Padgett, Rogero on new administration

OK, so we know that the two Knoxville Mayoral candidates - Madeline “Mad Dog” Rogero and Mark “The Plan” Padgett – will keep police Chief David Rausch when one of them takes office.

But what about senior director of policy and communications Billy Lyons and Larry Martin, deputy to the mayor?

I'll start with Rogero, because that one's pretty quick. Because she didn't say much.

“I don't really want to talk about it at this point,” she said. “But I've worked with a lot of them (city employees) for years, and I know the people and I know their talents. I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.”

No mention that, uh, a few of them over there are helping her out.

Now for Padgett.

He said he'd ask them “a lot of question.” He was referring more to how the city works and gauging their ideas. He said “I'm not sure who will stay.”

Then, he said this: “But to have someone who has been raising money against you everyday and talking negatively about you every day – well, it's hard to reconcile that.”

I then asked him if he meant Lyons and Martin. Cause, you know, I wanted to make sure he heard the question clearly. He said: “Well, I don't know, but there's people in the city who have been doing that.”

Uh, OK. But there's probably people in the city who “have been doing that” to Regero, too.

I specifically asked him about Lyons and Martin again and he said “there's a lot to learn from them”

He added: “There's definitely people there who would stay. There's definitely people I'll ask to stay. You won't see me come in and slash and burn. That's not something I want or plan to do.”

As he put it: “That's really an important thing (about electing a mayor) because when you think about me and Madeline, you have to think about what type of people will we'll surround ourselves with.”

Finally, he noted that – no matter whether it's him or Rogero in office – it might not even be up to them who stays.