The Election results are in. My commentary.

If you read this blog, then you are probably someone who cares about local political affairs and already know who won and who lost last night and have seen the unofficial returns. The returns remain unofficial until certified by the election commission. Here  are the returns with some comments. The highlighted names are those who either won outright or made the runoff.

Mayor's race:

Candidate Name	Election Day	Absentee	Early	Total Votes
M. BARRY	11255	259	12935	24449
C. ROBERT BONE	4944	186	5790	10920
D. A. FOX	11196	210	12305	23711
B. FREEMAN	11396	274	10509	22179
H. GENTRY	5222	144	6661	12027
J. KANE	2202	60	2487	4749
L. ESKIND REBROVICK	2609	119	3080	5808
WRITE-IN	34	0	28	62

I am extremely pleased that Fox made the runoff and I think he stands a better chance of winning in the runoff, running against Barry than if Freeman would have been the runoff opponent. While Freeman is probably every bit as liberal as Barry, Freeman's personality makes him seem more reasonable and more acceptable to moderate folks.  Fox is not as conservative on the social issues as I would like, but a pro-life, anti-gay marriage candidate probably would not stand a chance getting elected in Davidson County.  And anyway, those issues are national issues and it doesn't matter much what a mayor of Nashville thinks about them. Fox is not a crusader for liberal social causes the way Barry is however.

 Fox is a  conservative on economic issues, property rights and free enterprise. He is pragmatic, smart and thoughtful and likely to but Nashville's finances on a solid footing. Can Fox win against Barry? I think he has a good chance. I think there is a feeling among many Nashvillians that Nashville needs to call a halt to greater indebtedness and I think most Nashvillians do not want another property tax increase anytime soon and I think most people will view Fox as the candidate least likely to raise taxes again. Also, I think many feel that too much emphasis and tax giveaway had been focused on downtown and will see Barry as part of that excess. However, since Nashville is a predominately Democratic town, Barry has the advantage going into the runoff and Fox must make his case.

One thing heartening about this election is that while money goes a long way toward winning an election, it cannot buy an election. Freeman drastically outspend his opponents including $3.6 million of his own money. He put Black leaders on his payroll and then got their endorsement, he reportedly flew Black pastors to D.C for a meet and greet with Obama, he dominated TV advertising, yet still came up short.  

Vice Mayor race:

Candidate Name	Election Day	Absentee	Early	Total Votes
D. BRILEY	21010	530	25696	47236
T. GARRETT	19975	521	21398	41894

I am very disappointed. I know Tim Garrett and he has a lot of experience and institutional knowledge. He is also considered a more conservative Democrat while Briley is considered more progressive. However, the roll of the Vice Mayor is to pretty much limited to running efficient meetings and making committee assignment. I felt confident Garrett would have struck the right balance between running efficient meetings and allowing adequate debate. I also felt he would have been fair in making committee assignment. I am going to give David Briley the benefit of the doubt and hope he does the same.

Council at-large races:

Candidate Name	Election Day	Absentee	Early	Total Votes
B. BAKER	5715	161	6794	12670
J. BALL	2859	68	2763	5690
K. BENNETT	8122	212	8982	17316
A. CAROTA	1126	23	944	2093
E. COLEMAN	7648	174	8678	16500
J. COOPER	16317	408	18222	34947
E. DACHOWSKI	4236	101	4153	8490
A. DREAD	7538	202	8361	16101
R. DUVALL	9171	217	9436	18824
L. JOHNNY ELLIS	2077	51	1727	3855
E. GILMORE	16814	286	19369	36469
R. E. GREER, SR	5604	139	6653	12396
F. HARRISON	4024	95	5497	9616
J. HOLLEMAN	7241	186	9140	16567
M. HOLSINGER	1168	25	1046	2239
P. HOSTETTLER	3745	127	3844	7716
W. HUNT	7122	187	8680	15989
S. W. HURT	8799	206	10994	19999
K. JAKES	5830	127	5917	11874
J. KEETON	2123	53	1832	4008
J. LASITER	4221	86	4813	9120
D. MAJORS	6169	178	9794	16141
L. MATTHEWS, JR	7597	142	10243	17982
B. MENDES	10406	267	13844	24517
S. V. MOORE	7110	178	7624	14912
J. SHULMAN	8627	274	12918	21819
WRITE-IN	725	3	633	1361

No one got 20% of the vote so the top ten vote getters will be in the runoff. I only voted for one candidate, not wanted to dilute my vote, and that was Ken Jakes. I am very disappointed. I was almost certain he would make the run off. However, I think Ken Jakes can do as about as much good being the citizen activist he is as he could do in the Council. I also thought Adam Dread would make the runoff. He recently run for a county-wide office, running for Judge and he is a former Councilman at-large. He had name recognition.

Cooper and Mendes spend a lot of money and had TV advertising. Obviously that helps. Also, being the brother of the Fifth District U. S. Congressman is a big plus. I got two or three mailing from Holleman, so sort of expected him to make the runoff. Being a district councilman helps as Matthews, Duvall, Bennett, Holleman are all termed-out district Council members. However it did not help Sandra Moore or Walter Hunt. I was kind of surprised by Hunt not making the runoff. He has been around a long time and a lot of people know him.

The result I am most pleased about is Robert Duvall. I will be voting for Duvall in the run-off.

District 1:

Candidate Name	Election Day	Absentee	Early	Total Votes
S. ARMOR	102	3	212	317
R. BAKER	155	12	372	539
R. DOCKERY	58	3	109	170
L. GREENE, JR	448	9	844	1301
N. LEONARDO	900	11	447	1358
J. H. MONTGOMERY	52	4	45	101
J. RICHARDSON	29	1	60	90
R. WILLIAMSON	80	8	175	263
WRITE-IN	0	0	5	5

I am very pleased to see Lioniel Green, Jr. make the run off and will be supporting him.

District 2:

Candidate Name	Election Day	Absentee	Early	Total Votes
L. FORTIER	67	0	75	142
D. HASTINGS	443	6	606	1055
D. W. HYLTON	23	1	25	49
C. SEARCY	197	4	315	516
R. "BOBBY" STOCKARD	334	6	608	948
WRITE-IN	2	0	2	4

 I was supporting Carrie Searcy. I have no run-off preference at this time.

District 3:

Candidate Name	Election Day	Absentee	Early	Total Votes
T. CLAYTON	387	5	448	840
T. COLEMAN	417	6	347	770
B. H. HAYWOOD	732	9	738	1479
WRITE-IN	4	0	3	7

I had no preference in this race and do not know the candidates.

District 4:

Candidate Name	Election Day	Absentee	Early	Total Votes
R. SWOPE	553	5	1102	1660
P. TUTTLE	607	7	820	1434
WRITE-IN	2	0	9	11

Congratulations Robert Swope! I expect Swope to be a conservative leader in the Council, who will not "go along to get along" or hide in the herd. I think we have a conservative leader in the Council in Robert Swope!

District 5:

Candidate Name	Election Day	Absentee	Early	Total Votes
S. DAVIS	515	2	316	833
S. MARTIN	466	1	261	728
P. MURRAY	327	3	179	509
WRITE-IN	1	0	1	2

I am for Scott Davis in the runoff.

District 6:

Candidate Name	Election Day	Absentee	Early	Total Votes

P. WESTERHOLM	759	12	544	1315
B. WITHERS	1283	11	850	2144
WRITE-IN	10	0	4	14

I am pleased with this outcome.

District 7:

Candidate Name	Election Day	Absentee	Early	Total Votes
S. CLEMENTS	414	1	323	738
A. DAVIS	931	0	670	1601
R. REED	374	9	214	597
WRITE-IN	4	0	4	8

I am very disappointing. Stephen Clements if a friend of mine and I had contributed to his campaign and encouraged him.

District 8

Candidate Name	Election Day	Absentee	Early	Total Votes
R. L. GHOLSTON	153	2	152	307
N. GROUND	47	2	55	104
R. SAWYERS, SR	85	7	95	187
C. SWANN	250	7	301	558
N. VanREECE	362	9	500	871
D. (DANNY) WILLIAMS	86	3	110	199
WRITE-IN	6	0	4	10

This runoff will be a contest between a very progressive candidate in VanReece and a conservative in Chris Swann. Swann is deserving of our support.

District 9:

Candidate Name	Election Day	Absentee	Early	Total Votes
R. McDANIEL	311	5	311	627
B. PRIDEMORE	493	7	625	1125
WRITE-IN	2	0	2	4

 Good outcome. Pridemore deserved another term.

 District 10

Candidate Name	Election Day	Absentee	Early	Total Votes
D. PARDUE	768	12	823	1603
WRITE-IN	12	2	19	33

No opponent for Pardue and he is a good Councilman.

District 11:

Candidate Name	Election Day	Absentee	Early	Total Votes
L. HAGAR	1169	23	1163	2355
WRITE-IN	19	0	20	39

Hagar had no opponent and has proven to be one of the "good" councilmen.

District 12:

Candidate Name	Election Day	Absentee	Early	Total Votes
S. GLOVER	893	32	1234	2159
WRITE-IN	21	2	36	59

No opponent. Glover deserved another term.

District 13:

Candidate Name	Election Day	Absentee	Early	Total Votes
F. CARTER	127	0	129	256
M. COLE	303	4	257	564
H. HUEZO	372	3	310	685
WRITE-IN	2	0	7	9

 I did not know enough about any of the candidates to have an opinion in this race.

District 14:

Candidate Name	Election Day	Absentee	Early	Total Votes
K. RHOTEN	616	6	756	1378
WRITE-IN	8	0	8

 I do not know anything about this candidate who ran unopposed.

District 15:

Candidate Name	Election Day	Absentee	Early	Total Votes
J. GARRETT	527	13	389	929
J. SYRACUSE	1062	14	972	2048
WRITE-IN	2	0	2	4

 I suspect Syracuse will be one of the "good" council members.

District 16:

Candidate Name	Election Day	Absentee	Early	Total Votes
M. FREEMAN	524	10	530	1064
T. TENPENNY	496	13	312	821
WRITE-IN	3	0	4	7

I do not know Freeman, but am disappointed Tenpenny lost. He was an advocate for saving the Fair Gounds and was as consistently conservative as anyone on the Council.

 District 17

Candidate Name	Election Day	Absentee	Early	Total Votes
C. COTTON	291	2	226	519
P. D. FOSTER	434	9	257	700
C. SLEDGE	530	4	402	936
T. WATSON	199	4	122	325
WRITE-IN	4	0	3	7

This is the district I live in and I was supporting Tony Watson. Between these two candidates in the runoff I do not had this time have a preference at this time.

District 18

Candidate Name	Election Day	Absentee	Early	Total Votes
B. M. ALLEN	1053	30	1068	2151
WRITE-IN	19	0	19	38

CM Allen had no opponent, has been a good council member and I am pleased to see her reelected. 

District 19

Candidate Name	Election Day	Absentee	Early	Total Votes
K. CALDWELL	134	2	99	235
A. HARRISON	161	12	146	319
F. O'CONNELL	433	5	458	896
B. SHICK	101	2	87	190
WRITE-IN	4	0	4	8

Disappointed. I favored Amanda Harrison.

District 20

Candidate Name	Election Day	Absentee	Early	Total Votes
M. FRANK	397	6	253	656
M. CAROLYN ROBERTS	394	12	348	754
F. STABILE	233	4	115	352
WRITE-IN	4	0	2	6

I was supporting Frank Stabile, but do not know very much about Ms Roberts.

District 21

Candidate Name	Election Day	Absentee	Early	Total Votes
L. DUPREE	415	8	309	732
E. T. KINDALL	485	25	490	1000
WRITE-IN	2	0	1	3

Do not have an opinion of the victor.

District 22

Candidate Name	Election Day	Absentee	Early	Total Votes
S. WEINER	1031	51	1754	2836
WRITE-IN	23	1	19	43

I was glad to see Sheri win without an opponent. She is one of the "good" council members.

District 23:

Candidate Name	Election Day	Absentee	Early	Total Votes
M. JOHNSON	844	41	1275	2160
T. LEE	246	11	391	648
J. ROBERTS	617	20	912	1549
WRITE-IN	275	4	440	719

I was pleased to see Jim Roberts make the runoff. I will be supporting him.

District 24:

Candidate Name	Election Day	Absentee	Early	Total Votes
A. GRANT	851	56	1153	2060
K. MURPHY	1188	81	1406	2675
WRITE-IN	3	0	11	14

This is one of the worst losses of the night. Kathleen Murphy is a lobbist, daughter of Mike Murphy and had the state-wide Democrat machine behind her. She is a very partisan Democrat.

 District 25:

Candidate Name	Election Day	Absentee	Early	Total Votes
R. PULLEY	1299	56	2213	3568
WRITE-IN	20	0	39	59

 I have no opinion of this candidate.

District 26:

Candidate Name	Election Day	Absentee	Early	Total Votes
J. ELROD	798	16	781	1595
L. BANGALIE KROMAH	113	0	93	206
J. MITCHELL	364	6	297	667
WRITE-IN	4	1	1	6

I had no knowledge of the candidates and no preference in this race.

District 27:

Candidate Name	Election Day	Absentee	Early	Total Votes
D. BLALOCK	471	14	607	1092
C. LEDBETTER	317	12	342	671
WRITE-IN	5	0	3	8

Great outcome! Davette is one of the "good" council members.

District 28:

Candidate Name	Election Day	Absentee	Early	Total Votes
D. T. LEWIS	67	0	38	105
M. SMITHSON	328	5	264	597
T. VERCHER	421	0	425	846
WRITE-IN	1	0	1	2

 My candidate did not win. Disappointed.

District 29:

Candidate Name	Election Day	Absentee	Early	Total Votes
K. Y. JOHNSON	1030	9	943	1982
V. A. TATARYN	216	3	218	437
WRITE-IN	1	0	3	4

 I did not know Karen Johnson's opponent, but I like Karen Johnson and pleased to see she won.

District 30

Candidate Name	Election Day	Absentee	Early	Total Votes
J. POTTS	554	6	472	1032
WRITE-IN	14	0	10	24

I am disappointing Potts did not have an opponent. 

 District 31

Candidate Name	Election Day	Absentee	Early	Total Votes
F. BEDNE	925	3	894	1822
WRITE-IN	17	1	20	38

 Councilman Bedne is a good council member and he deserved a second term.

District 32

Candidate Name	Election Day	Absentee	Early	Total Votes
J. C. DOWELL	366	7	665	1038
R. A. HASKINS	57	0	70	127
W. KIZZIE	211	2	213	426
WRITE-IN	1	0	2	3

 I did not know the other candidates but think Jacobia Dowell has done a good job and am pleased to see her win another term in the Council.

District 33

Candidate Name	Election Day	Absentee	Early	Total Votes
S. COLEMAN	782	13	933	1728
J. GAFFORD	374	5	318	697
WRITE-IN	2	0	4	6

 Sam Coleman is a previous Council member. A moderate. He had the support of Robert Duvall. Good outcome.

District 34

Candidate Name	Election Day	Absentee	Early	Total Votes
S. BUTLER	840	41	1556	2437
A. HENDERSON	1204	28	1736	2968
WRITE-IN	4	0	1	5

 I did not have a preference in this district and do not know Henderson.


District 35

Candidate Name	Election Day	Absentee	Early	Total Votes
V. LINEWEAVER	312	8	400	720
D. ROSENBERG	1043	13	1472	2528
L. SPIVAK	394	7	530	931
WRITE-IN	3	0	4	7

 I was supporting Lonnie Spivak and am very disappointed he did not win.

Amendment #1 which would increase Council terms from two to three:

Wow! The public has spoken divisively that they like term limits for about the third of fourth time. Term limits make for a weak Council and a strong mayor and strong bureaucracy, but I guess that is what the public wants.

Candidate Name	Election Day	Absentee	Early	Total Votes
For RATIFICATION	15953	374	18837	35164
Against RATIFICATION	30179	601	32299	63079

Amendment #2 which would also extend term limits and shrink the council.

Candidate Name	Election Day	Absentee	Early	Total Votes

For RATIFICATION	16508	417	19913	36838
Against RATIFICATION	29382	533	31027	60942

Not even close. The public likes a  big, weak, council.

 Amendment #3, the "local hire" amendment, which will require 40% of the work force on any tax payer funded project valued at over $100,000 be make up of Davidson County residents.

Candidate Name	Election Day	Absentee	Early	Total Votes
For RATIFICATION	27155	524	28998	56677
Against RATIFICATION	19026	431	22029	41486

This will drastically increase the cost of metro projects but will probably be found to be in violation of both the U.S. and the Tennessee Constitution.

Congratulations to the winners!

Below is what others are saying about the election:
The Tennessean: Nashville mayoral election: Five takeaways
The Tennessean: Voters approve local-hire amendment, reject council changes
The Tennessean: Barry, Fox headed for runoff
4WSMV:  Barry, Fox campaigns gearing up again for runoff election

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