Brownsville Mayoral Candidates Hold First Debate
BROWNSVILLE, Tenn. — Two candidates vying for Mayor in Brownsville faced-off in a public debate, a day before early voting. On Tuesday, Mayor Jo Matherne, the city’s current Mayor, prepared for the debate that could determine if she serves a second term. “I think it will be a good opportunity to highlight our accomplishments and things we plan to accomplish,” Mayor Matherne said. Mayor Matherne will debate her opponent, Bill Rawls, Jr., a native of Brownsville. This is Rawls’ first time running for a political office. He said the city’s decreasing population, complaints of the school system, and the closing of the county’s hospital prompted him to run. “There have been too many closed door meetings and too many people left out of the loop,” Rawls said. Both candidates agreed that the closing of the hospital will be the biggest issue at the debate, but Rawls said the building of a new recreational park is also the issue. He said it cost taxpayers more than $250,000 and could have been used by the city to help save the hospital. Mayor Matherne said the city is required to pay just part of the cost of the new park, to receive a $400,000 state grant specifically for recreation. Rawls said it’s a smaller issue to a bigger problem. “The hospital closing is a wake-up call to our community that there are issues going on, and if we don’t speak up or ask questions, these are the results.” Mayor Matherne said the city is working with the county to explore options to make sure citizens don’t go without emergency services. Both candidates said despite their differing views, they hope the debate sparks more community participation and ultimately brings more people out to the polls.
