Nashville Vice Mayor's Election: Sheri Weiner First In

NASHVILLE, TN -- Councilwoman Sheri Weiner wants the gavel permanently.

The Bellevue-area councilmember who has served as the body's presiding officer since Megan Barry's resignation elevated David Briley to mayor, a job he subsequently won in a special election, told The Tennessean Sunday she is running in the August 2 special election to fill out Briley's unexpired term as vice mayor and then officially launched her candidacy with a Monday morning statement.

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Weiner, the council's president pro tempore, was sworn in as "acting vice mayor" shortly after Briley's initial swearing-in as mayor following Barry's resignation. The Metro Charter doesn't specifically provide for the position of acting vice mayor, though by convention, when the vice mayor cannot preside over the council for whatever reason, it has been led by the pro tem.

In any event, Weiner wants to eliminate any confusion and become vice mayor outright. The winner of the August 2 special election will fill out Briley's term, which expires in August 2019.

The vice mayor's primary job is presiding over the council, which includes appointing committees. Because of the council's unusually large membership - with 40 members, Nashville has the country's third-largest city council - pushback against the mayor in the council, if it exists at all, is usually so diffuse so as not to make much difference, thus any check on Metro's by-design strong mayor comes, by and large, during the committee process when legislation is vetted.

Thus, though the mayor and vice mayor do not run together on a joint ticket, the success of the former can be influenced by decisions made by the latter; former Vice Mayor Diane Neighbors once described herself as then-Mayor Karl Dean's "point guard" on the council.

Weiner, 62, is a bit of a rarity on the council: she's moderate to conservative, at least by council standards. She described herself as socially liberal and fiscally conservative in her interview with The Tennessean, but even that is much farther than many on the council would be willing to go in deeply blue Metro. In fact, Weiner once considered a challenge to State Rep. Bo Mitchell as a Republican, though she ultimately supported Mitchell. Mitchell is assisting with Weiner’s vice mayoral bid, according to her campaign.

In her official announcement, Weiner touts her bona fides as a consensus builder during her time on the council and says she'll use those tools to bring more people into the decision-making process Metro-wide.

"Nashville may be called the 'It City,' but our city isn’t 'it' for everyone. I am running to be Nashville's Vice Mayor because I want to make sure that every Nashville resident has the opportunity to succeed. I want to do for Nashville what I did for Bellevue, bringing stakeholders together to identify and implement lasting solutions. Nashville is the greatest city in the nation and we can make it work for everyone if we do it together," she said in a statement. "For me, every solution begins with listening. As your Vice Mayor, I will ensure this type of open dialogue and a transparent process to restore faith in Nashville’s government."

Others considering runs for Vice Mayor include Councilmembers Freddie O'Connell and Jeremy Elrod.

At-large Councilmember Jim Shulman confirmed a run Tuesday.

Image via Sheri Weiner