Freddie O'Connell to become Nashville's next mayor, elected with more than 64% of the vote

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Former Metro Council member Freddie O'Connell will become Nashville's next mayor.

"Look around. What a great room. You could live anywhere and you're here in Nashville. And I want you to stay. I grew up here. My parents are here. Some of the best friends I have in life are here. And now I am raising my family here. I love this city and the people. I love the music. I love the Southern cooking and writing and accents. I love the legacy of Nashville."

O'Connell — who raised $1.2 million since late July — topped Republican businesswoman Alice Rolli by 64-percent of the vote.

The mayor's race started with more than a dozen candidates. O'Connell and Rolli were the top two vote-getters in last month's primary. Because neither candidate received 50% of the vote in August, the race went to a run-off.

"We gave our city a real choice and we came up short. I extend my congratulations to mayor-elect Freddie O'Connell," Rolli said. "We stayed and brought light to issues that matter still, issues we believe the city must tackle. But tonight, while we are together, let's celebrate."

FULL ELECTION RESULTS AVAILABLE HERE

What led up to tonight's vote

In their final debate, the relationship with state lawmakers was a key issue. Tensions with the Republican hierarchy in the state legislature and Davidson County leaders have gotten worse in recent history, to the point where the supermajority created laws to take away Nashville's ability to control the airport board, the sports authority and the body over the Music City Center.

Rolli said her relationships in government with former Gov. Bill Haslam and former Sen. Lamar Alexander proved she could handle Republican politics now and that Nashville needed to "lose its ego." O'Connell countered, reminding Rolli she would strip control of a voter-controlled school board and make it a mayoral appointment, similar to that of her Republican counterparts. Rolli has also threatened a takeover of Nashville schools, which she discussed in a different mayoral forum in June.

This latest splinter in Nashville politics comes as the Metro Council rejected the Republican National Convention making its way to Nashville in 2024.

Rolli and O'Connell went at each other over the issue of public safety. Nashville has faced various threats in the recent past with the Nashville bombing on Second Avenue and three mass shootings since 2017. The most recent mass shooting killed six people — three staff and three children at The Covenant School.

The two sparred over license plate readers, which Metro Council voted to undertake after a six-month pilot program. O'Connell said something of the LPR nature needed a more robust discussion with all communities in Nashville, particularly communities that are marginalized.

Rolli said that safety was paramount and touted her endorsement from the Nashville Fraternal Order of Police. Advertisements supporting Rolli's efforts in the name of public safety have shown the perspective of the city from a crime-ridden perspective.

When it comes to education, both Rolli and O'Connell agreed: teacher pay should be higher.

But they differed on some key issues. Rolli was a teacher for a short portion of her work career in Los Angeles, California. But she now sends her kids to private schools and promotes school choice. O'Connell agrees with the thought of school choice to a degree. He sends his sends to other schools through open enrollment in MNPS, but not the school his neighborhood is zoned for students to attend.

Rolli said all Nashville schools should have school resource officers but the point is moot. Nashville's police force simply don't have the personnel to accommodate that inclination, according to MNPD Chief John Drake.

Regardless, O'Connell will have to figure out how to build off booming growth to propel the city into the future. Projects like the East Bank and the domed Titans stadium will start during his administration. Nashville's city employees said they will keep vying with Metro Council for raises to their salaries in a city where housing prices are only continuing to rise. Teachers want raises. And the city's homeless problem still hasn't reached an end.

Nearly half of those surveyed in a recent Vanderbilt University poll said they didn't like the direction Nashville has gone.