Councilman Dread?
Comedian's candidacy not so easy to laugh off
By Liz Murray Garrigan
It may be a bit of an understatement when former Nashville radio personality—and current Prime Time Country crowd warmer—Adam Dread says the Metro Council could use a little “livening up.”
But that, he says, is exactly what he intends to provide. Dread, one of Nashville’s rising socialites despite his decided lack of gentility, says he plans to spend whatever it takes to win one of five at-large Metro Council seats this Aug. 5.
If Dread, who has a reputation as a somewhat off-color, off-beat comical character, is one of the top five vote-getters for the countywide seats this summer, he’ll be given a desk in the front row of the Metro Council chamber—conveniently close to the video cameras that record the local body’s twice-monthly meetings.
“For years, people have been telling me I ought to get into politics,” says Dread, 36, who’s also known for his many charity activities in Nashville.
The Vanderbilt University graduate and Pittsburgh transplant whose comedy career has included a stint as a local radio deejay says he’s “coming in as a Nashvillian who cares about Nashville.” What’s more, he says, there’s no real voice in the Metro Council to represent the media and entertainment industry. So, he says, he’s running to fill the void and shake things up a little.
Dread characterizes himself as an “alternative conservative.” His campaign slogan, he says, will be “Dread This Election.”
As it is, only two of the current five at-large Council members—Chris Ferrell and Leo Waters—can run for re-election to those seats. Term limits prohibit Vic Varallo, George Armistead, and Ronnie Steine from running.
The real question is whether the constituency for a maverick in the Metro Council will take the time to vote. While Dread seems to have an unusually good rapport with some of Nashville’s social set, his natural constituency might be the young, apolitical crowd.
It doesn’t necessarily take a lot of votes to get elected to an at-large seat. During the last Council election in 1995, top vote-getter Vic Varallo got 31,628 votes, followed by George Armistead with 31,077, and Ronnie Steine with 30,047. Chris Ferrell snagged one of the other two seats in a runoff election with 16,776 votes. In the same election, Leo Waters got 14,327 votes.
Yankee go home!
Mayor Phil Bredesen is just a few months away from having to pack up his giant wooden donkey and his Southwestern-style rug to clear out the Courthouse corner office for his successor.
What’s he going to do? He’s all but sworn off the possibility of running against Republican U.S. Sen. Bill Frist next year or taking a whack—on principle—at running for the school board. So far, he’s come up with the notion of a land trust to preserve green space, but he’s already recruited a group of like-minded preservationists to help him with that effort. He may need another project.
One clever Scene devotee suggests that if Bredesen has no interest in one of Tennessee’s U.S. Senate seats, perhaps he’d be interested in one from New York. In fact, the devotee suggests, perhaps Bredesen, not Hillary Clinton, should run for the Senate in New York. There are two good reasons why, the reader offers. First, unlike Hillary, at least he lived there. Bredesen was born in Shortsville, N.Y. Second reason: Rudy vs. Phil.
Cashing in
Vice Mayor Jay West has suffered some perception blows in the several weeks following the filing of financial disclosures for the mayoral election.
As of Feb. 1, West’s total of $225,000 in campaign contributions lagged behind Bill Purcell’s $318,000 and Dick Fulton’s $617,000. But West’s campaign has since retained nationally known fund-raisers Kim and Brian Kaegi. Between them, the brother and sister team has raised money for Republican Gov. Don Sundquist, Republican U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson, and Republican New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
To reach Liz, call her at 244-7989, ext. 406, or e-mail her at liz@nashvillescene.com.
As of Feb. 1, West’s total of $225,000 in campaign contributions lagged behind Bill Purcell’s $318,000 and Dick Fulton’s $617,000. But West’s campaign has since retained nationally known fund-raisers Kim and Brian Kaegi. Between them, the brother and sister team has raised money for Republican Gov. Don Sundquist, Republican U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson, and Republican New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
To reach Liz, call her at 244-7989, ext. 406, or e-mail her at liz@nashvillescene.com.
