Tuesday Rally Calls For Mayor Barry's Resignation

NASHVILLE, TN -- A rally is planned at the Metro Courthouse Tuesday calling for Mayor Megan Barry to resign.

Organized by Rick Williams - a frequent critic of and litigant against Metro Government, primarily in matters related to the fairgrounds - the rally begins at 5 p.m. Tuesday on the steps of the courthouse.

Williams said the rally was prompted by overarching concern for the city's image in the wake of Barry's admission that she had an affair with her former security chief Rob Forrest. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Metro Council are investigating if the affair led to improper and illegal spending. The pace of Forrest's travel and his overtime picked up after the affair began. Barry's office also changed the way Forrest's travel expenses were approved shortly after the affair started.

"How's it hurting the image of our city? Is it making corporations look elsewhere? Is it making them wonder what kind of people are leading this city?" Williams told NewsChannel 5.

"They transferred his role of approval, pay, overtime and travel was all moved under the mayor's office. Having sex with a subordinate is an ethics violation for sure at a minimum," Williams told Fox 17. "They feel like she was busy with a romance for two years and didn't tend to the things she promised. Corporate leaders, they question whether they should work with someone with a recent tainted past."

Barry has repeatedly insisted she won't resign and that she is fully cooperating with the investigations.

Williams told NewsChannel 5 "others" plan to file an ouster suit if the mayor doesn't step down.

Photo via Office of the Mayor