Buck Dozier led off his remarks by saying that he grew up in Sylvan Park and that he didn’t come from “great wealth or a political pedigree,” subtle but clear shots directed at Dean, Clement and Briley. Perhaps taking a page out of Purcell’s original campaign book, the one where Purcell used a desk to make his case for being Nashville’s neighborhood mayor, Dozier said that the symbol that best represents his campaign is a table, one where everyone in the city could sit down to solve Nashville’s problems. Dozier explained that the table makes sense for his campaign because he is a “natural consensus builder.”

As every candidate did, Dozier said that education would be his top priority as mayor. A teacher and coach for 10 years and a youth minister for 14 years, he discussed his innovative and ambitious Athens project intended to raise a $1 billion endowment for public education during the next 10 years that would not be used for “brick and mortar projects.” Dozier said that public safety would be his second priority in office and noted his experience as Metro Fire Chief in making the case that he would be the best candidate to make Nashville the “safest city in the nation.”

Dozier wrapped up his opening remarks by describing his management style as “steel and velvet” because leadership requires both great courage and great compassion. I tend to agree with that statement, and I’m only worried about one and not the other when it comes to Dozier: I sense that he has plenty of courage given his public service background, but I wonder whether he has the open-mindedness and the compassion required to lead an increasingly cosmopolitan and progressive Nashville. Seeing Dozier tonight for the first time as a candidate, I’m not sure whether he does or doesn’t, yet.