Less than three weeks remain before voters decide who will succeed former mayor Willie W. Herenton, who retired at the end of July to campaign for Congress.

As the Oct. 15 special election draws near, a number of mayoral forums have been scheduled in an attempt to draw comparisons between 25 candidates seeking the top job at City Hall.  

Shelby County Mayor A C Wharton Jr. was a no-show at three recent forums: The Memphis Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners on Sept. 8, The Memphis Democratic Club at The LeMoyne-Owen College on Sept. 19, and the Raleigh, Frayser & North Memphis Mayoral Candidate Forum at Breath of Life Christian Center on Sept. 21.

Tonya Meeks, Wharton’s campaign spokesperson, said scheduling conflicts prevented Wharton from attending the aforementioned forums. She said it’s nothing personal.

 With a few weeks remaining, Meeks said Wharton wants to get his message out to the people and that the format of these forums prevent him from expounding on the issues.

“It’s difficult for the candidates to compare apples to apples,” said Meeks, noting that Wharton is accessible on several social networking sites. “We have tons of friends.”

In a recent poll conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research of 400 likely voters, Wharton was projected to garner 45 percent of the vote, if the election were held in mid-September when the poll was conducted.

Dr. Larry Moore, a political analyst and University of Memphis professor, said Wharton’s decision to skip several mayoral forums could be a campaign strategy based on the poll results.

“It’s an old strategy that says the election is over,” said Moore, who compared the strategy to a game of football. “They’ve decided to run the clock out.”

This strategy also could produce voter apathy, Moore said.

 “People think you’ve already won. However, if you have a 40 percent lead and someone else gets 10 percent and gets 40 percent of his people to the polls compared to your 10 percent, then the election is tied.”

Attorney Charles Carpenter, who the poll projected at 5 percent, has termed Wharton’s absence from the forums as “disrepect.” In recent weeks, he has challenged Wharton to a two-candidate debate. Wharton has shown no interest in that invitation.

Greg Grant, district commander for the Memphis Democratic Club, which sponsored the forum at The LeMoyne-Owen College, believes Wharton is assessing his political strengths and weaknesses.

“He may feel it is not a smart idea to attend these gatherings and allow his competitors to take potshots at him,” said Grant. “He’s trying to position himself as best he can and not lose any ground he has.”

Grant said he doesn’t think the voters, “if left to their own devices, would surmise that A C is afraid to come to the forums.”

According to Antonio “2-Shay” Parkinson, Wharton is looking at what’s best for his campaign.

“If he participates in these forums, he becomes a target,” said Parkinson, president of The Voice of Raleigh and Frayser Community Action Network, which hosted the forum at Breath of Life, along with ABetterMemphis.com.

“In his perspective, he has nothing to lose,” said Parkinson. “If you’re not savvy about the political process, you might misconstrue this strategy.”

Parkinson said Wharton would have to circumvent this approach by stumping for votes in other parts of the city.