Ford Canale named interim Memphis Council member
The Memphis City Council voted Tuesday to appoint J. Ford Canale, an East Memphis funeral director and golf teacher, to the council seat vacated by Philip Spinosa Jr.
Canale, who will serve as interim Super District 9, Position 2, council member until the special election Aug. 2, emerged as an early leader, picking up support from a coalition that included council members Berlin Boyd, Frank Colvett Jr., Kemp Conrad, Edmund Ford Jr., Janis Fullilove, Reid Hedgepeth and Bill Morrison.
Canale described himself as a “family man,” with two children and a family business that celebrates its 175-year anniversary this year. He owes Memphis a debt, he added.
“I believe one way I can repay that debt is to serve the city and serve the citizens,” Canale said, explaining his reason for applying for the position.
This is the first public office for Canale, who volunteers as the head golf coach at Christian Brothers High, the alma mater of several council members.
Canale also attends St. Louis Catholic Church, the home church of Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland, among other politicos. He was sworn in after the vote in the council chamber.
After his appointment, Canale said one of his focuses would be on retaining businesses and residents in Memphis.
Also receiving nominations were Lisa Moore, president of Girls Inc. of Memphis; Kenneth Whalum Jr., pastor of New Olivet Baptist Church; and Marvin White Jr., a manager at FedEx Services.
Other candidates who didn’t receive nominations were Charley Burch, a real estate agent and music veteran who ran as a Democrat in a 2016 House of Representatives race; Jimmy Lewis, an entrepreneur who launched French Truck Coffee; and Erika Sugarmon, a teacher at White Station High.
Canale is one of seven candidates seeking the position during the special election in August, the same time as voters choose a host of county positions and cast their ballots in statewide primaries for governor and state senator.
Burch and Sugarmon are also running. Also in the race is Paul Boyd, who lost his Probate Court clerk re-election bid in the Republican primary election; Tyrone Franklin, a resident of Raleigh; Stephanie Gatewood, former Memphis City Schools board member who just lost to Tami Sawyer in the Democratic primary for a Shelby County Commission seat; and Tim Ware, a business consultant and the former executive director of the Achievement School District.
The council could have several other appointments coming up after the August elections. Council member Edmund Ford Jr. is running for Shelby County Commission, Janis Fullilove for Juvenile Court clerk, and Bill Morrison for Probate Court clerk. If they’re elected, they take office Sept. 1, leaving their seats temporarily vacant.
Spinosa, who was elected to Super District 9 in 2015, resigned his seat and his job at FedEx Services in May to accept a position as senior vice president of the Greater Memphis Chamber’s Chairman’s Circle, following in the steps of former council member and then senior vice president of the Chairman’s Circle Shea Flinn.
Reach Ryan Poe at poe@commercial appeal.com or on Twitter at @ryanpoe.