David Briley announces run for Nashville mayor in August election

New Nashville Mayor David Briley — sworn into office on Tuesday — says he plans to run for the job in the August election, enabling him serve out the remaining year of the term if he wins.

Briley made the announcement during a Thursday meeting with editors and reporters at The Tennessean.

He had previously been noncommittal about a decision after replacing former Mayor Megan Barry, who resigned Tuesday morning after pleading guilty to felony theft amid a sex scandal involving her former police bodyguard.

“Yes, I will be running in August for mayor,” said Briley, who served two and a half years as vice mayor until he was elevated to the role of mayor this week. “And that’s the extent of any announcement you’re going to see from me. It’s not going to be some big political shindig where I roll out a red carpet for myself.

“I’m going to be working on governing and doing everything that I can do to make sure the government is running well. But yes, I will be running for election in August."

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No other candidates have announced plans to run, but At-large Councilwoman Erica Gilmore appointed a treasurer Wednesday for a possible mayoral campaign. Candidates have until April 5 to file petitions to run.

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Briley, elected vice mayor in 2015, previously served two stints as an at-large councilman from 1999 to 2007. He's known as a progressive Democrat, who as vice mayor expanded the role of the office by wading into issues such as short-term rentals.

Although the election is tentatively set for Aug. 2, the Davidson County Election Commission plans to meet Friday to vote on an election date.

The Metro Department of Law has recommended the August date, arguing that in accordance to Metro Charter, a special stand-alone selection is not required because a Metro general election is less than a year away.

But some legal observers have challenged that assessment, maintaining that the August election — which historically includes school board, judge and clerk general election races but not mayor or council elections — is not a Metro general election. By state law, a special election would then be required within 75 to 80 days of Barry's exit, or May 21 to May 26.

Briley’s candidacy was encouraged Wednesday by the Nashville Business Coalition, which not only endorsed him, but also urged other candidates to not get in the race.

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The group has argued the city needs continuity following Barry's abrupt exit, and to avert two straight years of competitive mayoral races.

This year’s mayoral election is followed in August 2019 by another one when Barry’s term had been set to expire. It means there’s the potential for four Nashville mayors over an 18-month period.

But the business group's announcement hasn't gone over well with everyone. Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Lee, a Williamson County resident, withdrew from the coalition over its decision.

And Beverly Keel, chair of the Department of Recording Industry at Middle Tennessee State University and former Tennessean columnist, took issue with the coalition's decision in a sharply worded Facebook post.

"Nashville can relax now because a white man is back in charge. That's the message I gathered from the announcement from the Nashville Business Coalition that encouraged newly sworn in Mayor David Briley to run for mayor and — get this — urged all others not to enter the race," she wrote. "This would bring stability to the city, they say. It is a decision that deeply insults the intellect of Nashville's voters, who are perfectly capable of deciding the best person to lead the city."

Other potential candidates in addition to Briley and Gilmore include businessman Bill Freeman and David Fox, who both lost to Barry in 2015, Rep. Harold Love Jr. and At-large Councilman John Cooper.

Freeman, chairman and CEO of Freeman Webb Co and a top Democratic donor, is a vocal critic of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, which is part of the business coalition.

Briley, who said he's "honored" by the business coalition's backing, declined to say when asked whether he agrees with its assessment that other candidtes should not get in the race

"I've been around politics long enough to know that whatever I say about that is not going to help somebody else make their mind up," Briley said. "People are going to make up their minds on their own about whether or not to run. So, I'm not going to weigh in on whether that's a good or bad thing."

Reach Joey Garrison at 615-259-8236, jgarrison@tennessean.com and on Twitter @joeygarrison.