Metro Councilmember Angie Henderson Moves Toward Vice Mayoral Run

Update: Henderson officially announced her campaign for vice mayor on March 3.

Metro Councilmember Angie Henderson on Tuesday filed paperwork with local regulators allowing her to raise money for a vice mayoral campaign. Henderson has been publicly considering a campaign since last year.

"I have appointed a treasurer, but I have not launched a campaign," Henderson tells Scene sister publication the Nashville Post. "I feel strongly about the importance of the vice mayoral role for our city, especially at such a pivotal time for the Metro Council. I am still weighing several options for how best to continue serving Nashville."

Henderson has represented District 34 — including Cheekwood, Green Hills, Forest Hills and other parts of southwestern Davidson County — for two terms. Past roles have included president of the Belle Meade Highlands Neighborhood Association, founder of the Green Hills Action Partners and board member of the Harpeth Hall Alumnae Association. During her time on the Metro Council, Henderson has chaired the parks, public works and charter revision committees and spearheaded legislation related to sidewalks and the city's tree canopy.

Henderson opted against a vice mayoral bid in 2018 because she “ran for elected office to improve policy, which I could not do as the vice mayor,” she said at the time.

Vice Mayor Jim Shulman, first elected in 2019, is eligible for reelection in 2023. He tells the Post he plans to run.

“I love Nashville," Shulman says. "I still am interested in finding better ways to make this city better and improve people’s quality of life, and I’m interested in serving four more years.”

Shulman led the Tennessee Commission on Aging and Disability before taking over as CEO of nonprofit Safe Haven in 2021. He said he resigned from that position in December as the organization was conducting a review of his leadership.

“It was not a good fit from the very beginning for me, and it was a difference of opinion with some of the leadership there,” Shulman says. “In the end, it made more sense for me to step away, and it all worked out.”

The position of vice mayor is largely parliamentary, with the officeholder running Metro Council meetings, appointing Metro Council committees and voting on legislation in the event of a tie. The vice mayor also assumes the position of mayor in the case of a resignation or death, as then-Vice Mayor David Briley did in 2018 upon the resignation of Mayor Megan Barry.

Shulman says that, though the vice mayor typically does not vote on legislation, he could “help get the conversation moving” on issues like affordable housing, crime, education and homelessness, including by appointing special committees.  

The qualifying deadline for the race is in May.