Big-city mayors defy red Tenn.
Liberal leaders the exception in conservative state
Democrats haven’t won a statewide election in Tennessee in a decade. They’ve watched Republicans secure supermajorities in both state legislative chambers, capture seven of Tennessee’s nine congressional districts and dominate every presidential race in the Volunteer State since Al Gore lost his home state in 2000.
But during these tough times for Tennessee Democrats — which have included fielding obscure statewide candidates with names like Charlie Brown — one silver lining emerged and remains: mayors of the state’s largest cities.
As the state has reddened politically, mayors of Nashville, Memphis, Chattanooga and Knoxville — all Democrats — have become the strength of the party and a bench as it looks for viable candidates for governor and the U.S. Senate. In recent years, party leaders have routinely pointed to the crop of mayors as the centerpiece of a
strategy for Democrats to make a comeback.
Now, as Tennessee delegates head to Philadelphia for the Democratic National Convention, the state’s top Democratic mayors will be front and center. Nashville Mayor Megan Barry, Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero, Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke and Clarksville Mayor Kim McMillan are all Tennessee Democratic delegates. Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland is a Democrat but isn’t a delegate and is not expected to attend the convention.
Barry, who introduced presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton during two Clinton campaign stops in Nashville during the primary, will be in Philadelphia for the entire fourday event. She said Clinton “gets the impact” that cities contribute to the nation’s economy and would be an ally on efforts Barry wants to accomplish in Nashville.
“My hope is that we’ll continue to have the same type of relationship with her that we’ve had with Obama’s administration on infrastructure and transit and other things,” said Barry, a Clinton delegate.
Rogero is also a Clinton delegate and hopes the candidate can reach out to others.
“And unite us, which means that she knows how to compromise, how to work with Congress,” Rogero said. “She needs to be strategic in how she deals with world partners, and that’s the key things I want.”
During the past eight years under President Barack Obama, big-city mayors in Tennessee have helped the president by pushing Affordable Care Act enrollment and Medicaid expansion before the Republican-dominated legislature.
CITIES MATCH TREND
The success of Democrats in Tennessee’s biggest cities reflects a national trend. Cities often have more minorities and are becoming Democratic strongholds as Republicans have solidified support in rural areas. It has altered Tennessee’s political landscape, which was once defined more by the state’s three grand divisions.
“It is true that mayors have been good news for the Democrats,” Vanderbilt University political science professor John Geer said. “It used to be that the old divide in the state was the east, central and west part of the state. And that still applies to a degree.
“But the urban-rural distinction is an even bigger one today, where you have these Democratic strongholds in the bigger cities and you have the Republicans being highly successful in the ribbon counties and the rural areas.”
As Democrats look for a candidate who can compete for an open governor’s race and U.S. Senate in 2018, eyes turn first to two men who came from the mayoral ranks — former Nashville Mayor Karl Dean and Berke. Dean has been open about a run and has attended speaking engagements across the state to increase his political network. Berke has said he’s focused on only being mayor for now.
With mayors, Tennessee Democrats at least have a blueprint for higher office. Their last statewide officeholder, former Gov. Phil Bredesen, was previously mayor of Nashville in the 1990s. The political moderate used a probusiness platform to win all 95 of Tennessee’s counties. (Republicans Gov. Bill Haslam and U.S. Sen. Bob Corker also used mayoral posts as launching pads for higher office.)
HOLDING THE LINE
The importance for Democrats to maintain a hold on Tennessee’s cities was on display during last year’s Nashville mayoral race. The Tennessee Democratic Party — which typically gets involved in only state races — launched a negative mail ad blitz against candidate David Fox — who was backed by many conservatives — to help Barry.
The state party also has worked to give mayors a pedestal. In May, the party gave speaking roles to both Barry and Dean during its annual Jackson Day Dinner in Nashville.
Barry, a former Metro Nashville councilwoman, and Strickland, an ex-Memphis councilman and former chairman of the Shelby County Democratic Party, each were elected last year and replaced other Democrats.
Berke, a former state senator, entered office in 2013, and McMillan, a former state representative, has served as mayor since 2011. Rogero, the first woman elected mayor of any of Tennessee’s big cities, was elected in 2011 after serving as a community development director.
Tennessee Democratic Party chairwoman Mary Mancini said the state’s Democratic mayors “bode well for the Democratic Party’s future,” but she pointed to all counties in Tennessee, not just the big cities.
She said the party’s bench also includes local officials such as sheriffs, property assessors, election commissioners and others who could run for higher office one day.
“I see leadership qualities in all of them,” Mancini said of the mayors who will be at the convention in Philadelphia. “I see mayors who reach out to voters and the people of their cities and bring them into conversations with intent. I see brilliance from them and a willingness to get things done.”