Best of Nashville Politics & Media

BEST POLITICAL TRAGICOMEDY: LI’L BOB AND THE BLOG RANTERS

One of the odder things about the latest mayoral race was the whiny aggression coming out of the Clement camp. The ranters promoting Clement online did his campaign no favors with their trash talk about “Fatboy Karl,” the “trophy husband” living off his old lady. Yeah? You got a problem with women having money? Then there was the just plain weird stuff. Choice quote from the Scene’s blog: “BOB CLEMENT is GONNA EAT ALL YOUR BALLS” (poster’s caps). Take heed, future candidates. Send a memo to supporters: “If you wouldn’t shout it on a street corner holding one of my signs, don’t post it online!” It’s sad to watch a candidate flame out at the end of a long career playing the criminal-loving-tax-crazy-liberal-from-Massachusetts card. But the mangy dogs barking taunts in the background? You gotta laugh at that. —LISA ROBBINS

BEST TV ANCHOR NEWCOMER: ALLISON HATCHER

In the local TV world, we can’t think of someone who represents a sort of That Girl better than Hatcher, an anchor at WKRN-Channel 2. An MTSU grad, Hatcher went off to Evansville, Ind., as a general assignment reporter before returning to Nashville in 2002. She worked her way up from reporter to weekend anchor to weekday anchor, and she’s a face as fresh as a cucumber martini on a hot July night. We predict big things for her. —LIZ GARRIGAN

BEST NEW STATE LAW: NO SMOKING IN RESTAURANTS

The change is long overdue. Throw away those ashtrays and post the No Smoking signs. No more wafting scent of burning cigarettes at your favorite eatery. We like it too that your basic watering holes can still allow smoking if they limit their clientele to adults 21 or older. Let the big dogs belly up to the bar with their Marlboros. Enter at your own risk. —JEFF WOODS

BEST METRO COUNCIL MEMBER (TIE): ERIK COLE, MIKE JAMESON AND JIM FORKUM

There’s something to be said for a Metro Council member who manages to stave off opposition after the first term, which doesn’t often happen. Generally, it means the representative has comported himself thoughtfully, has the respect of his peers and is regarded well among the 17,000 or so constituents in his district. And so was the case in this year’s election with these three men—hailing, respectively, from Inglewood, East Nashville and Madison. (The same was true for a couple of others, namely Greg Adkins, also a standout rep.) And it’s no coincidence. Each is very different—Cole, a professional do-gooder as executive director of the Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services, and Jameson, an attorney, would both hang that vague “progressive” tag around their necks, and Forkum, a retired insurance agent, is simply a nice guy who doesn’t mill with Nashville’s intelligentsia quite as much as the other two honorees. In any case, we’re glad to have them around (even if Jameson is a hopeless smart-ass who won’t look you straight in the eye). —LIZ GARRIGAN

BEST POLITICAL PIPE DREAM: FRED THOMPSON ’08

Tennessee loves Fred. In a recent poll of the state’s “likely voters,” he was the only Republican to trounce Hillary Clinton in a hypothetical matchup. He generates the kind of “our man” love that makes Gore scream in the dark of the night. But can we be honest here? The man will not win the White House, no matter how much you wax nostalgic about red pickups. Ronald Reagan quit acting to devote his life to politics. Thompson quit politics—well, except for the lucrative lobbying part—to act. Watch him on Law & Order today! —LISA ROBBINS

BEST NEXT MAYOR: LEO WATERS

There’s not a soul in this city who can sit the fence between old and new Nashville better than former Metro Council member Leo Waters. And, yes, there are parts of the “old Nashville” sensibility that remain valuable to the overall culture of this city. While Waters is viewed more as a labor guy, a crusty advocate of constituent politics and more comfortable in smoky dives than in the Windexed new restaurants of, say, the Gulch, readers may be interested to know that he and Scene publisher Chris Ferrell, who is considered a liberal and served in the council with Waters, voted almost identically during their eight years as legislators. Unfortunately, Waters and his lovely wife Helen—designer, former marathon runner, businesswoman—spend much of their time in Colorado, dabbling in real estate and skiing on those aging bones of theirs. Here’s hoping Waters sticks around at least part-time, and if they ever give up that good life in the mountains, he’d make a hell of a mayor. —LIZ GARRIGAN

BEST CAPITOL HILL REPORTER: TOM HUMPHREY

The indefatigable Knoxville News-Sentinel reporter and columnist has a tendency to pull his punches occasionally to avoid dust-ups with hometown lawmakers, and his coverage is a little superficial at times. He is, after all, handcuffed by the he said/she said conventions of the mainstream media. But after 30 years covering state government (he’s known affectionately as “Ol’ Tom”), no one has better sources or more institutional knowledge. He probably breaks more stories than any other journalist in the state. Plus he’s fun to drink with, and he’ll let you bum cigarettes. —JEFF WOODS