The Parts Of Nashville That Surprised The Candidates For Mayor (And What They Learned There)

The Nashville mayor’s race has Metro’s most prominent political hopefuls courting votes in every corner of the county — and Davidson County is more than 500 square miles, which is a lot of ground to cover. So WPLN wanted to know, which parts of Nashville have the seven candidates learned more about during their campaign?

Nothing New For One Candidate

Councilwoman at-large Megan Barry says she familiar with the entire county, noting that already she’s run for county-wide office twice.

“I know the county pretty well, inside and out,” she says. “So for me, no surprises.”

Reminded Of Diversity

Attorney Charles Robert Bone also says he was familiar with all of Nashville.

“I’m not sure there’s any one area I went to and thought, ‘Oh gosh, I didn’t know this was in Davidson County.’ But I guess what I’ve been amazed at is the uniqueness of each of our communities.”

Real estate mogul Bill Freeman echoed that sentiment about the different parts of Nashville. “I didn’t fully appreciate how independent they are and how unique each one of them is and how much pride there is. I think that’s the biggest surprise.”

Businesswoman Linda Rebrovick points to Nolensville and Murfreesboro Pikes. “I think one of the most exciting things that I’ve learned about is the diversity of our city,” she says. “We, as a city, are the city that represents or mirrors the demographics of our country.”

Familiar Neighborhoods, New Information

Charter school founder Jeremy Kane says he grew to appreciate a community he already knew about — Donelson, near the airport. He’s learned the neighborhood has a farmers market and community gardens and recently dubbed itself Hip Donelson.

“You see it thriving. It’s less than nine minutes from downtown, and you see it’s one of the last affordable places, especially for families.” Hip Donelson, Kane says, is “one of my favorite groups, one of my favorite places.”

For former school board chairman David Fox, his biggest learning experience came in Madison, which is struggling to revitalize.

“I always knew Madison as a very nice, middle class community where you raise your family,” he says. But he’s realized “how essentially the deterioration of Gallatin Pike as a central artery has had a very corrosive effect on Madison itself. … So I’ve spent more time in Madison than anywhere else because it’s the area that I think needs the most TLC from the mayor’s office right now.”

Becoming Aware Of A Community

Howard Gentry, the county’s criminal court clerk, says he connected not with a specific neighborhood, but a group — Nashville’s Kurdish population, which is among the largest in North America.

“That was a community that I was least associated with, least aware of. I learned from that community their deep desire to be a part of a democratic process,” he says. “I found out how alike we were.”