So the day after Tuesday's primary vote, the two remaining mayoral contenders came out swinging -- or at least spitting and snarling a little. As WATE and the News Sentinel reported, Mark Padgett (who finished second, with about 23 percent of the vote) and Madeline Rogero (who finished first, with about 50 percent) traded some barbs. The most heated exchange was this one, reported by WATE:
"When I entered this race, the three things that were being talked about were community gardens, how many chickens you could own and the 10-year plan," said Padgett. "Those are all important issues, but here's the fact. Those are not the three things the mayor needs to be talking about. If you listen to Ms. Rogero now, she's talking about job creation, economic growth, stronger and safer communities, more efficient government and downtown Knoxville. She's taken my platform and made it her own."
"I've been working on these issues, frankly, since Mark was in diapers," Rogero responded. "I developed the first economic development plan back in 1985. I think what the next six weeks will show is not only who has the most relevant experience, but also who has the maturity to really run the city. It's a very complex organization, and I have both the experience and the maturity to do that."
So, are those comments fair? Let's take them one at a time. Padgett is accusing Rogero of plagiarizing his campaign platform. Specifically: job creation, economic growth, stronger and safer communities, more efficient government, and downtown Knoxville. It is true that Padgett has been talking about those things, at least in general terms, since his campaign kick-off speech in February. But so how does his implication about Rogero hold up? Has she really changed her focus from chickens and gardens to jobs and downtown Knoxville? Well, in her own kick-off speech two months earlier, here are the things Rogero emphasized: downtown Knoxville, "strong, safe neighborhoods," "a strong regional economy with good jobs," and "a green and sustainable Knoxville." She did also talk about homelessness and the Ten-Year Plan, but then of course so has Padgett. So, to be blunt, the allegation that Rogero has "taken my platform and made it her own" is demonstrably untrue. Both candidates have been talking about all of those issues from the beginning. We'll give Padgett the benefit of the doubt and assume that maybe he's been too focused on his own campaign to listen to what any of his opponents are saying. So we'll just call him misinformed for now, rather than deliberately misleading. Unless, of course, he says it again.
And on the other side, we have Rogero saying she's been "working on these issues, frankly, since Mark was in diapers." This is harder to assess. Padgett is 33, but we don't know how old he was when he stopped wearing diapers. If we assume he was potty-trained at the age of 2 or 3, that would put his last diaper year at 1980 or '81. The year Rogero cites is 1985, by which time Padgett would have been 6 or 7, and presumably not in diapers. So we're going to say Rogero seems to be engaging in some hyperbole here, to make a point about her and Padgett's relative experience.
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