Council member Erica Gilmore spoke exclusively to NewsChannel 5 just hours after announcing she’s running for Nashville Mayor.
Gilmore, one of five at-large council members, announced her run Wednesday morning and will challenge Mayor David Briley.
Briley announced his intentions to run just two days after being sworn in, following Megan Barry’s resignation in early March.
Gilmore is a native Nashvillian and has been a council member since 2007.
She also has a daughter who is a Senior at Martin Luther King Jr. High School.
Most recently, Gilmore has been very active in saving Nashville General Hospital from closing. The safety-net hospital will remain open for at least another year. Gilmore has also fought to make sure The National Museum of African American Music lives up to its expectations after new plans revealed the museum would be less prominent than previously announced.
Gilmore said she's decided to run for Nashville Mayor for a number of reasons.
"When I think about my political career, I have 11 years. It's unique because I've done both district and at-large. I've served at every level, and I would like to serve at the executive level," said Gilmore.
Gilmore said she believes Nashville is going in a great direction, but she does have some concerns when it comes to Nashville's affordable housing, the transit problems, and the murder rate.
"I am concerned about the murder rate. I don’t think that we’ve really addressed that as a city. I think that we can really double down," said Gilmore.
The election has been set for August. The winner will hold office until the next regularly-scheduled mayoral election in August 2019.
