High-powered business leaders back David Briley for mayor, urge others to stay out of August election

Not even 24 hours after the resignation of former Mayor Megan Barry, and before her replacement had time to bring in his desk, Nashville's next mayor’s race got underway Wednesday.

Nashville’s leading coalition representing the city’s business community set out to clear the field for new Mayor David Briley for the upcoming election in August so he can finish out his predecessor’s term next year.

Calling for stability, the influential Nashville Business Coalition, in a bluntly worded statement, encouraged Briley to announce his run and urged other possible contenders not to get in. The group, which includes backing from the chamber of commerce, argued that Metro government needs continuity and to avoid the possibility of four different mayoral administration over a year and a half.

It's an attempt to avoid a heavily contested six-month sprint to the Aug. 2 election, only to have another crowded field in 2019.

But at least one other potential candidate is already taking steps to run this year. At-large Councilwoman Erica Gilmore filed paperwork Wednesday to appoint a treasurer for a possible mayoral run. Meanwhile, several others are actively exploring possible campaigns.

The business coalition, which operates a political action committee, wasted little time after Barry's sudden resignation Tuesday to get behind Briley, voting Wednesday morning to back the former vice mayor.

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“We encourage all qualified candidates to give the voters of this great city ample opportunity to do what they have done so very well over the last quarter century — elect a great mayor,” said Nancy Stabell, the coalition’s chair. “We simply don't believe that there is sufficient time between now and the August special election to allow voters that opportunity.

“Additionally, continuity of leadership over the next 18 months is absolutely critical to sustain Nashville’s success, and no one candidate's political ambition should take precedence over what's truly best for the city over the long term.”

Briley endorsement comes as several names have emerged as possible candidates

The coalition’s board includes Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Ralph Schulz as well as leaders of the Tennessee Hospitality Association, Associated Builders and Contractors, Regions Bank, the engineering firm Gresham, Smith and Partners, Freeland Chevrolet and several other well-known companies and firms. Influential Metro lobbyist James Weaver, an attorney at Waller Law, is also on the board.

Briley was sworn in as Metro’s eighth mayor Tuesday to replace Barry, who resigned as part of a plea deal with District Attorney Glenn Funk amid a criminal probe by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation into her affair with her former police bodyguard.

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But Briley is only guaranteed to serve for about five or six months. The Metro Charter requires that a mayoral election take place during the next Metro general election, Aug. 2, to replace Barry full-time. The Davidson County Election Commission is set to meet Friday to add the mayoral election to the ballot

However, the four-year mayoral term inherited by Briley expires in August 2019, meaning another election will take place then.

No one has formally entered this year's race. And despite the business coalition’s endorsement, Briley has not said whether he will run.

“There's plenty of days for politics, but this ain't one of them," Briley said shortly after his swearing-in Tuesday.

Nevertheless, several names have emerged as possible contenders.

In addition to Briley and Gilmore, they include Nashville real estate professional Bill Freeman and businessman David Fox, who both lost to Barry in the 2015 election, Davidson County Sheriff Daron Hall, businessman Stuart McWhorter, At-large Councilman John Cooper, and state Rep. Harold Love Jr.

Gilmore seemed to tease a possible run on Twitter on Wednesday.

"So, let's talk," she tweeted. "What concerns you most about Nashville at the moment? Curious."

"Stay tuned," she later responded to someone on Twitter encouraging her to run.

Gilmore is one of Nashville's most prominent African-American politicians and the daughter of state Rep. Brenda Gilmore, D-Nashville. The younger Gilmore was the council's second highest vote-getter in the 2015 election.

She did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Briley, business coalition aligned on transit

The deadline to qualify for this year’s Aug. 2 election is in less than a month on April 5.

“No one who has Nashville's best interest at heart can truly say that a mayoral election a few weeks from now is a good idea or that potentially having four different administrations over a period of 18 months is the right path forward for our city,” Stabell said. "Our entire organization is committed to giving Mayor Briley our full support."

Schulz, who flew to Seattle Wednesday for a chamber-led trip with more than 130 other Nashville leaders, echoed those sentiments.

“I’ve been talking to a lot of business people on this trip, and everyone that I’ve talked to thinks the best thing would be stability over the next 18 months and not having two campaign seasons,” Schulz said. “Time is short, campaigns are disruptive. We’ve just gone through a significant event and having stability over those 18 months is helpful to the community.”

Besides the call for continuity in city government, the business coalition also heaped praise on Briley, calling him "an experienced and capable leader who is exactly the leadership Nashville needs during this transition and for the next 18 months."

Although Briley, a former councilman, lacked support from the business community during an unsuccessful 2007 campaign for mayor, he aligns with them on a major issue this year.

Briley is pushing for passage of Nashville's May 1 referendum on a $5.4 billion transit proposal, which the Nashville Business Coalition backs. Meanwhile, other possible mayoral contenders, Cooper and Fox, have opposed the transit plan.

Freeman, chairman of Freeman Webb who finished third behind Barry and Fox in the 2015 mayor's election, is a fierce critic of the chamber. Freeman could not be reached for comment on the business coalition's statement.

Asked whether the chamber is simply worried about other candidates winning and carrying out an agenda it doesn't support, Schulz said that isn’t the case.

“Nobody is really commenting about individual candidates,” he said, adding it’s about “stabilizing the circumstance.”

Briley, a progressive politically, served on the Metro Council as an at-large member from 1999 to 2007. He was elected vice mayor in 2015.

The business coalition’s backing of Briley didn’t sit well with all its leaders.

Bill Lee, CEO of Lee Company, and a Republican candidate for governor who sits on the coalition’s board, blasted the move in a Tweet.

“I strongly disagree with the Nashville Business Coalition’s decision about the Nashville Mayoral race, and I opposed them taking this action. As a result, I have resigned from their board, effective immediately," he said.

"Leadership groups should not discourage others from entering the political process. Nashville has many talented individuals who are extremely qualified to be considered for leadership roles and our community would benefit from their ideas."

Lee is a resident of Williamson County.

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