Clement Concedes to Dean

Ending another race in a long career in politics, former Congressman Bob Clement seemed upbeat despite losing to a relative political newcomer.

The up-beat music couldn’t lift the spirits at Clement’s election night party, once it became clear that Dean won. Clement, flanked by his family, congratulated Dean on the race, and said he wouldn’t have done anything differently.

“And I want all of you to know there’s nothing I could have said anymore, I mean I said it all. We had a great organization, We had a great message, and Karl and I agreed on one thing: Education and public safety are the two top priorities for the next four years.”

In what sounded like a political farewell speech, Clement’s concession rehashed his life in public service, ranging from his first election to the Public Service Commission in 1972 to his 15-year tenure as Congressman.

Both Dean and Clement in the final weeks of the run-off campaign turned to picking apart each other’s records. Both have consistently denied they ever did any ‘negative campaigning’ and Clement continued to do so last night.

“You know, this was a very positive campaign overall. Sure, Karl and I had differences on issues and we showed comparisons, but compared to the U-S Senate race we experienced last year, this was very light.”

Clement’s supporters, many of whom have been active in his campaigns through the years, including Anedra Henley, were saddened by the loss.

“It just seemed like the odds were in his favor. It really did in my circle. So I did not expect this outcome, no. It’s very unfortunate. I don’t know. I just keep thinking about what we could have done better–knockin’ on doors. It’s hard to call it right now.”

Clement’s campaign co-chair, John Ray Clemmons, says they ran a good race.

“We discussed issues that Nashvillians were really concerned about and that’s pretty much all you can do in a local election, because it’s really, you know, it’s a person-to-person type election.”

Even though Clement said he has no plans to run for another office, he says he’ll always remain involved with the city.