Matt WiltshireÂ
This story is a partnership between the Nashville Banner and the Nashville Scene. The Banner is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization focused on civic news and will launch later this year. For more information, visit NashvilleBanner.com.
The Fraternal Order of Police's local chapter on Monday endorsed Matt Wiltshire for mayor, Jim Shulman for vice mayor and a slate of council candidates, including Democrats and Republicans.
The endorsement surprised some political observers who had assumed Alice Rolli, a Republican who has campaigned on reducing crime as an issue, would get the nomination. But similar to four years ago when the FOP snubbed Carol Swain in favor of John Cooper, the police union tacked toward the center instead of the right.
“I’m honored to have the support of our rank-and-file officers,” Wiltshire said in a release. “The Nashville community has seen more than its share of tragedies, but the Metro Nashville Police Department has responded time and time again. As Mayor, I’ll work every day to make Nashville the safest big city in America.”
Four years ago, following the 2018 killing of Daniel Hambrick and guilty plea by former Officer Andrew Delke, an endorsement by the police had different optics than today in the wake of the Covenant School shootings. First responders were universally praised for their quick response time and handling of the situation. In the 2018 case, the FOP launched a website attacking the slain Hambrick.
(For a deeper dive into crime as a political issue, check out the Banner’s Monday story, including on-the-record statements by every leading candidate on a number of issues.)
One of the byproducts of Monday’s news is the awkwardness the FOP endorsements will create among at least one group on the left. Planned Parenthood’s endorsements last week followed a questionnaire in which the group asked candidates if they would "pledge to refuse endorsements and/or donations from police unions." All of the top candidates for mayor interviewed for the FOP endorsement. The two groups endorsed six of the same candidates on the Aug. 3 ballot: Jim Shulman for vice mayor, Marcia Masulla for council at large, Jordan Huffman for District 14, Brandon Taylor for District 21, John Rutherford for District 31 and Sandra Ewing for District 34.
Wiltshire and fellow mayoral candidate Jim Gingrich were both snubbed by Planned Parenthood despite their past support for the organization and alignment with the group’s goals on reproductive rights. Freddie O'Connell, Jeff Yarbro, Vivian Wilhoite and Heidi Campbell were endorsed for mayor by Planned Parenthood, while Sharon Hurt received a "thumbs up" from the group.
Rolli said she thought she had “a 40 percent chance to get” the FOP endorsement in a radio interview last week.
Was she surprised?
“No, it’s a repeat of the 2015 [Bill] Freeman campaign,” Rolli told the Banner. “I’ll get it in the runoff.”
(The FOP endorsed Freeman, now the owner of Scene parent FW Publishing, in the 2015 general election. After Freeman failed to make the runoff, the organization backed David Fox, who lost to Megan Barry and is now Rolli's campaign treasurer.)
The endorsement may carry more political juice than actual votes, as an increasing number of rank-and-file FOP members live outside the county.
In a separate announcement, Hurt picked up the endorsement of “the Brendas” Monday as Davidson County Clerk Brenda Wynn and former state Sen. Brenda Gilmore threw their support behind the mayoral candidate and at-large Metro councilmember.
“I support Sharon Hurt for Mayor,” Wynn said in a release. “I have known her for over 30 years, she was then, is now, and will always be one with a courageous heart and tough mind. She is a committed, loyal and proven leader with extensive service to the Nashville community at large and will lift ALL Nashvillians.”
