My cover story in this week's Scene is
a profile of Deputy Mayor Greg Hinote, perhaps the most powerful man in Metro we know so little about.
For years, close observers of Metro politics could probably tell you he was important, but might have struggled to tell you just what it is he does. To a certain extent, he has had a reputation as the guy in the Dean administration who makes the offer you can't refuse, and while that's not entirely wrong, it's persisted mostly because there has been nothing to replace it. With a few exceptions — of which this story was not one — he has avoided speaking on the record to reporters, a reflection of his behind-the-scenes operation and introverted personality.
All of that made the appearance of the video seen above an event of sorts in certain (very small) quarters. As he's never done before, Hinote appeared at the Nashville Kiwanis Club in May, ditched a prepared speech, and started freewheeling about what he does.
