Leader of the Pack

When the war on terrorism, the party balance in the U.S. Senate and the governor’s office are all at stake this election season, it’s difficult to muster much passion for the Aug. 1 vice mayor’s race.

After all, does it really matter who runs the Metro Council meetings? The vice mayor doesn’t even get to vote unless there’s a tie. As candidate Chris Ferrell puts it, “I wouldn’t run for this office if it was just about moderating a meeting.” The office of vice mayor, he says, is “an important office, especially in this era of term limits, because the vice mayor plays a pivotal role in setting the tone for the council. And it will be particularly important next year when up to two-thirds of the council is brand-new.”

Ferrell, an at-large council member nearing the end of his second term, is joined in the race by fellow council members Phil Ponder and Howard Gentry. Ponder, perhaps best known as an artist, is in his second term serving the Hermitage area. Gentry, the former athletic director at TSU, is an at-large member who assumed the role of vice mayor pro tem following Ronnie Steine’s resignation in the wake of a shop-lifting admission. They are joined in the race by environmental activist and stand-up comedian Bruce Wood and landscaper Pat Dooley.

As leaders within the Metro Council, Ferrell, Ponder and Gentry are the obvious front-runners. The three have expressed a mutual respect for one another and have announced (to no one’s surprise) that they will be running a clean campaign. In addition to their good nature, the issues listed on their campaign literature—education, affordable housing, traffic and transportation and smart growth—are more or less identical. While their solidarity is certainly encouraging, it makes the voter’s job that much more difficult.

Ponder has tried to set himself apart by dealing with specifics. While all of the candidates, aside from Wood, have listed education as their top priority, Ponder has decided to focus on reading initiatives, not only for children but for adults and, particularly, immigrants. And while everyone is in favor of increasing affordable housing, Ponder emphasizes affordable housing for seniors.

With regard to traffic and transportation problems, he applauds the efforts of the help trucks that have provided assistance on Nashville’s freeways and has expressed interest in employing two such trucks on downtown Metro streets.

As a district council member, this is Ponder’s first countywide campaign. Though he admits his at-large opponents are certainly at an advantage in that respect, he feels that “there are certain areas that you get involved with [as a district council member] that really come closer to the everyday life of the average Nashvillian.” And despite being confined to a district, Ponder still has the advantage of name recognition. His paintings—watercolors depicting local and regional landmarks and skyscapes—have become an institution in Middle Tennessee.

Ponder, who spent 30 years in business and six in retirement before being elected to the council, is contrasted by the baby-faced Ferrell, first elected to the council at the age of 26. Ferrell, who first ran for his at-large seat with the vague objective of “making a difference,” has become a council leader. Most notably, Ferrell was instrumental in organizing the 1999 Affordable Housing Summit, which ultimately helped lead to the to creation of more than 5,000 affordable housing units. He also boasts of his role in initiating a partnership with the YWCA to create a domestic violence shelter.

While Ferrell has shown that the council can initiate policy, he sees the office of vice mayor as more of a teaching position. “With term limits expected to force the turnover of more than half the council next year,” Ferrell says, “it’s more important than ever to elect a vice mayor who can help the new members both learn how to be council members and to become an effective legislative body.”

Gentry, a Nashville native and the vice mayor of the past few months, is playing the role of incumbent. As a first-termer, he has spent less time on the council than Ponder or Ferrell. But he sees his experience as vice mayor pro tem as the trump card. At the recent Tying Nashville Together assembly, Gentry even introduced himself without the “pro tem.” “I’m on the job, and I’m doing the job,” Gentry says. “I’ve proven my ability to perform the job of vice mayor through a difficult transition.”

Gentry takes pride in the job he has done so far and feels he adequately picked up where Steine left off. As such, he’s mindful of unnecessary change and the office’s limitations, and is careful not to make promises he couldn’t fulfill. Instead, he speaks of initiatives he’s supported. “If something’s working,” he says, “I think it’s better to enhance it than to change it. I think the council has, overall, functioned in a very effective manner.”