Mayoral election in Nashville, Tennessee (2023)

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2023 Nashville elections
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Election dates
Filing deadline: May 18, 2023
General election: August 3, 2023
Runoff election: September 14, 2023
Election stats
Offices up: Mayor
Total seats up: 1 (click here for other city elections)
Election type: Nonpartisan
Other municipal elections
U.S. municipal elections, 2023


Freddie O'Connell defeated Alice Rolli in the September 14, 2023, runoff election for mayor of Nashville, Tennessee. Incumbent Mayor John Cooper (D) did not seek re-election, making him the first Nashville mayor who served a full term in office to not seek re-election since 1991.[1]

Although municipal elections in Nashville were officially nonpartisan, both candidates had political affiliations. O'Connell, who represented District 19 on the Nashville Metro Council, was a Democrat. Rolli, a former political strategist who was a staffer for Govs. Bill Haslam (R) and Lamar Alexander (R), was a Republican.[2]

O'Connell and Rolli had advanced from a field of 12 candidates in the city's nonpartisan general election on Aug. 3, 2023, with O'Connell finishing first and Rolli placing second. Click here to read more about the general election.

O'Connell received 27% of the vote in the Aug. 3 general election. Axios Nashville's Nate Rau wrote that O'Connell "overcame substantial campaign disadvantages to storm into first place in a crowded general election field...he sold voters on a progressive vision for the city and highlighted his vote against the $2.1 billion Titans stadium deal as proof of his commitment to controlling development growth."[3] Before the general election, O'Connell told The Tennessean that his top priorities were improving basic governmental service such as trash pickup and filling potholes, building a better transportation network, and improving the trust residents have in city government.[4]

Rolli received 20% of the vote in the first round of voting. Axios Nashville's Rau wrote that Rolli "campaigned on addressing crime, keeping taxes low and pressing Metro Nashville Public Schools for improvement. She sold voters on her conservative bona fides by touting her resume."[3] Before the general election, Rolli told The Tennessean that her top priorities were to ensure that all first graders in the city could read, improving public safety, not increasing taxes, and building a better relationship with the state to address regional issues such as transit and homelessness.[5]

After reviewing voting data from the general election, The Tennessean's Cassandra Stephenson wrote that "O'Connell-won precincts largely correlate to Davidson County's most populated districts" and "Rolli brought in the most votes in...areas that have historically netted support for candidates with conservative policy views."[6] Stephenson also wrote that the "O'Connell-Rolli matchup mirrors the 2015 race between Megan Barry and David Fox (who now serves as Rolli's treasurer and campaign manager)."[6] That year, Barry received 23.5% and Fox received 22.8% in the general election from a seven-candidate field. Barry defeated Fox in the runoff, 55% to 45%.

Matt Wiltshire, who finished third in the general election with 17% of the vote, endorsed O'Connell on Aug. 14.[7] State Sens. Jeff Yarbro (D) and Heidi Campbell (D)—who finished fourth and fifth, respectively—endorsed O'Connell on Aug. 9 and 10.[8] Former Nashville school board member Fran Bush, who finished 11th in the general election, endorsed Rolli on Aug. 10.[9]

As a result of the election, O'Connell became Nashville's fourth mayor in five years. Megan Barry resigned in March 2018 after pleading guilty to felony theft of property. After Barry's resignation, Vice Mayor David Briley assumed office and won a special election to retain the office in Aug. 2018. In the 2019 regular mayoral election, Cooper defeated Briley.[10]

The Tennessean invited all mayoral candidates to complete a questionnaire on specific policy topics. Click the links below to view each runoff candidate's response:

Nashville has a strong mayor government, where the mayor serves as chief executive and the city council operates as a legislative branch. The responsibilities of the mayor include proposing a budget, signing legislation into law, appointing departmental directors, and overseeing the city's day-to-day operations.

As of Aug. 2023, Democrats held 64 of the mayoral offices in the 100 largest cities in the country, Republicans held 24, independents held four, and nonpartisan mayors held six. Two mayors' partisan affiliations were unknown.

Freddie O'Connell (Nonpartisan) completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Click on a candidate's name to view that candidate's responses.

Elections

Click on the tabs below to show more information about those topics.

Candidates and results

General runoff election

General runoff election for Mayor of Nashville

Freddie O'Connell defeated Alice Rolli in the general runoff election for Mayor of Nashville on September 14, 2023.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Freddie O'Connell
Freddie O'Connell (Nonpartisan) Candidate Connection
 
63.8
 
72,989
Image of Alice Rolli
Alice Rolli (Nonpartisan)
 
36.0
 
41,205
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
123

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 114,317
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

General election

General election for Mayor of Nashville

The following candidates ran in the general election for Mayor of Nashville on August 3, 2023.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Freddie O'Connell
Freddie O'Connell (Nonpartisan) Candidate Connection
 
27.1
 
27,503
✔
Image of Alice Rolli
Alice Rolli (Nonpartisan)
 
20.2
 
20,472
Image of Matthew Wiltshire
Matthew Wiltshire (Nonpartisan)
 
17.0
 
17,193
Image of Jeff Yarbro
Jeff Yarbro (Nonpartisan)
 
12.2
 
12,356
Image of Heidi Campbell
Heidi Campbell (Nonpartisan)
 
8.2
 
8,337
Image of Sharon Hurt
Sharon Hurt (Nonpartisan)
 
6.0
 
6,104
Image of Vivian Wilhoite
Vivian Wilhoite (Nonpartisan)
 
4.7
 
4,758
Image of Jim Gingrich
Jim Gingrich (Nonpartisan) (Unofficially withdrew)
 
1.6
 
1,668
Image of Natisha Brooks
Natisha Brooks (Nonpartisan)
 
1.4
 
1,458
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Stephanie Johnson (Nonpartisan)
 
0.6
 
581
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Fran Bush (Nonpartisan)
 
0.5
 
503
Image of Bernie Cox
Bernie Cox (Nonpartisan)
 
0.3
 
322
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
80

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 101,335
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Additional elections on the ballot

See also: Tennessee elections, 2023

What's on your ballot?
Click here to find out using My Vote


June 15, 2023
August 3, 2023
September 14, 2023

Voting information

What was the voter registration deadline?

  • In-person: August 15, 2023
  • By mail: Postmarked by August 15, 2023
  • Online: August 15, 2023

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot request deadline?

  • In-person: September 7, 2023
  • By mail: Received by September 7, 2023
  • Online: September 7, 2023

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot return deadline?

  • In-person: September 14, 2023
  • By mail: Received by September 14, 2023

Was early voting available to all voters? Yes

What were the early voting start and end dates? August 25 to September 9, 2023

Were all voters required to present ID at the polls? If so, was a photo or non-photo ID required? Photo ID

When were polls open on Election Day? 7:00 AM - 7:00 PM

Candidate comparison

Candidate profiles

This section includes candidate profiles that may be created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff may compile a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. For more on how we select candidates to include, click here.

Freddie O'Connell

Image of Freddie O'Connell

WebsiteFacebookTwitterYouTube

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Submitted Biography:  "My name is Freddie O'Connell, and I grew up in Nashville, Tenn., where I've been a former neighborhood leader, non-profit leader, transit leader, and Metro Council member for 8 years in the most economically important part of the city and state. I've had a 25-year career in the software and technology industry, having worked for startups and publicly traded companies. My family and I have lived in the Salemtown neighborhood for 16 years, where I've been working on community partnerships almost the entire time. My partner is Whitney Boon, a Meharry-trained physician who practices pediatric neurology at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital. We are the proud parents of two daughters who both attend public schools in Nashville. On Council, I've worked on transit and active transportation funding and implementation, housing and homelessness policy, repairing the harms of mass incarceration, community safety and crime prevention, and climate leadership."

Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.

I'm running for mayor to make it easier for people to stay in Nashville by tackling cost of living and quality of life.

We should be doing the things cities are supposed to do, including building a transit system.

I'm sick of planning fatigue and want to have actual fatigue from implementing the great community-based plans we have.

This information was current as of the candidate's run for Mayor of Nashville in 2023.

Alice Rolli

Image of Alice Rolli

WebsiteFacebookTwitterYouTube

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Biography:  Rolli received a bachelor’s degree from Stanford University and a master’s degree in business from the University of Virginia. Her career experience included being a business owner, working in the administration of Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam (R), and as campaign manager for U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R).


Key Messages

The following key messages were curated by Ballotpedia staff. For more on how we identify key messages, click here.

Rolli said education policy was a priority of her campaign. Her campaign website said she would work to ensure every first grader could read, and that “Alice began her career as a public school teacher where she saw, first hand, how hard, how rewarding, and how important it is to teach.”

Rolli said she would work to improve public safety by “improving recruitment and retention of officers and resetting from a criminal justice system to a victims justice system.”

On taxation and spending, Rolli said, “City Hall keeps talking about the rate of taxes – but regular people look at their tax bills – and we see that we are paying considerably more than we did a few years ago and getting less. [...] We need to focus on delivering results and value for the money our residents are paying.”

Show sources

Sources: Alice Rolli's campaign website, "Priorities," accessed June 29, 2023; The Tennessean, "Meet Alice Rolli, candidate for Nashville mayor," May 24, 2023; LinkedIn, "Alice Rolli," accessed June 29, 2023

This information was current as of the candidate's run for Mayor of Nashville in 2023.

Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. The section below shows responses from candidates in this race who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Survey responses from candidates in this race

Click on a candidate's name to visit their Ballotpedia page.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Expand all | Collapse all

Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/FreddieOConnell.jpg

Freddie O'Connell (Nonpartisan)

I'm running for mayor to make it easier for people to stay in Nashville by tackling cost of living and quality of life.

We should be doing the things cities are supposed to do, including building a transit system.

I'm sick of planning fatigue and want to have actual fatigue from implementing the great community-based plans we have.
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/FreddieOConnell.jpg

Freddie O'Connell (Nonpartisan)

Nashville's biggest missing ingredient is transit and safe infrastructure. As a former chair of our local transit authority board of directors and as an inaugural member of our Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee, I'm the candidate best equipped and most committed to developing a transit system supported by complete streets. I've worked for years to reduce the impact of gun violence in challenging communities, especially where the impact hits young people hard. I'm excited to expand community safety initiatives underway, including mental health co-response and group violence intervention as we try to keep Nashville safe.
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/FreddieOConnell.jpg

Freddie O'Connell (Nonpartisan)

I look up to people like Brent Toderian, Janette Sadik-Khan, and Gabe Klein, all of whom help transform cities to make them more livable and people-focused. I think as mayors who demonstrated enough capability at the local level to be able to understand national city transportation challenges, I would like to follow many of the examples of Sec. Anthony Foxx and Sec. Pete Buttigieg.
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/FreddieOConnell.jpg

Freddie O'Connell (Nonpartisan)

Street Fight, Walkable City and Start-up City are pretty good starting points.
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/FreddieOConnell.jpg

Freddie O'Connell (Nonpartisan)

Knowledge of policy tools and personnel, an authentic connection to community, strong communication skills, and transparency and integrity.
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/FreddieOConnell.jpg

Freddie O'Connell (Nonpartisan)

I have 20 years of experience in civic advocacy and leadership, including multiple boards and committees that span multiple local government departments.

I have strong communication skills and deep interest in how public policy can improve lives.

I'm patient and persistent and have spent public and private sector careers focused on how teams perform better than individuals ever could.
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/FreddieOConnell.jpg

Freddie O'Connell (Nonpartisan)

The ability to build a strong, stable team that can last for a full term that enable both a customer service mindset and improved morale as well as a reminder that cities should be ambitious.
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/FreddieOConnell.jpg

Freddie O'Connell (Nonpartisan)

A school system that serves more students and families more effectively, a meaningful transit system supported by safer infrastructure, and a city known for its livability.
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/FreddieOConnell.jpg

Freddie O'Connell (Nonpartisan)

I remember the Challenger explosion. I was in a portable classroom at Eakin Elementary. I was 9 years old.
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/FreddieOConnell.jpg

Freddie O'Connell (Nonpartisan)

Though I delivered community newspapers in my neighborhood, my first real job at age 16 was working for The Great Escape on Broadway, a local music and collectibles shop. I worked full-time for a summer and that part-time through most of high school and college.
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/FreddieOConnell.jpg

Freddie O'Connell (Nonpartisan)

HOUSE OF LEAVES by Mark Z. Danielewski is one of my absolute favorite books. I read it while recovering from an unexpected surgery, which occurred before I was vaccinated against COVID about a year into the pandemic. It was an unsettling look at relationships, fear of the unknown but also the intense curiosity that surrounds it, and an extraordinary framing device that speaks to the easy lament of the challenges of American life and culture in the 21st century.
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/FreddieOConnell.jpg

Freddie O'Connell (Nonpartisan)

Westley, from THE PRINCESS BRIDE
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/FreddieOConnell.jpg

Freddie O'Connell (Nonpartisan)

"Enter Sandman" by Metallica
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/FreddieOConnell.jpg

Freddie O'Connell (Nonpartisan)

In part because I have spent considerable time and energy devoted to causes I feel are important to champion, I have had the experience of financial security not being sustainable.
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/FreddieOConnell.jpg

Freddie O'Connell (Nonpartisan)

The mayor governs, manages, and leads the city in a strong executive model.

This means a nimble team supports our Metro department heads by adding specialized capacity and building morale.

And the mayor personally communicates with the city about priorities and policy goals, working transparently and solicitously to implement them.
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/FreddieOConnell.jpg

Freddie O'Connell (Nonpartisan)

We have a strong executive model in Nashville.
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/FreddieOConnell.jpg

Freddie O'Connell (Nonpartisan)

There are times when the mayor leads and invites the Council to follow that lead, and there are times when the Council should be a full partner to the mayor in community-driven initiatives.
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/FreddieOConnell.jpg

Freddie O'Connell (Nonpartisan)

I love our identity as Music City and the many neighborhoods and communities that give us diversity as a strength in fulfilling that identity.
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/FreddieOConnell.jpg

Freddie O'Connell (Nonpartisan)

Our growth has been too unmanaged, and our unwillingness to do some of the hard things that make small groups of people frustrated has left us lagging behind on key implementation of good ideas and plans. The state government is also frequently in an adversarial posture to the city.
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/FreddieOConnell.jpg

Freddie O'Connell (Nonpartisan)

Ideally, we are partners in economic growth and generally left alone to govern ourselves as a city on matters that don't rely on state partnership.
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/FreddieOConnell.jpg

Freddie O'Connell (Nonpartisan)

I hope Nashville has a strong partnership with the federal government as we leverage important federal programs and funding over the next few years to increase equitable access to infrastructure.
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/FreddieOConnell.jpg

Freddie O'Connell (Nonpartisan)

Why did the piece of gum cross the road? Because it was stuck to the chicken's foot.
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/FreddieOConnell.jpg

Freddie O'Connell (Nonpartisan)

The mayor and the chief of police are the city's two most important partners in keeping the city safe.
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/FreddieOConnell.jpg

Freddie O'Connell (Nonpartisan)

It's critically important to have the consent of the governed. I expect to have a robust Mayor's Office of Neighborhoods and Community Outreach as well as a robust Mayor's Office of New Americans. We've seen these offices previously work well both independently but even better together.
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/FreddieOConnell.jpg

Freddie O'Connell (Nonpartisan)

I hope to take full advantage of both the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and Inflation Reduction Act as well as Tennessee's Transportation Modernization Act to implement a local work plan already created by our local transit authority as well as expanding on ideas in our comprehensive transportation plan and strategic plan for sidewalks and bikeways. Given the recent failure of a legislative sidewalk policy in the court system, we will need to overhaul our approach to having our development community more meaningfully partner in delivery of sidewalks.
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/FreddieOConnell.jpg

Freddie O'Connell (Nonpartisan)

We have made strong investments in recent years in police personnel, equipment, technology, and facilities. Going forward, we need to couple those with recent steps toward broader community safety programs, like mental health co-response, community safety partnership investments, and group violence intervention.
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/FreddieOConnell.jpg

Freddie O'Connell (Nonpartisan)

At the decade mark, we need to revisit NashvilleNext, the general plan of Nashville. We need to revisit it to incorporate lessons learned. We will probably need to significantly revise our zoning code, which has not kept up with community preferences for design standards. One of the best ways we can prevent displacement is by helping elderly Nashvilians and disabled veterans take advantage of property tax freeze and relief programs.
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/FreddieOConnell.jpg

Freddie O'Connell (Nonpartisan)

Many parts of downtown as a whole are healthy, but our entertainment district has developed unhealthy characteristics.

A healthy downtown is one where people are eager to live, work, play, and invest.

I would like for the places we are seeking to attract visitors not to repel locals.
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/FreddieOConnell.jpg

Freddie O'Connell (Nonpartisan)

I appreciate that we have moved beyond policing. See above for other thoughts. I will keep intact most of the programs of the current Office of Community Safety. I would also like to continue recovering from harms of previous policies that caused unjust mass incarceration, particularly in the 37208 zip code. A recent fines and fees study gave us a roadmap that we've made great progress on, but we have more work to do.
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/FreddieOConnell.jpg

Freddie O'Connell (Nonpartisan)

We will need to revisit the relationship between our police department and our community oversight board, which was changed by state preemption. I expect that to be a collaborative effort involving the mayor's office, the police department, the oversight board, and key community stakeholders.
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/FreddieOConnell.jpg

Freddie O'Connell (Nonpartisan)

I think we could've implemented a hybrid approach to schools slightly earlier, as soon as local teachers were considered fully vaccinated.

I also would've worked hard to ensure that CARES Act money was rushed into scenarios where people could access it directly to offset job losses and other economic hardships caused by COVID rather than making an effort to save it.

I think it was imperative to develop and early strategic plan for federal funding.

And I would've done more to prepare to follow best practices for COVID response specifically in Nashville's homeless community.
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/FreddieOConnell.jpg

Freddie O'Connell (Nonpartisan)

I think the process we followed with NashvilleNext was incredibly valuable. Our Planning department did unprecedented levels of community outreach, benchmarking their geographic and demographic diversity the whole way.

Meanwhile, Mayor Becker years ago established best practices for transparency in Salt Lake City.

Fortunately, Nashville already has in our possession a number of great community-based plans. We just need to implement them.
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/FreddieOConnell.jpg

Freddie O'Connell (Nonpartisan)

We should implement a transit system.

And we can accelerate community solar projects.

I think we should also explore beginning to lower emissions in lawn care in parks and at Metro facilities.
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/FreddieOConnell.jpg

Freddie O'Connell (Nonpartisan)

I think we need to be better about helping people navigate mass displacement events as well as develop clinical capacity for mental and behavioral health as we respond to trauma. We also need to have a resiliency-oriented approach for our next potential pandemic, including strategies for contact tracing, overall well-being, and policy recommendations for individuals and businesses.
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/FreddieOConnell.jpg

Freddie O'Connell (Nonpartisan)

Record requests from the public should generally result in a rapid, thorough response, but we do need constraints to prevent abuse of large searches and frequent retrieval for staff.

I think I would look to Mayor Becker's model in SLC as a reference standard.

I do think we need policies on archiving content and public reports and data sets.
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/FreddieOConnell.jpg

Freddie O'Connell (Nonpartisan)

I have generally reviewed our local police's compstat data and other data sets supplied by the department alongside FBI data sets that track local data. Our crime rates have ticked back up since historic lows established just a few years before COVID.
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/FreddieOConnell.jpg

Freddie O'Connell (Nonpartisan)

TIRRC Votes (Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition)

Tennessee Advocates for Planned Parenthood Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 1235 Metro Council Members Bob Mendes, Sean Parker, Erin Evans, Russ Bradford, Sandra Sepulveda, and Dave Rosenberg Tennessee Student Union

Sunrise Nashville


Campaign advertisements

This section includes a selection of up to three campaign advertisements per candidate released in this race, as well as links to candidates' YouTube, Vimeo, and/or Facebook video pages. If you are aware of other links that should be included, please email us.


Grey.png Freddie O'Connell

August 17, 2023
August 2, 2023
July 14, 2023

View more ads here:


Grey.png Alice Rolli

August 19, 2023
August 7, 2023
July 27, 2023

View more ads here:


Debates and forums

This section includes links to debates, forums, and other similar events where multiple candidates in this race participated. If you are aware of any debates or forums that should be included, please email us.

August 17, 2023, forum

On August 17, 2023, O’Connell and Rolli participated in a debate on public education sponsored by Opportunity Nashville and Nashville Public Television.[11]

Click on the link below for a summary of the event:

Click on the link below for a video of the event:


August 14, 2023, forum

On August 14, 2023, O’Connell and Rolli participated in a town hall debate televised by WZTV.[12]

Click on the link below for a summary of the event:

Click on the link below for a video of the event:


August 10, 2023, forum

On August 10, 2023, O’Connell and Rolli participated in a forum sponsored by the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce.[13]

Click on the link below for a summary of the event:

Click on the link below for a video of the event:

Noteworthy endorsements

See also: Ballotpedia: Our approach to covering endorsements

Click the links below to see official endorsement lists published on candidate campaign websites for any candidates that make that information available. If you are aware of a website that should be included, please email us.


This section lists noteworthy endorsements issued in this election, including those made by high-profile individuals and organizations, cross-party endorsements, and endorsements made by newspaper editorial boards. Please note that this list is not exhaustive. If you are aware of endorsements that should be included, please email us.


Noteworthy endorsements
Endorser Nonpartisan Freddie O'Connell Nonpartisan Alice Rolli
Government officials
State Sen. Heidi Campbell (D)  source ✔  
State Sen. Jeff Yarbro (D)  source ✔  
Individuals
Fran Bush  source   ✔
Matthew Wiltshire  source ✔  
Organizations
Davidson County Republican Party  source   ✔


Election competitiveness

Polls

See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls

Polls are conducted with a variety of methodologies and have margins of error or credibility intervals.[14] The Pew Research Center wrote, "A margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points at the 95% confidence level means that if we fielded the same survey 100 times, we would expect the result to be within 3 percentage points of the true population value 95 of those times."[15] For tips on reading polls from FiveThirtyEight, click here. For tips from Pew, click here.

The links below show polls for this race aggregated by FiveThirtyEight and RealClearPolitics, where available. Click here to read about FiveThirtyEight's criteria for including polls in its aggregation.


Nashville, Tennessee, mayoral election, 2023: Runoff election polls
Poll Date Grey.png O'Connell Grey.png Rolli Undecided/Other Margin of error Sample size[16] Sponsor[17]
Show Me Victories Aug. 11-16, 2023 58% 40% 2%[18] ±3.8 430 RVs N/A


Election spending

Campaign finance

This section contains campaign finance figures from candidates submitted to the Davidson County Election Commission.

Mayoral partisanship

See also: Partisanship in United States municipal elections (2023)

Twenty-nine of the 100 largest cities held mayoral elections in 2023. Once mayors elected in 2023 assumed office, Democrats held 63 top-100 mayoral offices, Republicans held 26, Libertarians held one, independents held four, and nonpartisan mayors held four. Two mayors' partisan affiliations were unknown.

The following top 100 cities saw a change in mayoral partisan affiliation in 2023:

Election context

Nashville mayoral election history

2019

General runoff election

General runoff election for Mayor of Nashville

John Cooper defeated incumbent David Briley in the general runoff election for Mayor of Nashville on September 12, 2019.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of John Cooper
John Cooper (Nonpartisan) Candidate Connection
 
69.1
 
62,440
Image of David Briley
David Briley (Nonpartisan)
 
30.2
 
27,281
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.7
 
621

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 90,342
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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General election

General election for Mayor of Nashville

The following candidates ran in the general election for Mayor of Nashville on August 1, 2019.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of John Cooper
John Cooper (Nonpartisan) Candidate Connection
 
35.0
 
35,676
✔
Image of David Briley
David Briley (Nonpartisan)
 
25.3
 
25,786
Image of Carol Swain
Carol Swain (Nonpartisan)
 
22.0
 
22,387
Image of John Ray Clemmons
John Ray Clemmons (Nonpartisan)
 
16.1
 
16,391
Image of Julia Clark-Johnson
Julia Clark-Johnson (Nonpartisan) Candidate Connection
 
0.4
 
404
Image of Bernie Cox
Bernie Cox (Nonpartisan) Candidate Connection
 
0.3
 
337
Image of Jimmy Lawrence
Jimmy Lawrence (Nonpartisan) Candidate Connection
 
0.3
 
305
Image of Jody Ball
Jody Ball (Nonpartisan) Candidate Connection
 
0.3
 
280
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Nolan Starnes (Nonpartisan)
 
0.1
 
129
Image of Jon Sewell
Jon Sewell (Nonpartisan) Candidate Connection
 
0.0
 
24
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
83

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 101,802
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2018

See also: Mayoral special election in Nashville, Tennessee (2018)

General election

Special general election for Mayor of Nashville

The following candidates ran in the special general election for Mayor of Nashville on May 24, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of David Briley
David Briley (Nonpartisan)
 
54.4
 
44,845
Image of Carol Swain
Carol Swain (Nonpartisan)
 
22.9
 
18,850
Image of Erica Gilmore
Erica Gilmore (Nonpartisan)
 
5.6
 
4,608
Image of Harold Love
Harold Love (Nonpartisan)
 
5.3
 
4,349
Image of Ralph Bristol
Ralph Bristol (Nonpartisan)
 
5.3
 
4,341
Image of Jeff Obafemi Carr
Jeff Obafemi Carr (Nonpartisan)
 
4.6
 
3,790
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
David Hiland (Nonpartisan)
 
0.4
 
325
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Ludye Wallace (Nonpartisan)
 
0.4
 
324
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Carlin Alford (Nonpartisan)
 
0.3
 
243
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Albert Hacker (Nonpartisan)
 
0.2
 
169
Image of Julia Clark-Johnson
Julia Clark-Johnson (Nonpartisan)
 
0.2
 
168
Image of Jeffrey Napier
Jeffrey Napier (Nonpartisan)
 
0.2
 
141
Image of Jon Sewell
Jon Sewell (Nonpartisan)
 
0.1
 
93
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
122

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 82,368
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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2015

See also: Nashville, Tennessee municipal elections, 2015

The city of Nashville, Tennessee, held nonpartisan elections for mayor and metro council on August 6, 2015. A runoff election took place on September 10, 2015. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was May 21, 2015. All 41 metro council seats—including the office of vice mayor—were up for election. In the mayoral race, candidates included Megan Barry, Charles Robert Bone, David Fox, Bill Freeman, Howard Gentry, Jeremy Kane and Linda Eskind Rebrovick. In the general election, Barry and Fox advanced to the runoff election.[20] Barry defeated Fox in the runoff election.[21] Incumbent Karl Dean was term-limited.[22]

Nashville Mayor Runoff Election, 2015
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngMegan Barry 54.8% 60,519
David Fox 45% 49,694
Write-in 0.2% 241
Total Votes 110,454
Source: City of Nashville Election Commission, "Official runoff election results," accessed October 2, 2015


Nashville Mayor General Election, 2015
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngMegan Barry 23.5% 24,553
Green check mark transparent.pngDavid Fox 22.8% 23,754
Bill Freeman 21.4% 22,308
Howard Gentry 11.6% 12,110
Charles Robert Bone 10.5% 10,962
Linda Eskind Rebrovick 5.6% 5,827
Jeremy Kane 4.6% 4,767
Write-in 0.1% 62
Total Votes 93,687
Source: City of Nashville Election Commission, "Official general election results," accessed September 15, 2015

Earlier results


About the city

See also: Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville is a city in Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. In 1962, the governments of the city of Nashville and Davidson County merged to form the Nashville-Davidson Metro Government. As of 2020, its population was 715,884.

City government

See also: Mayor-council government

The city of Nashville uses a strong mayor and city council system. In this form of municipal government, the city council serves as the city's primary legislative body and the mayor serves as the city's chief executive.

Demographics

The following table displays demographic data provided by the United States Census Bureau. 

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Demographic Data for Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville Tennessee
Population 715,884 6,910,840
Land area (sq mi) 503 41,232
Race and ethnicity**
White 62.8% 76.7%
Black/African American 26.9% 16.7%
Asian 3.6% 1.8%
Native American 0.2% 0.3%
Pacific Islander 0.1% 0.1%
Two or more 3.7% 2.9%
Hispanic/Latino 10.3% 5.6%
Education
High school graduation rate 89.7% 88.2%
College graduation rate 43.3% 28.2%
Income
Median household income $62,515 $54,833
Persons below poverty level 14.2% 14.6%
Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2015-2020).
**Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.



2023 battleground elections

See also: Battlegrounds

This election was a battleground race. Other 2023 battleground elections included:

See also

Nashville, Tennessee Tennessee Municipal government Other local coverage
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Seal of Tennessee.png
Municipal Government Final.png
Local Politics Image.jpg

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Axios, "Inside Nashville mayor's decision not to run," February 1, 2023
  2. ↑ The Tennessean, "Struggling to pick a Nashville mayoral candidate? This scorecard might help.," June 22, 2023
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Axios Nashville, "O'Connell finishes first in Nashville mayor's race, will face Rolli in runoff," August 4, 2023
  4. ↑ The Tennessean, "Meet Freddie O'Connell, candidate for Nashville mayor," August 15, 2023
  5. ↑ The Tennessean, "Meet Alice Rolli, candidate for Nashville mayor," August 15, 2023
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 The Tennessean, "Nashville mayoral race: How election maps could foreshadow runoff results," August 17, 2023
  7. ↑ YouTube, "Matt Wiltshire endorses Freddie O’Connell for Mayor," August 14, 2023
  8. ↑ The Tennessee Tribune, "Nashville’s Mayoral Candidates Pick Up Endorsements from former Competitors," August 17, 2023
  9. ↑ Alice Rolli for Nashville Mayor, "Rolli for Mayor Campaign Announces Key Endorsement Welcomes Education and Business Leader to Team," August 11, 2023
  10. ↑ The Tennessean, "Why we could have as many as four mayors in four years in Nashville," March 7, 2018
  11. ↑ Tennessee Firefly, "Nashville mayoral candidates to face off in education focused debate," August 15, 2023
  12. ↑ Fox 17, "Rewatch the FOX 17 mayoral runoff debate between Freddie O'Connell and Alice Rolli," August 11, 2023
  13. ↑ Nashville Banner, "O’Connell, Rolli Meet in First Forum," August 11, 2023
  14. ↑ For more information on the difference between margins of error and credibility intervals, see explanations from the American Association for Public Opinion Research and Ipsos.
  15. ↑ Pew Research Center, "5 key things to know about the margin of error in election polls," September 8, 2016
  16. ↑ RV=Registered Voters
    LV=Likely Voters
  17. ↑ The sponsor is the person or group that funded all or part of the poll.
  18. ↑ Undecided
  19. ↑ Wall Street Journal, "America’s Cities Need Republicans, and I’m Becoming One," September 22, 2023
  20. ↑ City of Nashville Election Commission, "Official general election results," accessed September 15, 2015
  21. ↑ City of Nashville Election Commission, "Official runoff election results," accessed October 2, 2015
  22. ↑ City of Nashville, "Davidson County Election Commission," accessed December 4, 2014
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