(The Center Square) – Freddie O’Connell will be Nashville’s next mayor.
The Metro Nashville Council Member received nearly 73,000 votes compared to more than 41,000 for Alice Rolli on Thursday.
“When the causes are just, the work is especially difficult,” O’Connell said. “This is why it’s so important for our politics to sometimes include joy. We felt that last night. One of my favorite things about our team was how hard they worked while keeping one another and the people we met happy.”
O’Connell was one of Nashville’s council members who voted against the financing plan for a new $2.1 billion Tennessee Titans stadium, a deal struck by Mayor John Cooper and completed after Cooper announced he would not seek re-election.
Economist J.C. Bradbury pointed out on social media that, while the stadium deal wasn’t stopped, there were political consequences to the push for more than $1.2 billion of public financing for the project and an estimated $3.1 billion tax capture to pay off bonds and future work at the stadium and around it.
“Voters don’t like giving away tax dollars to sports team owners, and stadiums are focal point projects that voters don’t forget and become sole-issue voters,” Bradbury wrote on social media. “Nashville should also serve as an example of how grass roots organizations can influence policy.
“They didn’t stop the stadium (you can’t fight city hall), but they created political consequences. Truly impressive, and the dedicated community organizers deserve a lot of credit.”
Voters also elected Aftyn Behn, D-Nashville, to be the new state representative for District 51, replacing late representative Bill Beck.
Nashville elected Delishia Porterfield (49,549), Quin Evans-Segall (47,736), Burkley Allen (45,287) and Olivia Hill (44,400) to its council as at-large members while Tasha Ellis (District 29) and Mike Cortese (District 4) appeared to win council spots and the District 11 race remained close on Friday morning between Jeff Eslick (1,983 votes) and Eric Patton (1,934).
