John Ford | |
---|---|
Member of the Tennessee Senate from the 29th district | |
In office 1974 –May 28, 2005 | |
Succeeded by | Ophelia Ford |
Personal details | |
Born | Memphis,Tennessee | May 3,1942
Political party | Democratic |
John Newton Ford (born May 3,1942 in Memphis,Tennessee),is a former Democratic member of the Tennessee State Senate and a member of Tennessee's most prominent African-American political family. He is the older brother of former U.S. Representative Harold Ford,Sr. and the uncle of former Tennessee U.S. Representative and 2006 United States Senate candidate Harold Ford,Jr.
In April 2007,Ford was convicted of federal bribery as part of the Operation Tennessee Waltz scandal. He served 52 months of a 66-month sentence in U.S. federal prison,from April 2008 to August 2012. [1] Ford resigned from the Tennessee State Senate on May 28,2005,in a letter to Lieutenant Governor of Tennessee,John S. Wilder.
Six of Ford family patriarch N. J. Ford's sons and one daughter have been active in elective politics:
Ford grew up with 11 brothers and sisters on Horn Lake Road in the West Junction neighborhood of South Memphis and graduated from Geeter High School in 1960. He attended Tennessee State University in Nashville,graduating with a bachelor's degree in 1964. Ford attended John A. Gupton College in Nashville,receiving an associate's degree in mortuary science,qualifying him to apply for a license as a funeral director.
Ford attended Memphis State University (now the University of Memphis),where he was active in Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity,and earned a master's degree in 1978. He is a member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
Ford was first elected to the Memphis City Council in 1971 representing South Memphis District 6 and served until 1979. He was elected to the Tennessee Senate in 1974,the same year his brother,Harold Sr.,was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.
Ford was re-elected state senator seven times,rarely facing serious opposition. He served in the senate for more than 30 years. He was elected as Shelby County General Sessions Court Clerk,serving from 1992 to 1996.
In the state senate,Ford was chairman of the General Welfare,Health,and Human Resources Committee. Ford became prominent in the National Conference of State Legislators and the National Caucus of Black State Legislators,where he served as chairman of the Shelby County legislative delegation. He also served one term as Speaker pro Tempore of the Tennessee Senate.
On May 26,2005,Ford was arrested by the FBI,along with two other Tennessee state senators,a Tennessee state representative,a former state senator,a Chattanooga school board member,and an African-American political activist,for alleged participation in a bribery scheme utilizing a "sting" operation involving a bogus electronics recycling company lobbying for favorable treatment under state law. [2] Known as Operation Tennessee Waltz ,the sting operation resulted in multiple charges being brought against Ford and other politicians. His arrest came the day after his nephew Harold Ford,Jr.,announced his candidacy for the United States Senate.
On April 27,2007,Ford was convicted by a federal jury in Memphis of accepting $55,000 in bribes. The jury deadlocked on the more serious charge of extortion,creating a mistrial on that count. He was acquitted on three counts of witness intimidation. [3]
On August 28,2007,Ford was sentenced to 66 months in federal prison,to be followed by two years of supervised release. He was also facing corruption charges in Nashville,Tennessee for accepting bribes totaling more than $800,000 from medical contractors doing business with the state.
On April 29,2008,Ford reported to U.S. federal prison in Louisiana. On April 14,2011,the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a portion of the convictions against Ford on jurisdictional grounds. [4] He was released from prison in August 2012. [1]
Abscam,sometimes written ABSCAM,was a Federal Bureau of Investigation sting operation in the late 1970s and early 1980s that led to the convictions of seven members from both chambers of the United States Congress and others for bribery and corruption. The two-year investigation initially targeted trafficking in stolen property and corruption of prominent business people,but later evolved into a corruption investigation. The FBI was aided by the United States Department of Justice and convict Mel Weinberg in videotaping politicians accepting bribes from a fictitious Arabian company in return for various political favors.
Albert Arnold Gore Sr. was an American politician who served as a United States Senator from Tennessee from 1953 to 1971. A member of the Democratic Party,he previously served as a U.S. Representative from the state's 4th congressional district from 1939 to 1953. He was the father of Al Gore,who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 until 2001,and held Tennessee's other U.S. Senate seat from 1985 to 1993. A native of Granville,Tennessee,Gore graduated from Middle Tennessee State Teachers College and taught school. From 1932 to 1936 he was superintendent of schools for Smith County. He attended the Nashville Y.M.C.A. Night Law School,now the Nashville School of Law,from which he graduated in 1936.
Edward Hull "Boss" Crump Jr. was an American politician from Memphis,Tennessee. Representing the Democratic Party,he was the dominant force in the city's politics for most of the first half of the 20th century,during which the city had a commission form of government. He also usually dominated Tennessee politics from the 1920s to the 1940s. He was elected and served as mayor of Memphis from 1910 to 1915 and again briefly in 1940. However,he effectively appointed every mayor who was elected from 1915 to 1954.
Harold Eugene Ford Sr. is an American politician and Democratic former member of the United States House of Representatives representing the area of Memphis,Tennessee,for 11 terms—from 1975 until his retirement in 1997. He was the first African-American to represent Tennessee in the U.S. Congress. He is a member of the Ford political family from Memphis.
Operation Tennessee Waltz was a sting operation set up by federal and state law enforcement agents,including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI). The operation led to the arrest of seven Tennessee state lawmakers and two men identified as "bagmen" in the indictment on the morning of May 26,2005,on bribery charges. The FBI and TBI followed these arrests with an additional arrest of two county commissioners,one from Hamilton County,and the other a member of the prominent Hooks family of Memphis. Investigators also arrested a former county administrator.
The 2006 United States Senate election in Tennessee was held on November 7,2006. Incumbent Republican Senator Bill Frist,the Majority Leader,retired after two terms in office. The open seat was won by Republican nominee Bob Corker,who defeated Democratic nominee Harold Ford Jr.
Ophelia Ford is a former member of the Tennessee Senate. She is the younger sister of former state senator John Ford and former Congressman Harold Ford,Sr.,and the aunt of former Congressman Harold Ford,Jr. She represented Senate District 29,which covers South Memphis and North Memphis.
Tennessee's 9th congressional district is a congressional district in West Tennessee. It has been represented by Democrat Steve Cohen since 2007.
Kathryn Inez Bowers was an American Democratic politician and member of the Tennessee General Assembly who left office after being implicated in the Tennessee Waltz corruption scandal.
The 2006 congressional elections in Tennessee was held on November 7,2006,to determine who will represent the state of Tennessee in the United States House of Representatives.
Brian Kelsey is an American politician and former member of the Tennessee State Senate. A member of the Republican party,he was elected to represent District 31,which encompassed the following parts of Shelby County:Cordova,East Memphis,and Germantown.
Memphis,Tennessee is governed by a mayor and thirteen city council members. Since 1995,as a result of a legal challenge,all council members are elected from nine geographic districts. Seven are single-member districts and two have three representatives each.
Harold Eugene Ford Jr. is an American financial managing director,pundit,author,and former U.S. Congressman who served from 1997 to 2007 in the United States House of Representatives as a member of the Democratic Party from Tennessee's 9th congressional district,centered in Memphis. He is a member of the Ford political family from Memphis,and is the son of former Congressman Harold Ford Sr.,who held the same seat for 22 years. In 2006,Ford made an unsuccessful bid for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by the retiring Bill Frist. He was also the last chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC).
The 2014 United States Senate election in Tennessee took place on November 4,2014,to elect a member of the United States Senate from the State of Tennessee. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander defeated Democrat Gordon Ball,and was re-elected to a third term in office with 61.9% of the vote against 31.9%.
Emmitt H. Ford was an American politician from Tennessee. He represented the 86th district encompassing Shelby County from 1975–1981. He was also an uncle of former United States Congressman Harold Ford Jr.
The 2015 Memphis mayoral election took place on October 8,2015,to elect the next mayor of Memphis,Tennessee. Incumbent Democratic Mayor A C Wharton ran for re-election to a second full term in office. He was defeated by Memphis City Councilman Jim Strickland,a fellow Democrat,who earned a plurality of the vote and became the first White mayor of Memphis in more than two decades.
The 2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Tennessee was held on November 8,2016,to elect the nine U.S. representatives from the state of Tennessee,one from each of the state's nine congressional districts. The elections coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices,including President of the United States. The primaries were held on August 4.
The Ford family is a family of African-American politicians from Memphis,Tennessee in the United States. Below is a list of members of the Tennessee-based political family: