It’s hard enough to get people to vote in elections that don’t feature marquee races or names. On May 24, Nashville will go to the polls for the second time in a month, and plenty of eligible voters seem to have no idea.
That’s in part due to the unusual circumstances that brought us here. Mayor Megan Barry resigned on March 6 as part of a plea deal related to her use of public funds during the course of a romantic affair with her Metro police security guard, Sgt. Rob Forrest. Vice Mayor David Briley was sworn in later that day, and three days later the Metro Election Commission set the election to fill the rest of Barry’s term — which concludes next year — for August.
But a legal challenge quickly followed. Former Metro Council member and local NAACP President Ludye Wallace (with the help of local attorneys Jamie Hollin and Daniel Horwitz) sued Metro, arguing that the election had to be held in May, according to state and Metro law. Metro pushed back, but the Tennessee Supreme Court ultimately agreed with Wallace, ordering a May election and setting off a six-week scramble to claim the mayoralty. Thirteen candidates are on the ballot May 24, including Wallace, who tells the Scene he’s not campaigning for the job and had even considered having his name taken off the ballot. He wanted Metro to follow the law, he says, but he doesn’t have the money to run even a six-week campaign.
Read on for our look at the better-known candidates, those vying for the conservative vote, local figures conspicuously absent from the ballot and more.
In a hurry? Scroll down for a quick primer on every name you’ll see when you enter the voting booth.
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On the Ballot
A quick primer on every name you’ll see when you enter the voting booth
By D. Patrick Rodgers
Carlin Alford
Alford is the “customer success and strategy director” at software company BOLDplanning and head coach of minor league basketball team the Middle Tennessee Storm.
David Briley
The former vice mayor — and before that, at-large Metro Council member — who assumed the office of mayor when Megan Barry resigned in March. A former attorney with Bone McAllester Norton, Briley previously ran for mayor in 2007.
Ralph Bristol
The former right-wing talk-show host who was fired from Nashville conservative talk-radio station WWTN earlier this year.
jeff obafemi carr
Founder of “interfaith, trans-religious spiritual community” The Infinity Fellowship and senior adviser for anti-transit group No Tax 4 Tracks. Carr has worked as an actor and was a mayoral appointee to the Metro Arts Commission in 2009.
Erica Gilmore
At-large Metro Council member and assistant dean of student conduct at Tennessee State University, Gilmore has also served as president of the Metro Council Minority Caucus, as the Metro Council speaker pro tempore and as District 19 council member.
Albert Hacker
Consultant for a medical-device company with experience in sales and commercial real estate.
David Hiland
A barber and owner of Green Hills’ Forty Ten Barber Studio, Hiland is a U.S. Army veteran.
Julia Clark-Johnson
A former teacher who says she’s a longtime St. Louis public servant.
Harold Love Jr.
A Democratic state representative for House District 58 and House Democratic Caucus secretary, Love is chaplain of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators and the pastor of Lee Chapel A.M.E. Church.
Jeff Napier
Mechanic, limousine driver and U.S. Army veteran.
Jon Sewell
Owner of Wedgewood-Houston arts space The Packing Plant, cast member of the Billy Ray Cyrus-starring CMT program Still the King, and former member of jokester party-rock band Party Cannon. Sewell has openly asked Nashvillians not to vote for him.
Carol Swain
A far-right conservative television analyst and former Vanderbilt University law and political science professor who has called Islam “an absolute danger to us and our children,” among other extreme claims.
Ludye Wallace
Local NAACP chapter president and former District 19 Metro Council member, Wallace is the reason the election is being held May 24 rather than in August: He filed and ultimately won a lawsuit in Davidson County Chancery Court arguing that the language of the Metro Charter requires an earlier vote. Though he’s on the ballot, Wallace is not campaigning in this race.
