Now that the dust has settled over the Metro Government elections in Nashville, we are happy to report that candidates endorsed by SEIU Local 205 have been victorious.
First and foremost, Megan Barry, who Local 205 endorsed in the Sept. 10 election for Mayor, won in a landslide over hedge fund millionaire David Fox.
In addition to the Mayor’s race, SEIU’s endorsed candidate David Briley was elected vice-mayor.
In the county-wide “at-large” races, all 7 of the candidates the Local supported made it to the runoff election and in the end, 3 of the 5 candidates we supported for at-large won on Sept. 10.
The charter amendment on local hiring for Metro construction projects, which SEIU strongly supported, passed with overwhelming support from the public by garnering 57% of the vote.
In the individual Metro Council districts, our candidates won across the county. SEIU endorsed in 15 council districts and we won 10 out of the 15 races on Aug. 6 and then in the Sept. 10 runoff, we only lost in two districts.
The candidates who the Local endorsed and won are:
Mayor Megan Barry
Vice Mayor David Briley
Council (At-Large) John Cooper Jim Shulman Erica Gilmore
Council (Districts)
1 - Loniel Greene 7 - Anthony Davis 8 – Nancy VanReece 17 – Colby Sledge 20 - Mary Carolyn Roberts 21 - Ed Kindall 23 - Mina Johnson 24 - Kathleen Murphy 26- Jeremy Elrod 28 - Tanaka Vercher 29 - Karen Johnson 32 - Jacobia Dowell 35 - Dave Rosenberg
Unlike many other organizations that endorse candidates in Nashville's local elections, SEIU’s endorsement comes with manpower. Our members, many of whom were volunteering on candidates’ campaigns, ended up knocking on 5,318 doors and they made 108,452 phone calls. Mail pieces also went out to our members and the union’s political committee made contributions to the candidates’ campaign committees.
“Our members actively participated in this election first by voting for worker-friendly candidates,” said Freda Player, the political director for Local 205. “Secondly, our members did the hard work of phone banking and door knocking to help ensure we have a city government that supports workers rights and quality public services.”