners and commercials for the past year. While 2007 was an "off" year for General Assembly elections, many local races as well as some special elections deserve recognition as the Best in Politics in the following categories:

• Political Consultant of the Year
• Best Campaign of 2007
• Best Political TV Ad of 2007
• Best Political Saga of 2007

You can take part in the process too by nominating your favorites to add to the list of those who have already been nominated. After nominations, you'll be able to vote on the best TN political plays and players. Here are the nominations that we have so far for 2007. Let us know what we missed ...

Political Consultant of the Year 2007

• Tom Lee - Senior advisor to Harold Ford, Jr.'s failed Senate campaign last year, Lee took on a new challenge in 2007, leading political newcomer Karl Dean to election as Mayor of Nashville. As one of Dean's closest advisors, Lee crafted the strategy that help defeat the pre-election favorite formidable former Congressman Bob Clement.
• Chip Saltsman - Former advisor to Bill Frist, Chip Saltsman thought he was going to have a vacation in 2007 when his boss decided not to run for President. Instead, Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee pegged Saltsman to lead his Presidential efforts well before there was talk of Fred Thompson entering the race. With the little-known Huckabee now leading in most Iowa polls and showing strong surges in the South, Saltsman gets the credit for this year's work, even if the die isn't cast until next year.
• Randy Button - Randy Button and partner Jedidiah Brewer may have only formed their consulting company, Blue Solutions, this year, but they expertly helped guide special election State Sen. candidate Andy Berke to a win against the son of a former Congressman - Oscar Brock. Button's expert strategy helped guide Berke to over 60% of the vote, even though the political newcomer Berke started the race with as little as 10% name recognition.
• Dean Rice - When a Fred Thompson Presidential run was just a glimmer of hope in the eyes of most TN Republicans, former staffer for Congressman Jimmy Duncan and sometimes UT lecturer Dean Rice was taking his boss and Congressman Zach Wamp's lead to help form the first political apparatus of the Draft Fred Thompson movement. Rice served as Treasurer for the organization that eventually pushed Fred into the race and was rewarded with a spot as Thompson's campaign manager for the must-win state of South Carolina.

Best Campaign of 2007

• Karl Dean - The former Nashville Law Director surprised everyone when he came off the Nashville Mayor's race primary in excellent position to win the run-off election against former Congressman Bob Clement. Before the primary, Clement was the heir apparent to Nashville Mayor Bill Purcell, but that didn't stop Dean from gathering a superb campaign team and ultimately wrapping up convincingly the very competitive Nashville Mayor's race.
• Andy Berke - Before 2007 no one knew who Andy Berke was after 2007, they probably shouldn't have either, except that State Sen. Mike Williams' flop from Republican to Independent made the State Senate seat opened by convicted State Sen. Ward Crutchfield of critical importance for Republicans interested in gaining back a true majority in the State Senate. Although the district heavily favored the Democrat, Berke faced a significant challenge from Oscar Brock, son of former Congressman and U.S. Senator Bill Brock.
• Bill Haslam - The ideal election scenario is not to have to have an election at all. It looked that was going to be the case for Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam who was up for reelection in 2007. Before the campaign had even started, Haslam shocked many observers by hiring the person who ran against him and almost defeated him in 2003 - Madeline Rogero. With the possibility of that serious challenger out of the way Haslam easily defeated a nominal challenge from Isa Infante, opening up Haslam to join the exclusive list of viable statewide Republican candidates.
• Willie Herenton - We won't be a hater and go without mentioning the political acumen of longtime Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton who cruised to a historic fifth term as Mayor of Memphis. Herenton looked all but done coming into the 2007 elections - a recall petition had nearly kicked him out of office in midterm, but somehow Herenton still won the race without even showing up to many of the Memphis Mayoral debates. Still, with Herenton's haters were split between Herman Morris and Carol Chumney, the boxer Mayor of Memphis survived one of the biggest bouts of his career.
• Ron Ramsey - Who could have expected Ron Ramsey would be Lt. Governor at the beginning of 2007? Maybe not even Ramsey himself at least a few days before members of the State Senate cast their votes. Ramsey pulled a fast one on Democrat Leader Jim Kyle who expected former Lt. Gov. John Wilder to be narrowly reelected, despite the new GOP majority. Instead, Ramsey pulled away the vote of Dem State Sen. Rosalind Kurita to pull a surprise and historic victory.

Best Political Ad of 2007

• Berke Interrupted (Andy Berke) - This FRCR-produced catchy ad played well in the final days of the campaign for the 10th State Senate district by playing up Berke's priorities and his family man connection.
• Always Remember (Karl Dean) - This ad featuring former TN State Supreme Court justice A.A. Birch played well late into the campaign for Nashville Mayor, pulling some of the much talked about "Gentry constituency" away from Bob Clement and ultimately leading political newcomer Karl Dean to the win.
• Clement Commitment (Bob Clement) - This ad, perhaps the most controversal of the Nashville Mayor's race, put Karl Dean on the defensive and precipited at least two Dean press conferences and whole storm of media coverage for former Congressman Bob Clement. Although Clement didn't win the campaign, this ad generated tons of free buzz about Dean's questionable stance on property taxes.
• Jim Strickland (Jim Strickland) - Strickland's ad about "making a difference" was perfectly targeted and well-executed for his race for the Memphis City Council. After touching on several important historical events in Memphis, the add hammers the issues of corruption and crime two key themes of the Memphis local election cycle. The ad resonated well enough across diverse demographics for Strickland to win an unprecedented 73% victory.

Political Saga of the Year 2007

• Still Dancing with My Baby - The legacy of TN Waltz continues with the indictment of two State Reps - Rob Briley and Jerry Cooper and the trials of TN Waltzers who decided to challenge the FBI in court. As an added bonus to the legacy, the US Justice Department picked up several more indictments of local elected officials in the City of Memphis.
• Freddie is Ready - Push, pull or drag him it took a lot to get the slow ol' coonhunter Fred Thompson into the race for President, a move that shook-up the TN Presidential landscape and caused Congressman Marsha Blackburn to scramble to back out of her early endorsement of Mitt Romney. Still, ol' Freddie's Presidential announcement was a huge boom for lil Lawrenceburg, TN, which picked up profiles in the Washington and LA papers.
• Williams Regrets - State Sen. Mike Williams decides to vote for Ron Ramsey for Lt. Gov, but then regrets it, switching his party ID from the GOP to Indy and drawing out instant opposition in his home district from Mike Faulk. Willliam's switch wasn't only bad for him, it also caused a bit of a scare for Republicans after it changed the balance in the State Senate back to an even split between the GOP and Dems.
• Commission Sued by the Daily - The Knox Co. Commission decides to deliberate appointments in private without asking for any public input on several commission seats opened after the State Supreme Court declared the officeholders had been serving too long. After being sued by the daily newspaper in that county and ultimately losing in Chancery Court, the state then decides not to strength the state's Open Meeting laws, but to dismantle them.

Rules for Nominations

• Nominations will stay open for one week, ending Thur, December 13.
• You may nominate anyone in any category, but they must involve either a TN campaign or a Tennessean in a meaningful way. TPB reserves the right to reject nominations per this standard
• After nominations close you will be able to vote on your favorites through the beginning of the year.

Updated 12/12 with E-mailed Submissions