Briley Parts Ways With Top Advisors In Staff Shake-Up

NASHVILLE, TN -- After years as a top advisor to Nashville mayors, Rich Riebeling will leave Metro government later this year as part of a staff shake-up announced by Mayor David Briley Tuesday.

The mayor said Emily Passini, who managed Briley's successful mayoral bid, will become his chief of staff July 16. Passini is a partner at Greenlight Media Strategies and is the former director of the Tennessee House Democratic Caucus. She has worked on campaigns in more than 30 states and was special assistant to the Commissioner of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities in the administration of former Gov. Phil Bredesen.

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"After nearly 12 years of working on various projects and campaigns with Mayor Briley, it will be an honor to serve in his administration. There is no one I admire more, and I look forward to serving our great city as part of his team," Passini said in a release.

Briley said Riebeling, whose current title is Chief Operating Officer, and current Chief of Staff Debby Dale Mason, both of whom remained on staff after the resignation of Mayor Megan Barry, will leave after a transition period.

Riebeling has been something of a consigliere to the last three Metro mayors after returning to public service in 2007 to serve as finance director for Mayor Karl Dean and then became COO after Barry's election. Praised for steering big-ticket projects like sports stadiums and the Music City Center for two mayors, Riebeling has also been on the receiving end of plenty of criticism, particularly related to Nashville's unexpected budget crunch and for spending $135,000 on design work for the MLS stadium that was not authorized by the Sports Authority.

Before working for Barry, Mason was a top Chamber of Commerce official and an aide for former Mayor Bill Boner.

Photo via Office of the Mayor of Metropolian Nashville and Davidson County