Updated 4:45 p.m., August 7
Hundreds of supporters crowded inside the Nashville Farmers’ Market on Thursday night to see Megan Barry, who won 23.5 percent of the vote and will be competing for mayor in the September runoff. Barry will be running against former school board chairman and investment manager David Fox, who won 22.8 percent of the vote.
Barry Marks ‘Progressive’ Lines
Barry has been considered a
frontrunner
for most of the race, boosted by her name recognition as an at-large Metro council member. On the election night, she read a prepared speech — punctuated by sometimes deafening cheers from the crowd — that focused on her support of fair wage laws, affordable housing and anti-discrimination policies in Metro council.
“I want to earn your vote by being the strong, progressive voice that ensures that everyone is treated with dignity and respect,” she said.
She never named her remaining opponent — Fox — but she did make subtle jabs at his wealth, saying she didn’t get into politics because she was a millionaire.
“Nashvillians know that I want to earn their vote,” Barry said. “I don’t want to buy it.”
Fox Lays Into Barry
Fox used a wave of advertising late in the campaign to leapfrog over other candidates into the runoff.
Wedged onto a stage of 200 giddy supporters, Fox didn’t just bask in overcoming a crowded race: He zeroed in on Barry.
“Because I know her and respect her, I feel that it is my obligation to give her the best battle we can,” he said, adding that he wants to make sure voters know how different the two candidates are. “There’s Megan Barry who is over on the far left side, on the liberal side, and then there’s generally all the rest of us.”
Fox says he’s less politically extreme, calling himself “fiscally conservative” and “socially very centrist.”
“That’s a very common orientation in Nashville,” he said.
The
investment manager and former school board chairman said he plans to use Barry’s eight years on the city council against her by showing that those policies have led to an atmosphere of out-of-control growth.
Freeman Falls Short In Big-Spending Bid
The man who — far and away — outspent Nashville’s field of mayoral contenders came in a close third. Real estate investor Bill Freeman actually got more votes than anyone else on Election Day, but he trailed during early voting.
Still, more than 22,000 voters turned out for Freeman. Orvileen Lovell of Woodbine says she loved his commercials, which described how he grew up with five sisters in Donelson.
“He seemed more realistic, more down-to-home,” she said after casting her vote Thursday.
Besides winning support over the airwaves with millions of dollars in TV commercials, Freeman also got serious backing from the African-American community in North Nashville, where he spent much of his time campaigning.
During his concession speech, Freeman said he and his team knocked on 250,000 doors across Davidson County.
“We could not have worked any harder, any smarter,” he said. “If I had had the answer, I would have pulled it out.”
Some in the crowd cheered at points, even while wiping tears. Freeman stayed positive, only saying that “losing is never fun.” But some supporters, like Aroll Jones, say they’re bewildered by Freeman’s loss.
“He’s a builder. Everything we need is to be built,” Jones said. “So what are we going to do? Put people in charge who just go into the perfume side of it? That’s what we’re going to get.”
Freeman, however, complimented Fox and Barry. He said he’ll decide soon whether to endorse one of them.
A Second Loss
While just 2,200 votes separated the top three finishers, Howard Gentry was more than 10,000 votes from being in the runoff. Still, there were smiles, dancing and a sense of hope at his election night party, even as his second mayoral campaign ended.
“A political loss is not failure. A political loss is a step,” Gentry said. “That step is meaningful.”
Gentry received fewer votes than when he ran for mayor eight years ago. He said he’s disappointed in the loss, but proud to have spurred discussion about the needs of the city’s most vulnerable residents. The candidates still standing have good hearts and a true concern for people, he said.
Gentry has a history of winning countywide offices, but he never emerged as a frontrunner in this race. And although he was the only black candidate, he didn’t win over African-American voters like Barbara Vaughn. The North Nashville resident says other candidates seemed to want the position more.
“I didn’t see him but once or twice,” she said after voting. “He wasn’t very visible to me.”
Gentry has been an at-large council member and vice mayor; he’s currently Nashville’s criminal court clerk. He closed out his concession speech with a hint that he’s not yet tired of seeking elected office.
Bone Runs Out Of Steam
Attorney Charles Robert Bone made a big splash early in the campaign. His ads and catchy jingle were all over broadcasts of last March’s NCAA basketball tournament. He said he needed a fast start because he didn’t have much name recognition when he started.
He may have wound up spending close to $2.5 million.
“I’m afraid to look, to be completely honest, but we’ll know here in the coming days,” he said. “We never factored in that there would be seven, quality, well-financed campaigns.”
But Bone could never quite close the gap on his better known opponents.
“Most people that said they were undecided or they weren’t supporting Mr. Bone at first only said that because they didn’t know what he was really pushing for,” said Deshaun Clarke, who worked for the campaign.
Bone says he might run again — for mayor or some other office.
Rebrovick’s Reflections
Businesswoman Linda Eskind Rebrovick won just a fraction of the votes her competitors achieved, even while spending more money than the two who made it to the runoff, according to
the latest filings.
After a brief concession speech, Rebrovick acknowledged shortcomings.
“I had a lot to learn about how the government ran,” she said. “I think I picked it up pretty quickly, but it took me a little while.”
Kane Blames Money Trouble
Charter school founder Jeremy Kane finished last in the field of seven. He says he had three strikes against him: his age, his lack of name recognition and not enough money to share his ideas.
“Money makes a difference in politics,” he said. “I was running, in some ways, to prove that money didn’t matter. But it does, and that’s not a negative. I just think it helps spread the message.”
Some supporters say they thought voters had trouble seeing how Kane could make the leap from educator to mayor, although
Elizabeth Moss Evans believes the former CEO of LEAD Academy could have easily made the transition.
“He had to get those kids to school. He had to meet a payroll. He ran a public budget, and so they wrote him off as being the education guy and being young,” she said. “Next time, not so young.”
Emily Siner, Tony Gonzalez, Nina Cardona, Chas Sisk, David Wright Smith and Marty Swant contributed to this post.
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