By Chris Taylor
Mayfield, KY – It's probably the hottest mayoral race to hit the Pearl of the Purchase' since well ever. It's a historic election which could see Mayfield's first woman elected as mayor in a race pitting Incumbent Arthur Byrn against his longtime Executive Assistant Teresa Cantrell in an inner-office battle for his seat. One might think the subject would be the talk of the town, and it may be, but as Chris Taylor discovers, political polarity may be keeping many in the Pearl' clammed shut and watching what they say.
Inside Hill's Barbeque restaurant along the Mayfield's main drag, no patrons care to weigh in on the hotly contested mayoral race. Owner Greg Hill doesn't mind though. He says already the race is the most interesting one he's ever seen.
Hill- Just the drama of it. I mean you take the politics out and just the drama of a longtime secretary to a longtime mayor running against him. I mean you have instant drama and you have a lot of instant attention.
Despite that attention, Hill says he hasn't heard too much about if from his customers.
Hill- Sometimes restaurants are like beauty shops: if you're going to hear it, you'll hear it in a restaurant. But I honestly haven't heard a lot of folks talking about it. Mainly because It almost seems like it's been hush-hush, you know, it's like they're not saying.
The heated race and inner-office rivalry has seemingly stirred a bit of political polarity within the community. So, Hill's not taking any sides.
Hill- We don't put signs up because I mean in small town USA, man they'll cut your throat. They'll say well he's for this person and all that and you know they'll quit eating with you.
Hill holds both Cantrell and Byrn in high regard and expresses confidence either would be a viable choice for Mayfield's next leader. He says whoever is chosen will be tasked with creating jobs to alleviate Mayfield's unemployed, which is last estimated to be around 10% for Graves County. Mayfield Messenger reporter Matt Schorr says he's heard much the same thing: this year's election is all about
Schorr- Jobs, taxes and jobs. I think every single election here locally revolves around that is: how are these guys bringing jobs and whether or not the voters feel the ones are doing the job right or if somebody else can do it better.
Mayor Byrn says the election's about leadership.
Byrn- I'm going to continue the kind of leadership that Mayfield has seen over the past several years. Number one I have experience in managing business, I am very involved in putting together the budget every year, and I think I have the ability to gain consensus with the council on new initiatives.
Teresa Cantrell says the race is about commitment.
Cantrell- When we talk about time in the mayor's office, I think the thing that I have on my opponent is Mayfield needs a mayor who's willing to spend time in the office, not divided between the office and another full time job, not traveling around for other entities, but my time is going to be totally devoted to Mayfield.
Cantrell is referring to Byrn's affiliation with a local insurance company, which he says is not a full-time job and doesn't normally hinder his daytime office hours. Byrn touts a fiscally successful term: Mayfield's budget surplus; investments in park and public safety, and renovating dilapidated neighborhoods. Byrn also says he and city council members recently began discussing a newly proposed ordinance.
Byrn- We actually have an ordinance prepared to add another weapon, if you will, in our incentive arsenal, to provide incentives for businesses that just add employees.
The ordinance is designed to encourage employers to expand and create jobs and would credit them with a payroll tax rebate for retaining an employee for one year. Cantrell didn't have much to say by way of tax incentives, but rather she's more focused on government efficiency.
Cantrell- We need to look at ways to creatively reduce some of the ways that we spend our money. And I'm not saying that we need to cut out services and I certainly don't want to get rid of employees, but I think that time will allow us to creatively combine some job positions.
What are the candidates saying about each other? Byrn seems hesitant to outright criticize his opponent and Cantrell is not.
Cantrell- We're seeing a lot of amazing things happen in election year; a lot of things getting done, but those things need to have been getting done all four years.
The election in Mayfield is coming down to whether or not voters see a need for change. On one hand, Mayfield would be taking a chance with change casting a ballot for Cantrell and on the other hand, citizens pretty much know what they can expect with a Byrn vote. But, a change may not be so drastic. Reporter Matt Schorr agrees the candidates' platforms are similar, but says they do differ by who seems to be supporting them.
Schorr- If there's any big difference between them, Arthur is more the white-collar and Teresa is probably more representative of the blue-collar.
Socially, both candidates are white, conservative Christians with deep family and community roots. Fiscally, Byrn is content investing the city's surplus back into the community, while Cantrell thinks Mayfield is taxed enough and would like to further explore cutting rates. Matt Schorr says this election has definitely drawn the most interest than any other he's covered in the past six years reporting for the Messenger. It's a tight race with no formal polls, but Schorr says Cantrell's campaign has appeared to have more steam and may be favored to win.
Schorr- The only reason I'm going to go so far as saying that is because even at a campaign rally to kick off his election, Arthur Byrn acknowledged at the time that she was ahead, so they had a tough race. Either way its going to be close, I think.
Cantrell's Facebook campaign page is evidence of activity and a motivated backing with over 1,200 members. Some of her supporters are even organizing door-to-door walks of their own. Byrn's Facebook presence is a bit meager in comparison with under a thousand members. Both candidates plan to launch radio and newspaper advertising in the last weeks before the November general election to try to reach those still undecided voters.