(Memphis) At the Shelby County Election Commission, Dr. Kenneth Whalum, Jr says asking for a recount in his school board election defeat isn’t about politics.
He says it’s more about marriage, and a wife understanding her husband.
Whalum said, “I told you guys, I told (News Channel 3’s) April Thompson, I am not that dude. I am not that dude to ask for a recount. But apparently my wife is that dude to ask for a recount. And that’s how it is.”
Sheila Whalum said she had been thinking about the need for suggesting a possible recount for several days, “I couldn’t sleep. God put it in my spirit. I woke him (Kenneth) up and said you gotta call for a recount.”
Dr. Whalum plans to file a lawsuit to subpoena correspondence between the Stand for Children organization, the Transition Planning Commission and school board members.
He wants to see if there’s a tie-in between outside money and the election vote, and if it amounts to fraud.
Whalum said, “Is there a connection between a $200,000 out-of-state, single source and the TPC’s merger plan? I don’t have an answer for that, but we are going to find out.”
Stand for Children told us it only contributed a total of $153,000 into seven school board races, including a donation to Whalum’s opponent Kevin Woods.
Kenya Bradshaw, the executive director for Stand for Children, said, “I’m 100% certain that we were legal in all of our actions going forward and we welcome anyone who wants to look at that.”
Woods won by less than 100 votes.
He appeared this morning on News Channel 3 Live at 9, “But we do know on Thursday our district supported a new change in Memphis and public education and we stand behind those results.”
As for Whalum, he said challenging the election is the right thing do, “I would be a fool not to ask for a recount.”
