Cohen, Tinker And Towns Debate For Ninth Congressional District There are three Democrats on the primary election ballot for the U.S Ninth Congressional District. Incumbent Congressman Steve Cohen, lawyer Nikki Tinker, and State Representative Joe Towns, Jr. met in a debate this weekend to present their platforms.
The economy, race and religion, and service were hot topics as inquiries were presented to the candidates. Each politician had their fair share of time to express their views.
Cohen, while being criticized by Tinker and Towns, held his ground by defending his record as an elected official who spends his time assisting and representing his constituents.
"I would like people to judge me on my record and my character, not on the color of my skin," Cohen said.
Voters in the Ninth Congressional District have done just that as the long-term state senator-turned U.S. congressman won 60 percent of the votes during the last election. Tinker argues that Memphis citizens are looking to have African American representation in at least one of nine congressional seats from Tennessee.
“What the voters are asking for here is diversity,” said Tinker. “There are nine seats in the state of Tennessee and this is the only one where African-Americans have even enough courage to stand up and run. I think they’re saying with those nine seats, can we just have one.”
Towns touted that he believes Cohen and Tinker are bombarded with special interests. The district needs a representative who will stand for the people and not the interests of big money lobbyists.
Two of the three candidates have long-standing histories as elected officials.
Cohen became fascinated with politics when he was a child. He studied law and graduated from the Cecil Humphreys School of Law at the University of Memphis. In the private sector he went on to become a legal adviser for the Memphis Police Department, and served as vice president of the 1977 Tennessee Constitutional Convention.
He was a member of the Shelby County Board of Commissioners from 1978 to 1980. In 1982 Cohen was elected to represent District 30 as a Tennessee senator. It was nearly 25 years later when he was elected to become the Ninth Congressional District representative in Washington, D.C.
During his first two years in Congress Cohen has voted to raise the minimum wage rate; reduce student loan interest rates; take away oil company tax subsidies; stem cell research funding; reduce Medicare prescription prices; official federal apology for slavery and Jim Crow laws; and changes to failed Iraqi war policies.
Tinker is general counsel and vice president of labor relations for Northwest Airlink/Pinnacle Airlines. She also is admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, and licensed to practice law in Washington, D.C., Tennessee and Alabama.
She was raised in a low income community, by a single mother and a disabled grandmother. Tinker received her Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from the University of Alabama; a Masters degree in Justice and Public Safety from Auburn University; and a Juris Doctorate degree at the University of Alabama School of Law where she was the first African American elected president of the law school’s student body.
Tinker began her legal career as a civil rights attorney where she represented women who suffered from sexual harassment in the workplace and women who were not being paid the same wages while performing the same job as their male counterparts. Her clients also included men and women who were not hired, promoted or were wrongfully terminated because of their race, gender, age, and/or religion. She is a former defense attorney and has worked with senior management, human resource professionals, and corporate in-house counsel to adopt sound employment policies and practices. She has been a moderator of educational seminars, including but not limited to, anti-harassment and diversity training, each conducted in an effort to enhance management and employee performance and to mitigate employment disputes.
Towns is state representative for District 84 where he has maintained the position for 14 years. He is a businessman with a management consulting and entertainment company.
Towns earned a bachelors degree in Political Science from LeMoyne-Owen College, and a masters of science degree in Operational Management from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.
Along with being a state House member of the 99th through 105th General Assemblies, Towns has served as secretary of the House Education Committee; House Commerce Committee member; House K-12 Subcommittee chair; House Higher Education Subcommittee member; and House Utilities, Banking and Small Business Subcommittee member.
