September 4, 2007
Evans Donnell on good news, bad news, the runoff and more
Evans Donnell, media director for Howard Gentry’s mayoral campaign, was kind enough to answer a few questions I posed recently. Nashvillians who follow local politics closely know that Donnell had a bittersweet time on election night watching Gentry come painfully close to qualifying for the mayoral runoff election, but many don’t know that he got some wonderful news about a new addition to his family the very same day. Here’s more from Evans on the election and more.
1) What are you doing now that the campaign is over?
I’m spending more time with my wife and soon-to-be-fully-adopted daughter. We found out on election day that we’ll finalize adoption on Sept. 26, which was great news on an otherwise bad day. As much as I wanted Howard to win, I think people will understand that nothing means more to my wife and I than completing our family.
2) Are you helping or supporting a candidate in the runoff? If so, which one and why?
I support Karl Dean in the runoff, and I voted for him at Howard School on the second day of early voting. In my work for Howard’s campaign I attended more than 40 of the mayoral forums so I got to hear and see all the candidates as they answered just about every imaginable question.
I have nothing against Bob Clement, who was a fine congressman for our district and has always been quite kind to me, but I think Karl Dean thoroughly understands not only the city but Metro government. I’ve probably heard all the arguments for and against both of the remaining candidates and I think Mr. Dean is the better choice.
3) How would you describe your personal experience on election night as the results came in?
I felt I was on a rollercoaster ride but I still had to stay focused on my job as Howard’s press secretary. First there was the exciting high when we thought we had a good chance of getting in the runoff and then the absolute low of ending up 395 votes behind Mr. Clement and knowing our campaign was over.
My father once lost a judicial race elsewhere in Middle Tennessee by 147 votes, and there’s a part of me that would rather lose by a great deal than come so close. In both instances I’ve had people say things like, “You should be proud you did so well” to me. That’s a nice sentiment, and I know they mean well, but losing stinks. Nothing makes you feel better about coming up short. It was also sad to realize that my work for Howard with campaign colleagues like Bo Roberts, Jennifer Hatten, Mark Shafer and Alfred Degrafinreid was ending. They’re a fine bunch of folks.
4) What’s next for Howard?
That’s a question for Howard to answer. I know whatever he ends up doing, though, that promoting and strengthening Nashville will always be important to him. We’ve been friends for many years, and he’s been a mentor to me as well. I’m very grateful for the privilege of knowing and working for him. His family are also dear to me, and I’m thankful to have crossed paths with all of them.
![Rob Robinson](http://thinktrain.net/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/02/Rob.jpg")
Bo Roberts said,
September 4, 2007 @ 6:37 pm
Spoken like the true professional he is, as well as a fine human being who became a close friend. Soon-to-be-officially-adopted Katie is a doll, and along with Howard’s daughter Taylor, they were the campaign kids.
Ken Renner said,
September 4, 2007 @ 7:58 pm
As a very wise man once said, “The best thing about losing is…well, I can’t think of anything.”
In reality, having been on both sides of political campaigns, losing a campaign is a lot like losing a big match, whatever sport you happen to play. When you win in politics or sports, you walk away on top of the world. You were wonderful, you were great, you did everything right and are truly a man of conspicuous genius. And the worst part is that there is no shortage of people who will tell you precisely the same thing, at least to your face.
Losing is an entirely different proposition. Whenever I lost, in politics or sports, I was much more analytical about it. I went over it in my mind endlessly, finding each mistake, each error in judgment, each thing I could have done differently or better. And many people around you are ready to help in this process as well, telling you every mistake you made in case you may have missed one.
And I actually came out of that process a better competitor, ready to put everything I had learned into my next effort. In short, I always learned more from losing than from winning. And if there is anything good about losing, even for a great group like Howard Gentry had around him, each will hopefully come out of this process smarter, better and more capable of meeting the next challenge.
Rob Robinson said,
September 5, 2007 @ 7:37 am
Thanks for the insightful thoughts, Ken. I think you’re right that whatever does not destroy us makes us stronger, but it sure stings in the meantime. I hope everyone involved with the Gentry campaign regroups and comes back to contribute more towards making Nashville an even better place to live. We need them around.
Bo, thanks for those kind words about Evans. I definitely agree.
Tom Timlin said,
September 11, 2007 @ 3:05 pm
Evans, you are as articulate with the spoken word as you are with the written word.Tom