NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — There wasn't much ceremony to it. Monday morning, Mayor Freddie O'Connell became only the tenth person in Metro Nashville history to place his hand on the bible, take an oath and promise to govern Nashville to the best of his ability.
While there will be a ceremonial swearing-in this weekend, O'Connell wanted to hit the ground running before the new Metro Council meets next week.
"Now we'll go downstairs and get right to work," O'Connell told reporters after being sworn in.
O'Connell has released a slate of 15 goals he hopes to initiate on day one. But he warned, they certainly won't be resolved that quickly.
"It will be a multi-year effort to try to get universal aftercare in place. It will be a multi-year effort to try to change high school start times," said Mayor O'Connell.
When it comes to school start times, NewsChannel 5's Political Analyst Pat Nolan says that's a battle many other mayors have waged without success.
"This has been coming up for several administrations," said Nolan. "But no one has pushed it as hard as Mayor O’Connell at this point."
Nashville high schools currently start at 7:05, among the earliest start times in the country. But to change it, it will require a lot of money and buy-in from Metro Nashville Public Schools.
"They’re going to have to hire, have to buy a number of additional buses, and that’s really been the problem that’s stopped it in the past is it — they use buses not only to transport high school kids but those who are in junior high and those who are in grammar school," said Nolan.
O'Connell also wants to mend fences when it comes to the working relationship between the city and state.
"I have already talked to several state legislators. I talked with folks in the governor's office. I have talked to some of the key constitutional officers at the state level. Those conversations will continue," said the new mayor. "As we re-engage in a conversation of regionalism, we know that not just Nashville but all of Middle Tennessee has to be successful, and that's only going to happen if this doesn't feel like warring factions, but rather key partners."
But Nolan warns the combative relationship may continue considering new state laws that reduce the size of Metro Council or take control of the airport board remain mired in lawsuits.
"Maybe that will get it started but I don’t expect this to end up quickly or certainly solved," said Nolan.
Nolan says, much like the nine previous mayors have learned, campaigning and governing are two very different matters.
"Government rarely changes real quickly," said Nolan.
O'Connell did announce Monday that current Metro Legal Director Wally Dietz is expected to stay on with his administration.
"I suspect one reason for that for keeping Wally Dietz at this point is because so much of Metro’s situation with the state is tied up in court. And obviously, he knows those cases because he filed them," said Nolan.
But other key positions, like Metro's Finance Director, are expected to be new appointees.
