Election results for the August 1 election. Some wins, some losses, and some to be decided in a runoff.

by Rod Williams -  Below I have listed the outcomes of each of the races on the August 1 ballot and have provided some commentary. Where you see links, if you will follow that link your will get more detailed election data on that race and more commentary.

The election was a mixed result. It was not a disaster. I am very pleased that John Cooper came out on top in the race for mayor and will go into the runoff with momentum. I am pleased that Steve Glover made the runoff. He faced some talented and popular competition. Now, if conservatives will give him the money to compete and if they will vote and will "one-shot" vote for Glover, he can win this thing.  I was worried about Robert Swope.When I saw he won, I let out a whoop of joy. He is one of the very best councilmen serving and was being targeted for defeat.  Some other good councilmen were also elected.

I was disappointed that Tony Tenpenny did not win outright and defeat the very liberal Ginny Welsch, but that race is not over. He can beat her in a runoff. I was disappointed that Tim Garrett did not win. Overall however, if we can win the Tony Tenpenny race and the Thom Druffell race and if Steve Glove can win at-large we will have a better council than we now have.  Most importantly, is the mayor's race. With the structure of Metro government, big decisions come from the top. If Cooper can win, Metro's direction can be changed, a financial disaster avoided and services can improve. I am hopeful and encouraged. Here is the run down on each of the races:


Mayor: Cooper comes out on top! 35% of the vote. Will face Briley, who got 25%, in a runoff.

Council at-large: Steve Glover makes the at-large runoff! Bob Mendes only at-large candidate to win outright.

District 1: Jonathan B. Hall easily beat back his challengers taking 83% of the vote. I was supporting Hall.

District 2: DeCosta Hastings and challenger Kyonzté Toombs will be in a runoff.

District 3: Jennifer Gamble wins without a runoff, beating two other candidates.

District 4: Robert Swope wins! Wins big!  Beating back a concerted effort by the Davidson County Democrat Party and the liberal establishment to defeat him,  Robert Swope won an overwhelming victory for reelectiion against a better funded opponent.

District 5: Sean Parker squeaks out a win without a runoff beating Pam Murray, the former council member seeking to regain a seat and Charles Flowers who had the endorsement of the liberal Nashville Business Alliance. I did not have a favorite in this race and don't know Mr. Parker, but  am pleased Pam Murray was not elected. Based on limited knowledge, the best person may have won this seat.

District 6: Brett A. Withers wins reelection running unopposed.

District 7:  Emily Benedict wins in a crowed field with 40.28% of the vote. She will face a runoff. Her closest rival is Clint Camp with 11.99% of the vote. This is only three votes more than third place winner Cole D. Rogers. My favorite in this race was Daniel Fitzpatrick who came in, in fourth place with 10.84% of the vote. With this kind of lead, Benedict would be hard to beat in the runoff. Unfortunately, it looks like the worst candidate won. She had the endorsement of the LGBTQ Victory Fund and WTF (Women for Tennessee's Future.)

District 8: Nancy VanReece easily won election with 73% of the vote beating challenger Danny Williams.

District 9:  Tonya Hancock avoided a runoff wining 59% of the vote. I don't have any insight into this race, nor a favorite.

District 10: Zack Young beat Tim Garrett with 54% of the vote to 46%. This was a surprise and disappointment. I do not know much about Zach Young but was pulling for Tim Garrett because I know Tim.  I served with him in the Council in the late 80's and I followed his career when he went on to become a state legislator. He was a fiscally conservative, pragmatic councilman and state legislator and one of the nicest people you would ever want to meet. He is part of that fading breed of conservative Democrats. He may have been the last. Tim also has deep, deep roots in the Goodlettsville community. I don't know what was taking place on the ground in the tenth district but just assumed that Tim could easily be reelected to public office. Zach Young's website does not take any particularly liberal issues but he did receive contributions from labor and "Friends of Bo Mitchell" and the endorsement of the liberal Nashville Business Alliance.

District 11: Larry Hagar won reelection running unopposed.

District 12: Erin Evans with 53% of the vote beating Geric Smith with 43% of the vote. This is a disappointment. I was supporting Smith. Evans received contributions from the California super liberal organization Code Blue PAC, and she received the endorsement of the liberal Nashville Business Alliance.

District 13: Russ Bradford with 44% of the vote will face Andrew Dixon with 41% of the vote in a runoff. I was supporting candidate Dan Meridith who unfortunately only got 15% of the vote. At this point, I know very little about the two leading vote getters except that Brandford has received money from organized labor and Code Blue PAC. The Code Blue support is reason enough to make me support his opponent.

District 14: Kevin Rhoten won reelection unopposed.

District 15: Jeff Syracuse won reelection unopposed.

District 16: Ginny Welsch and former councilman Tony Tenpenny will face each other in a September runoff. Welsch received 41% of the vote to Tenpenny's 37%.  I am supporting Tenpenny. He is a conservative and has been a leader in the effort to save the fairgrounds. Welsch is extremely liberal and if elected will be the most liberal person to ever serve in the Metro Council. She was a founder of the low-power, left-wing radio station, Radio Free Nashville.  She is often seen at left wing protest gatherings advocating the liberal cause of the moment. She has advocated for singled-payer universal health care, a minimum "living wage," and various other liberal causes. Her contributors included LiUNA (Laborers’ International Union of North America) and WTF (Women for Tennessee's Future). She received the endorsement of The Nashville Justice League.

Please support Tony Tenpenny in his runoff election!

District 17: Colby Sledge won reelection unopposed.

District 18: Tom Cash won with 50.62% of the vote to John Green's 49.05%.  I did not follow this race nor have a preferred candidate.

District 19: Freddie O'Connell won reelection running unopposed.

District 20: Mary Carolyn Roberts won reelection winning 73% of the vote to Tori Goddard's 26%.  While I did not pay close attention to this race but I am pleased with the outcome and think the better candidate won.

District 21: Councilman Edward T. Kindall will face Brandon Taylor in a runoff. Kindall got 36% of the vote to Taylor's 32%.

District 22: Gloria Hausser won this seat with 50.56% of the vote.

District 23: Thom Druffel makes the runoff in District 23!  He and incumbent council member Mina Johnson will face off in a September runoff. Johnson won 47% of the vote to Druffel's 43%.

Please support Thom Druffel in the runoff election!

District 24: Kathleen Murphy won reelection unopposed.

District 25: Russ Pulley won reelection unopposed. 

District 26: Courtney Johnston beats Councilman Jeremy Elrod! Will face off in Sept. 12th runoff.

District 27: Robert Nash won this open seat running unopposed. This is a good win. 

District 28:  Tanaka Vercher, incumbent council member, easily was reelected.

District 29: Delishia Porterfield, the current council member was reelected, beating her opponent Constance Smith-Burwell, by winning 76% of the vote compared to 26% of the vote.

District 30: Sandra Sepulveda and former Council member Sherry Jones will face each other in a runoff in the September 12th election.  My preferred candidate in this race was Lydia Hubbell. I knew she had some disadvantages but I thought she was the best candidate running. She had health issues that kept her from doing an adequate amount of door-to-door campaigning and she was hampered by legal problems involving visitation rights with her daughter. It is hard to run a campaign with those kind of distractions and limitation. While I am disappointed that Lydia did not do better, she at least offered conservatives a choice.  I am pleased that Sherry Jones did not win this vote outright. I do not want to see Jones again serve public office. 

Sherry Jones  is a former metro council member (1987 to 1995) and former member of the State Legislature who served 24 years in that post.  She ran and failed in a bid to become Juvenile Court Clerk in 2017. During that campaign it was revealed by The Tennessean that she violated State law by using State funds to promote her candidacy for Juvenile Court. She was notorious as a member of the Council and State legislator for several reasons, one of which was that she was the top spender of per diem. That is money to be paid to travel to Nashville to serve. This is what the Beacon Center wrote about her in their 2008 Pork Report: "Rep. Sherry Jones (D-Nashville), lives only seven miles away, yet Jones had the audacity to claim $22,216 in per diem allowance last year." That was only for one year or her 24 years of service!

With the choice now down to Sepulveda and Jones, I will have to look at this race carefully do see which is the least bad candidate. At this point I am inclined to take a chance on Sepulveda.

The vote shares were Samdra Sepulveda 41%, Sherry Jones 38%, Lydia Hubbell 13% and Rueben Ford 8%. 

District 31: John Rutherford won this open seat without opposition. I don't know anything about this person. 

District 32:  Joy Styles with 53% of the vote beat Cheryl D. Mayes with 46% of the vote.  I did not have a preference in this race but I think the better candidate won. 

District 33: Antoinette W. Lee, the incumbent, won with 64% of the vote, beating her challenger
Martez Coleman who got 35% of the vote. 

District  34: Council member Angie Henderson  got 66% of the vote and her challenger, Terry Jo Bichell, got 34%. Congratulations Angie Henderson! She beats back Democrat Party attempt to defeat her. 

District 35: Councilman Dave Rosenberg wins over challenger  Michelle Foreman with 61% to
39% of the vote. This is disappointing. I was supporting Michelle Foreman. I hope she stays engaged and tries again in four years when the seat will  be an open seat.

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