Former Chattanooga Mayor Ron LittlefieldA news story on Page 1 of Sunday’s Times Free Press reminded us of some important things concerning the office of the mayor of Chattanooga.
One is that Mayor Ron Littlefield, under the law that limits a mayor’s terms, has just two more years in office. He can’t run for re-election. So what will Littlefield want to accomplish before he departs?
A second big question is, who and how many will aspire to run for the office of mayor in a wide-open race? Since there will be no incumbent running, the campaign may begin early. Candidates for mayor may soon start putting their fingers to the wind to determine whether they have much public support.
And a third question is, what will be the big issues and what are the proposals related to those issues that the candidates for mayor will introduce in their campaigns?
Littlefield has said that before he leaves office, he would like to see Chattanooga and Hamilton County governments consolidated into a single government. Will he be able to usher in such an overhaul in two years – or will that become an issue for the future?