Suburbs

While the proponents of a full-time mayor in Germantown probably figured the change was a hard sell, I don’t imagine they could have seen this type of rejection.

Politicians like to characterize a significant margin as a mandate or a landslide.

Tuesday’s defeat of the referendum surpassed those descriptions.

A rout?

A thrashing?

A romp?

A lambasting?

Went down in flames?

Maybe just a good old-fashioned tail-whoopin’?

Whichever term is appropriate, the message from voters was evident. More than 75% of Germantown voters said they were not interested in the elected mayor becoming a full-time position.

Three out of every four voters who walked into a Germantown voting precinct said NO.

A resounding rejection. And 20.2% of the suburb’s registered voters went to the polls to decide the sole issue in the Germantown section of the ballot. That’s about four percentage points higher than the 16% who voted countywide in the party primaries.

But why reject it so soundly? There shouldn’t be any doubt that being mayor is a full-time responsibility. Residents want the city to respond when they call. And expect the mayor to handle meetings, attend civic events, represent the city from Chamber luncheons to Nashville legislative sessions. Show up at concerts, ribbon-cuttings and neighborhood picnics.

Then, you can add emergencies or weather disasters to their duties.

But this had some strong resistance from the start. While the idea was talked about for several years, former alderman Jon McCreery eventually brought it forward in 2022, passed by a scant 3-2 vote among the five aldermen.

But the whole thing never seemed to gain momentum. Instead of peaking for early voting and Election Day, the referendum seemed to limp to the finish line almost enduring the wait toward inevitable defeat.

But this indirectly seemed to morph into a referendum on incumbent Mayor Mike Palazzolo and his run for reelection. Granted, some of that connection was brought on by the keyboard warriors of social media. And normally, you could classify the Facebook responses as the beliefs of a few people rather than the masses.

This time, the drum seemed to bang louder than usual.

Whether intentional or not, Palazzolo’s campaigning at the polls for mayor and his endorsement of the full-time status seemed to be the same to many people.

I said weeks ago that contrary to what others thought, Palazzolo had every right to support both at the early voting poll location. But with that connection came the consequence of people linking him as supporting referendum as a benefit if he were to win reelection in November. Wanting to BE the city’s first full-time mayor and the perks that go with it, including financial.

Alderman Tony Salvaggio, who will challenge Palazzolo in November, said he does not support a full-time position for the city’s mayor. He thinks things are fine with a city administrator and a professional staff overseeing Germantown’s day-to-day operations.

And thus, leaving the mayor as part time, as 75% of the Germantown voters said Tuesday.

That’s not to say that everyone who voted against the referendum will push the button next to Salvaggio’s name in November. But reading the tea leaves, I’m going to think that a significant number of the 5,097 who rejected the referendum saw that as a message vote to Palazzolo.

Palazzolo has name recognition. He has a record to run on. Some may see that as a benefit; others may see it as a curse.

While the incumbent mayor has a strong reputation for his campaigning, including door-to-door messaging walking the streets of the suburb, he may need a few extra pairs of shoes handy to overcome the tone set by the referendum. -Suburbs Editor, Clay Bailey

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