June 25, 2008
Purcell’s departure: a net gain or a tough loss?
Is Bill Purcell’s departure from Nashville a net gain or a tough loss for the city? The former mayor’s critics, who appeared to increase in number during his last couple of years in office, certainly would argue that it’s a plus to have the Philadelphia native headed back to the Northeast.
As someone who took the good with the bad during Purcell’s tenure and thought the mayor served the city very well, I’m sad to see him go. That said, is having a well-spoken (albeit a little long-winded) and passionate advocate for Nashville in an influential community such as Harvard such a bad thing? Where it may hurt Nashville (and Tennessee) the most is in 2010, since Purcell is now unlikely to run for governor. Then again, if Purcell were to run, would Tennesseans really elect a former Nashville mayor as the state’s top official twice in a row?
![Rob Robinson](http://thinktrain.net/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/02/Rob.jpg")
Knowing When To Walk Away : Post Politics: Political News and Views in Tennessee said,
June 25, 2008 @ 4:04 pm
[...] Rob Robinson mourns the loss of Bill Purcell to the confines of Cambridge: As someone who took the good with the bad during Purcell’s tenure and thought the mayor served the city very well, I’m sad to see him go. That said, is having a well-spoken (albeit a little long-winded) and passionate advocate for Nashville in an influential community such as Harvard such a bad thing? Where it may hurt Nashville (and Tennessee) the most is in 2010, since Purcell is now unlikely to run for governor. Then again, if Purcell were to run, would Tennesseans really elect a former Nashville mayor as the state’s top official twice in a row? [...]