County Commissioner Deidre Malone is officially a candidate for Shelby County mayor in the Democratic Primary on May 4. She first announced her intentions to run in September 2009 and filed a petition on Monday (Jan. 25) to seek the county’s top post.

Bank of Bartlett president Harold Byrd, who had been considered Malone’s strongest opponent after announcing his candidacy in September, has dropped out of the race, choosing instead to forego a second run for county mayor. In 2002, Byrd dropped out of the mayoral hunt after A C Wharton Jr. announced his candidacy.

A race at this time is not “prudent for myself personally or my family at this time,” said Byrd.

As Byrd pulled out, Interim County Mayor Joe Ford’s potential candidacy pulled into view. In his pursuit of the mayoral appointment, Ford earlier told the County Commission that he would not seek a full term.

Ford says he has been thinking about it and would make a decision soon. So far he has not pulled a qualifying petition.

“It’s unfortunate that he was given the power of incumbency by the County Commission,” said Malone. “He said he wasn’t going to run. For him to change his mind speaks volumes. I think the community will hear that.”

Malone said she’s off and running even if Ford enters the race. “If he makes a decision, I look forward to him being in the race with me,” she said.

Feb. 18 is the deadline to file a petition for the May 4 Shelby County primaries. Malone and Leo Awgowhat, who mounted a race for Memphis mayor last year in the special election, are the only candidates to filed petitions. Angowhat is running as an Independent in the Aug. 5 county general election.

Malone said she expects others to enter the race, and touts her business acumen, experience on the commission, community background and vision for Shelby County as qualifications for the job.

She already has her platform in place:

• Sustainable funding for education and health care;

• Job creation through strategic economic development;

• Intergovernmental cooperation with other municipalities;

• Crime intervention.

“I am seeking this office to ensure that we continue to make county government more efficient, transparent and customer-friendly for our taxpayers and create and provide more opportunities for businesses to move to our county and expand,” Malone said.