Though Mayor Freddie O'Connell and many members of the new Metro Council had already been sworn in, they took their oaths again Saturday, this time as part of a public celebration at Public Square Park.
O'Connell used the public gathering to show off city services, with Metro's library, police, arts, transit and other departments set up around the park distributing information about their offerings. Hundreds of attendees — including several of O'Connell's former opponents and newly former Metro councilmembers with a load off — watched the new mayor and Vice Mayor Angie Henderson welcome the new four-year term with remarks. (Matt Wiltshire, who finished third in the general mayoral election, said he was going to Midtown bar Losers after the event.)
Vice Mayor Angie Henderson speaks at Mayor Freddie O'Connell's inauguration, Sept. 30, 2023
While Henderson pledged that the Metro Council would be an independent check on the mayor's office, she acknowledged that she and the mayor share a goal of improving the city's transit, cycling and pedestrian networks. Both highlighted the issue in speeches.
"Mayor O'Connell and I have a similar vision for a better-connected Nashville," Henderson said.
O'Connell added that he wants to build "the transit system the city has needed for a long time" and alluded to a possible voter referendum to raise money for the effort.
Both O'Connell and Henderson also addressed ongoing tension between the city and state government as several Metro lawsuits challenging new state laws continue. The new mayor said he would fight for "gun safety, adequate school funding, access to accurate history and other things the state is making every effort to control."
Metro councilmembers at Mayor Freddie O'Connell's inauguration, Sept. 30, 2023
O'Connell was officially sworn in earlier in the week in a private ceremony and jumped into the work of taking over from former Mayor John Cooper, whom he thanked for a smooth transition. O'Connell has named several key staff members, including chief of staff Marjorie Pomeroy-Wallace (who ran his campaign) and chief development officer Bob Mendes, a former councilmember who will be responsible for Metro's role in development on the East Bank and around the city. The mayor gave updates on the status of several Cooper administration aides, some of whom will remain on staff but many of whom are moving on, on Friday.
Next up for O'Connell and the new Metro Council is the first Metro Council of the new term, scheduled for Tuesday.
