Odessa Kelly, photographed at the Napier Community Center
Stand Up Nashville executive director Odessa Kelly is taking a leave of absence from the organization, effective Thursday.
The decision was made so that she can “put her sole focus and energy on winning” her congressional race, a campaign spokesperson said.
In 2021, Kelly, a longtime local organizer and Metro Parks employee, launched a Democratic primary challenge of U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper (D-Nashville). She was backed by prominent progressive group Justice Democrats in her effort in Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District.
But in early 2022, the Tennessee General Assembly approved a redistricting plan that carved up Nashville, leaving it in three congressional districts — none of them favorable to Democrats.
Cooper decided to retire, and Kelly decided to run in the 7th District, which now includes a portion of North Nashville. (Kelly lived in the 6th District in East Nashville following redistricting but said she planned to move into the 7th).
U.S. Rep. Mark Green (R-Clarksville) represents the 7th District, and Kelly would face tough odds should they both advance to a general election later this year.
She leaves Stand Up Nashville, an organization she helped launch, at a significant moment in the group’s history. Its most visible achievement to date — a community benefits agreement related to the construction of the Nashville SC stadium at the Fairgrounds Nashville — is bearing fruit, as the facility is set to open in May. And the group is actively working on a CBA at a proposed private development on the East Bank while organizing community input related to the proposed construction of a new stadium for the Tennessee Titans in the same area.
“Odessa informed the team that this was coming and gave us time to prepare,” says Stand Up Nashville spokesperson Katharine Heriges. “SUN is an independent organization and we are proud of the team we’ve built over the past year. We’re grateful for her leadership and wish her well.”
