Corinth mayoral race pits incumbent and police chief
Jun. 9—CORINTH — Three-term incumbent Tommy Irwin and two-term Police Chief Ralph Dance were the only qualifiers for this summer's Corinth mayoral race.
The Alcorn County city is on a different election cycle that most Mississippi municipalities. Qualifying ended June 3 for the aldermen, police chief and mayoral candidates. Since Irwin and Dance are both Republicans, the race will be settled during the Aug. 2 primary.
Irwin has been mayor since 2010 and is running on his record. Dance has worked for the city for 27 years, the last eight as chief. He feels it is a time for change.
Irwin was a retired businessman and political newcomer when he was elected 12 years ago. He said at the time the city was in poor financial shape and overly dependent on scant sales tax revenues.
"I knew I needed a brand (name business) because 60% of the budget was sales tax," Irwin said. "I chose Cracker Barrel. It took a while to get them, but it set off a chain reaction. We have 30-40 new businesses come in since then."
Chick-Fil-A opened recently and Starbucks should be open within months.
"This election is about experience — do you want to keep what we have going," Irwin said. "Over the last 11 years, six of those were historic records for sales tax."
Dance admits that Irwin had made gains for Corinth, but he feels it is time for someone new to take the reins.
"The city is in a growing stage and there is a lot going on," Dance said. "But I am running for the employees, who are some of the worst paid in the state. The mayor and board of aldermen haven't done enough to make pay competitive in public works or in public safety."
He said the city has at least 40 openings in those two categories. Dance said starting officers make $14.77 per hour. When you take out for retirement and taxes, they "don't make anything."
Irwin said if re-elected, he would continue to focus on the future.
"Seven years ago, I wanted to start a rebuild of Corinth — curbs, gutter, storm drains, alleys, milling and paving," Irwin said. "But first, you have to do a utility assessment to find out where every gas line, sewer line, water line, electric line is underground."
The assessment would give city planners a better idea of what they were facing before starting any projects and could possibly avert disasters. But it is a big ticket item. In 2015, the city would have had to borrow $350,000 to pay for it. The price tag has grown to more than $600,000, but the city now has federal COVID-19 stimulus money to pay for it.
"I won't let anyone start construction until we get it done," Irwin said. "It's not about me; it's about the future. We have got to think about 10 years from now."
After 34 years in law enforcement, Dance said he was ready to move on to something different. He has always enjoyed being a public servant and wants to ensure the city values its employees — doing a better job to retain the employees they have and to make jobs more appealing to encourage more to apply for openings.
"One of my priorities would be to increase pay. Infrastructure is a problem, the roads and bridges need work, but you have to take care of the people," Dance said. "There are a lot of programs I want to see continue. We (the city) borrowed money for road improvement. We got so far behind in paving that we are behind the 8 ball."
The two men differ on their opinions of the last decade for Corinth.
"When the budget is heavily dependent on sale tax, you have to work hard," Irwin said. "No one has done for Corinth what my team has done in the last 12 years."
The challenger said the current administration has been failing and the city needs someone with new ideas.
"With the economy the way it is, with inflation and shortages, we need strong leadership and I think I am a strong leader," Dance said. "I am not one to sugarcoat things. I will tell you the truth, even if it is not what you want to hear."
While the party primary election is still two months away, people will be able to vote absentee beginning June 17.
