The candidates for mayor of Nashville tend to agree on the hot button issues of the day. But the question is to what degree social issues will drive them once in office.
We asked both David Fox and Megan Barry for one social issue they plan to be vocal on as mayor. Fox, a former investment manager and school board chairman, says mental healthcare will be a cornerstone, in the same way Mayor Karl Dean has responded to domestic violence.
“For a city this rich and successful, it’s a shame that 10 [or] 12 years after reductions in TennCare funding, locally we’ve not come together, put together a more humane way to help people with mental illness,” Fox says.
Fox has said there’s not much difference between himself and Barry on social issues except that “they’re her reason for getting up in the morning.” Barry officiated the first gay marriages in Davidson County. She’s also been an activist for abortion rights.
But when pressed to name an issue she’d continue to champion as mayor, she offers a general answer.
“I’ve been vocal about a lot of things. And those things have also included development. They’ve also included economic prosperity. They’ve also included affordable housing. They’ve also included transit,” Barry says. “I think my messages are the same across the board, which is that what Nashville needs to be is a place that is warm and welcoming and those are still the messages that I will talk about.”
Barry’s opponent claims she’s too focused on social issues. In response, Barry says the job of the mayor is primarily about running the city in a way that is fiscally responsible. With eight years on the Metro Council, she says she has that track record, too.
Hear the candidates, uncut:
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