TennWatch/Volitics

Who is Reginald French?

French has been closely associated with Mayor Herrenton and is tied to the various administration scandals.

For instance, Memphis Watchdog reports this series of events:

• In late 2000, French purchases an IT outsourcing firm, Associated Softworks (ASW), for roughly $100,000. French had no IT experience.
• In November 2000, Memphis awards Systems and Computer Technology (SCT) an IT outsourcing contract for $41 million.
• Four months later, French's company ASW lands a lucrative subcontract from SCT.
• ASW is currently supplies the city with "professional services" in a no-bid contractual agreement.

French is running for Shelby County Sheriff on the Democrat ticket against incumbent Mark Luttrell. Attorney Richard Fields calls French "the most dangerous non-judicial candidate" on the August ballot:

He is a sexual harasser, perjurer, and unethical public official. Mr. French worked in Mayor Herenton’s initial campaign in 1991 and was rewarded with the position of Director of the Mayor’s Action Center in February 1992. In 1997, he was appointed to interim director of the Division of Public Services at a salary of $89,000 per year. On August 8, 1997, his secretary, Ms. Mary F. Johnson, filed a sexual harassment complaint against Mr. French alleging that he asked her for sex. When she refused and reported his actions, she was terminated. Before a formal investigation could begin, Mr. French resigned. Ms. Johnson was reinstated with back pay and a promotion.

In 2000 Mr. French bought a majority interest in a computer consulting company for $100,000 (although he never paid for it, it is the subject of a pending litigation in Chancery Court) even though he had no computer experience. In a fax dated October 29, 2002, from Carlee McCullough (see above) to Lillie Alford of the Uniform Certification Agency, Ms. McCullough asked for an expedited review of Reginald French’s company to classify it as a minority business enterprise saying they had a contract on the table and they needed the classification immediately to validate the contract. Mr. French started receiving contracts through ACS (the City’s information technology contractor) in July of 2003 and has received approximately $1.5 million to date.

Mr. French also wore a wire for the FBI trying to implicate Mayor Herenton in an illegal contract deal Mr. French was trying to arrange with the former chief administrator for the Mayor of Atlanta. He wore the wire after his contact gave Mr. French and his wife funds to contribute to Mayor Herenton’s campaign. At this time, Mr. French is appointed to the Memphis Alcohol Commission, which he oversees the establishments that serve alcoholic beverages. He has accepted $1,000 campaign contributions from Ralph Lunati and Charles Westerland, the owners of Platinum Plus and the former King of Clubs, respectively, the two largest strip clubs in Memphis.

Reginald French is a political hack and hopefully will be investigated by federal authorities.

Only the most ignorant or blindly partisan of voters will be voting for this man. In other words, with Memphis being the largest part of Shelby County, French stands a very good chance of being elected.

Technorati Tags: Reginald French, Tennessee Politics, Shelby County Politics, Shelby County Sherrif Race, Corruption in Politics.