Political Notes
Friendly advice for Phil
By Liz Murray Garrigan
Mayor Phil Bredesen’s political associates and friends are generating talk—perhaps for self-serving reasons—that the mayor is being approached by literally dozens of supporters asking him to run for a third term.
More important, they say, is the fact that Bredesen is actually listening.
If that’s true, Bill Purcell’s timing was really poor two weeks ago when he stepped onto a very weak and high-hanging limb and announced his plans to run for mayor in 1999. Purcell said he was convinced Bredesen wasn’t going to seek a third term. Because of Bredesen’s lack of interest in the race, he felt more comfortable making such an early formal announcement of his candidacy.
Purcell has yet to say whether he would stay in the race if Bredesen runs. He’s only saying that, if the time comes when Bredesen does decide to enter the race, he expects to hear from the mayor.
Bredesen’s friends and supporters say they’re somewhat confused by all the sudden interest in drafting the mayor for four more years. They say, though, that the groundswell was beginning to form several weeks before Purcell made his announcement.
In other words, the Bredesen people insist this burst of excitement has nothing to do with the relatively well-known antagonism between Purcell and the mayor. Instead, they say, people are “waking up” to the fact that it isn’t too soon to be thinking about the race.
“In the past two months, the attitude has turned from accepting that he would go and enjoy his private life to ‘You need to run again,’ ” one supporter says. “It’s been a very real shift in attitude.”
Several factors could persuade the mayor in the direction of a third term. He might, for example, decide that he wants to remain in the mayor’s office as the new $70 million downtown library goes up and as the state’s NFL team plays its first game in the East Nashville stadium. He may also want to make another attempt to get more money for Metro’s public school system. This year he got only part of what he requested from Metro Council.
Finally, the mayor’s friends suggest, he’s going to need something to keep him busy after his only child, Ben, goes off to school next year. Ben Bredesen just started his senior year at University School of Nashville. When he leaves for college, the mayor’s friends suggest, Bredesen will need to fill a void in his life.
To date, Bredesen has said that he’s not shutting any doors permanently. But he has also said that he has no current plans to run for anything. Perhaps that’s now changing.
Since you ask me
Tennessee Regulatory Authority commissioner Sara Kyle was in Nashville this week, and, as usual, she was feeling somewhat talkative about next year’s governor’s race.
Kyle says that, as part of her duty to her supporters and friends, she is talking with Tennessee Democratic Party leadership about running against Gov. Don Sundquist—or as she calls him, “Mr. Do Nothing”—next year.
Kyle was Tennessee’s only Democrat to win a statewide race in 1994, when she won a seat on the Public Service Commission. The PSC was later abolished by the state Legislature at Sundquist’s urging, but she was able to get an appointment to the newly formed TRA.
“I know that the Democrats are looking for a candidate,” says Kyle, who will be 45 next month. “It’s not really the door I want to open, but I owe it to my supporters to listen.”
Kyle says that, rather than running her own campaign, she’d like to be active in helping someone else’s candidacy. “I don’t think this guy [Sundquist] has his ducks in a row on leadership,” she says.
A bug in Bill’s ear
Bill Purcell’s surprise decision not to run for governor came out of nowhere. Since his announcement two weeks ago, people have been speculating about why he decided against a gubernatorial campaign.
Those close to Purcell have put together a reasonable scenario. They suggest that former Gov. Ned McWherter, to whom Purcell was close while he was in the Legislature, took him aside and counseled him against the race.
After all, McWherter, who was out of town this week, was the one who suggested last week that perhaps the Tennessee Democratic Party would be wise to give Gov. Sundquist what amounts to a free ride next year.
This space available
Incidentally, if Purcell gets notice in time that his mayoral ambitions may be dashed by the likelihood of a third Bredesen term, he could run again for his old state House seat, which is now held by Bill Boner. Boner now plans to run for the countywide office of Register of Deeds.
To reach Liz, call her at 615-244-7989, ext. 406, or e-mail her at liz@mail.nashscene.com.
To reach Liz, call her at 615-244-7989, ext. 406, or e-mail her at liz@mail.nashscene.com.
