Clearer rules and a new app: Angie Henderson’s first triumphs and challenges as Nashville’s vice mayor

On election night, most people thought Angie Henderson would be giving a concession speech. Incumbent vice mayor Jim Shulman was on the ballot — and incumbent vice mayors in Nashville usually win a second term. Her five-percentage-point victory was an upset even she didn’t see coming.

“I had had a conversation with my children, who had worked on my campaign, and told them, you know, ‘It is okay if mom does not win. We have run a good race.’ So we were pleasantly surprised on election night,” she said.

Since her victory, Henderson has tackled the logistics that come with being vice mayor: organizing committees and keeping council meetings running smoothly. This fall, she’s seen small changes, like clarifying a rule about public comment, make a big difference. 

“I sat on the back row of this council for eight years and saw many a woman approach that podium and be somewhat hesitant about saying ‘this is my precise street address,'” Henderson said. “And so I wanted folks to understand that they could just (say), ‘What is their relation to the project? I live down the street. I live across the street. I live next door.'”

Henderson also promised to give council members more guidance on how the legislative process works. Some ideas, like putting together a shared Outlook calendar with important meetings and information sessions, have been straightforward.

But there have also been some bumps in the road. Henderson requested a “mock meeting,” basically a dress rehearsal to work out any kinks before the first council session, but that didn’t end up happening.

Other logistical challenges are ongoing. For example, a state law says local government officials can’t meet privately to discuss policy. It’s supposed to prevent corruption, but it makes it hard for council members to have important policy discussions until it’s time to vote.

“I can’t just kind of phone up a colleague or sit down with them when I happen to run into them and say, ‘Hey, you know, let’s talk about tree policy, or what do you think about this or that,'” Henderson explained. “We’re policy nerds. We want to chitchat about this stuff.”

Henderson plans to address this by setting up a public social media site called Council Connect. Here’s how she hopes council members will use it: 

“You get a prompt in your inbox that says, you know, Councilman Horton has posted or started a discussion about missing middle zoning. And he shares a few articles. That’s awesome. Let’s have that conversation. Let’s have that conversation in public view,” she explained.

Council Connect is scheduled to go public later this month. It still has some bugs, and Henderson will have to convince members to actually post on it. But these technical details are what you sign up for when you become vice mayor.

Correction: This story originally called Metro Council’s social media site “Bang the Table.” The site is actually called “Council Connect.” Bang the Table is the former name of the company supplying the software.