Freddie O'Connell (left) and Alice Rolli
Nashville's police and fire employee unions are split in the mayoral runoff.
The Nashville chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police is backing Alice Rolli. The group endorsed John Cooper for reelection shortly before he decided not to run, and then supported Matt Wiltshire in the first round of voting. Wiltshire has endorsed Rolli's opponent, Metro Councilmember Freddie O'Connell.
The local chapter of the International Association of Firefighters is endorsing O'Connell. That group also backed Cooper's bid prior to his decision not to run.
Meanwhile, more former candidates for mayor are making their decisions in the runoff known. On Thursday, former candidate Jim Gingrich endorsed O'Connell. Gingrich joins Wiltshire and state Sens. Jeff Yarbro and Heidi Campbell in supporting O'Connell. Wiltshire, Yarbro and Campbell finished in third, fourth and fifth places, respectively, and combined for nearly 38,000 votes.
Rolli recently added a sort-of endorsement from former candidate Stephanie Johnson, and Rolli earlier announced support from former school board member Fran Bush. Combined, Bush and Johnson tallied fewer votes in the first round of voting than Gingrich, who spent millions of dollars on his campaign but dropped out before Election Day.
The Nashville Justice League also announced its endorsement of O'Connell. That group is made up of the political arms of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (which endorsed O'Connell in the first round), the Equity Alliance and the Central Labor Council.
This article originally appeared in our sister publication the Nashville Post.
