David Fox made no excuses on Thursday night and offered his support and assistance to the Nashville’s mayor-elect, Megan Barry.
Fox said he’s uncertain how
he lost by 10 percentage points considering
the only independent polling had the race as a dead heat going into this week.
Did Fox’s negative ads turn voters off, especially the ones focused on religion?
He says maybe Barry’s counter-attacks were just more effective. He notes that not being a bona fide Democrat in Nashville was always going to be a hurdle. And Fox wonders if his calls for reining in the growth of the city’s finances worked against him.
“When you’re sometimes talking about caution and being careful with spending, that doesn’t always sell well,” he told reporters after his concession speech. “So maybe it shows a discomfort with that. Maybe people don’t really want to be told that we should be careful about how much money we’ve borrowed.”
Voters did come up with other reasons they couldn’t go for Fox. Substitute teacher Linda Lawrence raised Fox’s time as chairman of the school board.
“There were some things that I really wasn’t happy with that Fox did, in eliminating some jobs of some people who really had some time built up,” she said outside the Bordeaux library voting precinct.
Lawrence was referencing
the outsourcing of janitorial jobs. Fox has defended the move, saying it saved millions that were spent instead on classrooms.
Though it may not matter now, Fox says he does want to do some post-election analysis. Still, he says he doesn’t have any regrets — even the six-figure check he wrote his campaign — and that he “left it all on the field.” He says he’ll take a week off to be with his family and decide what business venture to pursue next.
Fox: ‘Nashville Way’ To Reunite After Campaign
The fierce mayor’s race did spawn candidate attacks that
turned off voters on both sides of the race. But it was one particular move by Fox —
when he questioned Barry’s faith — that went too far for retired Nashville teacher Yvonne
Straker
.
“Religion is one thing I will not discuss with any other person, because I have mine, you have yours, others have theirs,” Straker said. “So that should not come into play as far as politics are concerned.”
Yet Fox made no apology for the aggressive tactics, saying he didn’t think they’d leave any political scars.
“I want the city to come back together, have reconciliation. And that will happen immediately. I don’t have any concerns about that,” Fox said. “The fact that she ended up winning decisively, I think, is probably a good thing for the city.”
Had the vote been closer, Fox says it may have been tough for Barry to take office with momentum. Instead, in his concession speech, he returned to
his campaign slogan to say it’s the “Nashville way” to compete fiercely and then reunite to support the winner.