Edgar Babian, former deputy chief of the Germantown Fire Department, bothered by a development adjacent to his neighborhood, has pulled a petition to run for mayor in the suburb.

Babian’s possible candidacy could lead to a contested mayoral race, as Alderman Tony Salvaggio is also pursuing the city’s top elected position. Salvaggio plans to file his petition with sufficient signatures this week.

Goodwin Farms homes project moves forward despite resident pushback

The filing deadline is noon on Aug. 20 for what is expected to be a wide-open race.

Mayor Mike Palazzolo announced last month that he will retire from elected office in Germantown later this year. The office of mayor, two alderman seats and two school board positions are on the Nov. 3 ballot for Germantown voters. 

This isn’t Babian’s first attempt at elected office. He ran for office in District 85 of the state House of Representatives. He also sought multiple school board offices and in legacy Shelby County and the Germantown Municipal School District. He’s never won.

Babian is upset by the changes developers have made at Goodwin Farms, a new residential subdivision that abuts his neighborhood, Winchester Forest Hill Estates.

Babian is the president of his homeowner’s association. The neighborhood has a minimum lot size of 1 acre. In Goodwin Farms, the largest lots are 15,000 square feet.

Palazzolo announces he will not seek reelection as Germantown mayor

New changes revise the phasing plan, and Babian worries that some updates will increase construction traffic in his neighborhood sooner than he thought.

“They basically threw everything out that we had agreed upon,” Babian said by phone Tuesday morning. “If you make agreements with homeowner groups, you need to keep them.”

Earlier this month, the Planning Commission endorsed the changes, which he took issue with. The Board of Mayor and Aldermen will have final say, likely in an August meeting. The agendas are not available yet. He said that if city leaders honored his neighborhood's requests, he would not run.

“It’s about agreements,” Babian said. “If you honor our agreements, that’s what city government is supposed to be about.”

Babian spent decades with the Germantown Fire Department. He retired two months ago from Rossville, after serving as fire chief for 11 years. While employed in Rossville, he was unable to run for elected office.