Daily Times bites back

December 15, 2008 City's 'iron lady' will step down Mayor Barrie Parsons Tilghman is ready to 'hang up the gloves' The political roller coaster that is Barrie Parsons Tilghman has been something to witness these past 12 years. Running a neighborhoods-first campaign and given no chance to win in 1996, she pulled out a near landslide against the better-credentialed establishment candidate. In her first days in office, she dismissed an iconic police chief whom she believed to be corrupt and sent the city attorney packing. In building a city senior staff she consistently turned to outsiders, throwing the old boy network on its head. She fought rival council members, made loyal allies of others. Always -- always -- she showed leadership: There was never any question about who was in charge. She beat back attempts to have her election recalled and won a taxpayers' lawsuit. She fended off referendums to install a city manager government, turn back tax increases and merge the city government with the county's. She quelled near rebellions in the police department and halted a true rebellion in the fire department. She won re-election twice, and probably could have won again -- neither of the current contenders declared themselves until it was an open secret that the current office-holder would step away. And neither of those potential successors operates with the swagger of their predecessor. She is perhaps the most polarizing figure in Salisbury's political history, a woman who has only allies and enemies. Comparing her to Margaret Thatcher, some dubbed her the "Iron Lady." Her foes spit when they speak her name; those who love her would crawl from Newtown to Camden on broken glass at her command. And what a roller coaster ride. There were the ultra-tense council sessions pitting either Tilghman or her initiatives against the likes of Palmer Gillis, Frank Himmelright, Lavonzella Siggers, Rachel Polk, C.T. Webster, Bill Stacey, and (of course) Deborah Campbell and Terry Cohen. There were the public attacks and bitter incriminations courtesy of Robert Taylor, Bob Caldwell, Linda Kent, Carolyn Hall, Jim Ireton, Bill Reddish and (of course) assorted Web loggers motivated by revenge or borderline personality disorders. And, the low point of all low points was the infamous post-council-meeting "Parking Lot Throw-Down" at the Government Office Building, in which the mayor's daughter and a councilwoman engaged in a verbal and physical encounter that resulted in police charges against the daughter. Still, when one of the mayor's many critics was on an anti-Barrie tirade, there was nothing more amusing than asking -- in a news reporter's way -- "Why don't you just get someone to run against her," and then watching as the critic fumbled for an answer or quickly changed the subject. But she reopened the Downtown Plaza to cars, rebuilt the crumbling City Park bridge and bandstand, built a new firehouse headquarters and added on to the downtown parking garage. She got the Northeast Collector Road constructed and secured funding for a much-needed wastewater plant expansion. Church Street is much, much better, though the downtown is not. The West Side and Newtown neighborhoods have held. The college neighborhoods are better, thanks to rental restrictions, city inspections and licensing, though the percentage of rentals remains too high. The downtown waterfront finally saw some development, but some of those decisions might prove to have been flawed. The zoo remains a point of pride. Like prizefighters, too many politicians don't know when to hang up the gloves. Tilghman -- always shrewd and calculating -- recognizes it is her time. She almost always got her way and remained stronger than her foes. Salisbury may not miss its iron lady, but neither will it ever forget her. Additional Facts In summation Throughout her three terms as Salisbury's mayor, Barrie Parsons Tilghman always displayed leadership, whether she was standing ground against rival council members, tackling corruption in the city's police department or cutting the ribbon on another big project.