Freddie O’Connell and Alice Rolli are running in the Sept. 14 runoff election for mayor of Nashville, Tennessee. O’Connell finished first and Rolli finished second from a field of 12 candidates in the city’s nonpartisan general election on Aug. 3.
Although municipal elections in Nashville are officially nonpartisan, both candidates have political affiliations. O’Connell, who represented District 19 on the Nashville Metro Council, is a Democrat. Rolli, a former political strategist who was a staffer for Govs. Bill Haslam (R) and Lamar Alexander (R), is a Republican.
O’Connell received 27% of the vote in the general election. Axios Nashville‘s Nate Rau wrote that O’Connell “overcame substantial campaign disadvantages to storm into first place in a crowded general election field…he sold voters on a progressive vision for the city and highlighted his vote against the $2.1 billion Titans stadium deal as proof of his commitment to controlling development growth.” Before the general election, O’Connell told The Tennessean that his top priorities were improving basic governmental service such as trash pickup and filling potholes, building a better transportation network, and improving the trust residents have in city government.
