Who's leading the push for Nashville Mayor Megan Barry to resign?

A longtime Nashville political operative, a well-known African-American pastor and a conservative former college professor are helping lead the call for Mayor Megan Barry's resignation after she admitted to a nearly two-year affair with her former police bodyguard who also was married.

Anonymous bright-red yard signs popped up across Nashville over the weekend with the phrase "Resign Now Megan Barry" in all capital letters.

The signs appeared in advance of a rally on the steps of the Metro Courthouse on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m., when protesters are expected to demand the mayor's resignation.

On Tuesday, Barry said she remains inspired as she talks to Nashvillians.

"They tell me they want me to keep doing my job and moving Nashville forward as the Mayor and that’s exactly what I’m going to do," Barry, a Democrat, said in a statement.

Fuzz, Swain to speak at rally

Rick Williams, a limousine driver and outspoken Barry critic who regularly dabbles in city political fights as an operative, is helping lead the activities of "Resign Now!" He confirmed the group — which he said has support from across Davidson County — is behind the distribution of the yard signs, which lack disclaimers detailing who paid for them.

► More: Rick Williams has complicated legal past

A separate entity called Recall Megan Barry has launched a recall election effort if the mayor does not resign. To force a recall election, the group needs petition signatures from 15 percent of registered Davidson County voters, which would mean at least 61,251 names.

The Rev. Enoch Fuzz, pastor of Corinthian Missionary Baptist Church and a critic of Barry, and Carol Swain, a controversial and outspoken former professor at Vanderbilt University, have also joined the resignation push. Both are scheduled to speak at Tuesday's rally.

"There's many indications that there's something that is very seriously wrong," said Fuzz, who accused Barry of falling short on leadership and delivering on priorities. "Something is going on in the mayor's office that's not the right way to govern."

Group plans on filing for PAC status

Johann Porisch, a public relations professional who is heading the recall effort, said organizers are in the process of registering as a political action committee. But Williams indicated there are no plans of doing the same for his group. He said his troops will join the recall PAC if Barry chooses to stay in office.

► More: Mayor Megan Barry makes rounds at African-American churches amid affair fallout

►More: Mayor Megan Barry's ex-bodyguard received thousands more in overtime pay than other security

Williams led the coalition Middle Tennessee for Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential election. He is working to defeat Barry's transit referendum. He led the Save Our Fairgrounds organization, helped the Stop Amp effort in 2014, opposed the mayor's Major League Soccer stadium proposal and fought the now-withdrawn Cloud Hill development previously targeted for Greer Stadium.

On multiple occasions, Williams has faced questions over his roles in past campaigns. He's been sued because of an unpaid bill and bad check. Other lawsuits have targeted his company.

Williams called Resign Now! "a broad coalition from Bellevue to Hermitage, and from Joelton to Antioch." He said he's unsure how many people will be at Tuesday's rally. He estimated the group distributed about 500 yard signs in recent days.

In response to the lack of attribution on the signs, Williams said members are just concerned citizens, "not an organized group."

"We're a Facebook group of friends. We're friends who get together around a lunch table or dinner table," Williams said.

"We've all raised the money individually. Different people have paid for them. There's no one person that's done it all."

► More: Nashville’s internal auditor tapped for council investigation into expenses during Mayor Barry’s affair

Leader downplays lack of attribution on signs

State law requires a disclaimer that says who paid for and authorized public political advertising during elections.

Drew Rawlins, executive director of the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance, said he does not believe the signs require a disclaimer because it does not advocate for the election or defeat of a candidate. But he said the signs don't fall under the registry's area of enforcement.

Williams said: "My response is, look, if that's all (the mayor's supporters) can complain about, then our message must be hitting home.”

A pro-Barry billboard that said "We love our mayor" was taken down by a billboard company two weeks ago because it lacked proper documentation, a requirement of the company's policy for political advertising.

Barry, who has maintained there was no legal wrongdoing during the affair, is the subject of separate investigations by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and Metro Council. The latter, which has established a special committee to investigate, is looking at the mayor's use of taxpayer dollars during the affair through overtime pay earned by Sgt. Robert Forrest and travel expenses.

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