State Sen. Jeff Yarbro Announces Bid for Mayor

State Sen. Jeff Yarbro (D-Nashville) launched a campaign for mayor Friday.

Yarbro, an attorney at Bass, Berry & Sims, was first elected to the Senate in 2014 and was most recently reelected in November. He spent four years as Senate minority leader.

The lawmaker initially emerged on the political scene in 2010 when he narrowly lost a Democratic primary race against longtime Sen. Douglas Henry. Four years later, he won the seat.

Yarbro sees his near-decade in the legislature as an asset in the mayoral campaign, with tensions between Metro Government and the Tennessee General Assembly continuing to worsen in recent months. He arrived at the legislature as the body had recently transitioned from generational Democratic leadership to Republican dominance. As the leader of the tiny Senate Democratic Caucus, Yarbro frequently found himself as the lone voice on a committee or in news stories opposing conservative priorities or supporting doomed Democratic ones.

“The question facing this city is who will decide Nashville's future," Yarbro tells the Scene via a spokesperson. "Will it be legislators from other parts of the state and investors from other parts of the country? Or will Nashvillians decide our own future? Will it be shaped by — and for — developers, or will we build a better Nashville for the people who live, work and raise our families here?"

With Mayor John Cooper declining to run for reelection, Yarbro is among a growing field of potential successors. Retired AllianceBernstein executive Jim Gingrich, Metro Councilmembers Sharon Hurt and Freddie O’Connell, and former Metro official Matt Wiltshire are all actively campaigning. Metro Councilmember Bob Mendes and Metro Property Assessor Vivian Wilhoite continue to consider potential campaigns.

“The shape of this conversation has changed a lot recently, now that Mayor Cooper isn't seeking reelection, and the legislature is accelerating its attacks against Nashville," Yarbro says. "We’ve got to come together as a city and fight for the Nashville we believe in. It's time for us to invest in ourselves."

In a release, Yarbro says he would focus on “safe neighborhoods, affordable homes, great public schools and city services that folks can count on,” professing priority for neighborhoods and affordability over development represented by “the cranes dotting Nashville’s skyline.”

Yarbro had nearly $146,000 in his state campaign account as of last month, funds that can be transferred to a mayoral bid. He grew up in Dyersburg before attending Harvard University and the University of Virginia School of Law. He is married to Tyler Chance Yarbro, managing partner of law firm Dodson Parker Behm & Capparella.

Yarbro is leaving Bass, Berry & Sims, where he has practiced since 2005, to focus on the mayoral campaign.