Lame duck Councilman Dewey Morgan, whose campaign for mayor went down to defeat in the May 16 primary election, announced his support for incumbent Mayor Ben Hickman over Hickman's opponent, Bill Hayes.
Because Hickman was not present for the meeting (also absent were Councilmen Hank Barnes and C.A. Massengill), Councilman Ronnie Carter was presiding over the meeting as president pro tem. After council approved several items of routine business - including the approval of the police and fire department reports for September and the reappointment of Bridgett Myers as a member of the municipal housing board - Carter had just moved to the agenda item, “Committee Reports,” and had called for the report of the finance committee when Morgan announced he would like to make a statement. Neither Carter nor other members of council expressed any objections to the deviation from the agenda.
Saying he was sorry that Hickman was not present at the meeting, Morgan began his statement by noting that he had worked with five mayors during his service on council, and spoke in a complimentary manner of each of Hickman's predecessors.
“I like Ben,” Morgan said of Hickman. “We've had our differences. I've had my differences with all of these mayors.”
“We come to a point where three weeks before the election we realize where one of two men is going to sit in (the mayor's) seat,” Morgan said, and then said that he was giving his “unsolicited endorsement” to Hickman for a new term as mayor.
“When I came down to studying this about who's going to be the mayor, out of deep love for this community, I am casting my vote for Ben Hickman and I hope my friends will, too.”
“I haven't talked to him about this,” Morgan said. “You might think that he would be shocked to hear this.”
“We've had out battles in the past,” Morgan continued. “But you couldn't have had a more congenial person to talk to. This is part of what the public doesn't see.”
Morgan said that he was concerned that the town was being “bombarded by interests outside of our community” and specifically named State Sen. Daniel Mongiardo, D-Hazard, a former Democratic nominee for U.S. senator from Kentucky, as an example.
In regards to Hickman's controversial decision this week not to participate in a candidate forum sponsored by the Middlesboro Rotary Club, Morgan said, “I knew that Ben wouldn't debate. Mr. Hayes' forte is debate, but don't let that sway you.”
Morgan criticized Hayes' campaign statements about wanting to fight drug-related crime in Middlesboro, saying that his performance as a former commonwealth attorney amounted to “taking pleas and putting them right back on the street.”
In May, Morgan placed third - behind Hickman and Hayes - in a field of five candidates for mayor, which also included Jack Foreman and Barry Carnes. Since the mayoral race is officially non-partisan - although Hickman is a registered Republican and Hayes is a registered Democrat - the two top finishers in the primaries automatically advanced to the November general election.
Foreman, a former city worker now employed by Wal-Mart, also endorsed Hickman for mayor at the meeting, although he waited until the portion of the meeting in which council usually allows members of the public to speak.
“I've been with the city 40 to 45 years,” Foreman said. “Ben Hickman was a good man to work for. I throw my support to Mayor Ben Hickman and would like all my friends to.”
Both Morgan's and Foreman's announcements were greeted by audience applause.
Contacted by telephone after the meeting, Hayes noted that Morgan's relationship with the city administration has not always been warm and fuzzy and that Morgan has sometimes suggested city officials are to blame for past personal and business problems.
“It's a little surprising after everything that Dewey says they've done to him over the years and all the bad things everybody's heard them say about Dewey, what would make him do this turnaround and turn his back on everything he's said before?” Hayes said. He did not specify who “they” were, other than unnamed city officials.
Hayes said that despite Morgan's and Foreman's endorsements of Hickman, he believes that voters in Middlesboro are ready for a change and that he can still win by a close margin of victory.
James-Clifton Spires is Senior Staff Writer with the Daily News. He can be reached by e-mail at jcspires@middlesborodailynews.com.
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