Suburbs

Early voting for the Germantown full-time mayor referendum ended Thursday, providing everyone a few days to take a breath on the issue.

But based on the rhetoric, mailers and campaigning complaints during the early period, this thing has drawn quite the interest, including questions about the real reason behind the option.

Oh, there will be plenty of last-minute campaigning and studies and lobbying for votes before Tuesday’s real, honest-to-goodness Election Day. But one thing that seems to become more apparent with each election — the early voting period sets the tone for how things are going.

Now, unlike an athletic competition, we don’t get any halftime scores. No leaders pumping up the supporters to overcome a deficit in the second half — or in this case, on Election Day.

No, you end up with a feeling of how things are trending, plenty of it fueled by social media. Some of the views are evident. Mayor Mike Palazzolo favors the full-time mayor over continuing the part-time arrangement.

And he has campaigned for it, drawing a suspicious eye from opponents, who see this as the mayor supporting a full-time promotion as he tunes up his campaigning for the next mayoral election in November.

Former Alderman Jon McCreery, who set the question in motion while he was on the Board of Mayor and Aldermen, has continued his support of the idea.

Former City Administrator Patrick Lawton favors leaving things alone with the mayor as a part-time elected office and the city run day-to-day by professional managers. Perhaps that is protecting his former job.

Both sides have touted their positions, citing reasons for the status quo or a new approach to the point that the old folks who wait on the mail every day don’t have to worry that there will be nothing in the box.

A half dozen flyers with the various facts, figures and comparisons have been sent in recent weeks. Lawton and McCreery have submitted competing op-eds.

Which cities of similar size have gone to full-time mayor compared to leaving it as “part-time?” No matter what you think of the referendum, most should readily agree that serving as mayor actually does require attention equivalent to a full-time job.

Not to mention the ability to react when called upon around the clock.

Then there is the tea-leaves reading, particularly involving Palazzolo and his campaigning during early voting. Down to who smiled at the full-time crew versus those campaigning to keep the job part-time.

As we have previously noted, plenty of folks see this as a referendum regarding Palazzolo attaining the full-time status. He has already said he is running for another term. Alderman Tony Salvaggio has announced that he will challenge the incumbent mayor. And, yes, the mayor noted this week while campaigning at the New Bethel Church early voting location that he will also be stumping at the polling place for every other election cycle until November 3, when he and Salvaggio face off for the suburb’s top elected office.

In the meantime, there needs to be a decision on the full-time status, and the direction the city takes will be decided Tuesday. -Suburbs editor, Clay Bailey

We hope you enjoy reading the latest news from our suburban reporters. If you’re a Daily Memphian subscriber, we appreciate your support. If not, please sign up for unlimited access to all of our local news coverage.