For anyone out there compiling a list of things that former Mayor Bill Purcell did not have to worry about (that Mayor Karl Dean now does), here’s one for the stack. A local twitterer says Dean broke out a dead fish of a handshake recently:

Just got back from PRSA meeting where the guest speaker was the mayor. Must say he did not have a very firm handshake. 

Thank goodness this news didn’t break on the campaign trail last year.

I am pleased, at long last, to report that BobClement.com is officially blank. The wide-open directory of the former campaign Web site that lingered for months is finally history. The directory has been replaced with an empty HTML page, which seems like a fine solution to me.

While we’re on the subject of mayoral candidate Web sites, Karl Dean now has a simple, clean site interface to reflect his new status as Nashville’s mayor.

Mayor Dean and his administration are looking out for the city and for Preds fans. I applaud them for sticking to their guns about the lease terms negotiated late last year.

The lenders want to be able to assign the lease to new owners if the current owners fail financially and the lenders have to foreclose on the loan. Metro attorneys have resisted that request because they don’t want a third party to have that power, but they’ve made an alternate proposal to the lenders’ attorneys and are waiting for a response.

Allowing lenders this authority could put the Preds’ future here in serious jeopardy over the long haul. Who’s to say that “new owners” might not be Jim Balsillie or another prospective owner set on relocating the team?

Former Nashville Mayor Bill Purcell, now working out of an office at Tennessee State University’s Avon Williams downtown campus, didn’t hear good news about the U.S. economy during his time at Harvard University last fall. I had the opportunity to hear Purcell’s account of that news earlier today.

According to Purcell, Harvard President Larry Summers expects that the economy will “bottom out” in October and that the forecast for the future looks a lot more like 1991 than 2001. The recession in 2001 was rough, but 1991 was worse. Summers told a group of new mayors, including Nashville’s Karl Dean, that it would be “two years before you can do anything significant” because of the forthcoming economic stagnation.

While in Massachusetts, Purcell also heard economic historian Niall Ferguson say that the economy looks like 1930, the beginning of the Great Depression, most of all. Unlike in prior lean economic times, though, Ferguson expects that the third world (especially China and the Middle East) will sustain the first world (rather than the other way around). Ferguson anticipates a “fire sale” of U.S. assets because of the dollar’s low value. It may not be a depression we’re headed toward, but it could be a bumpy road.

Nashville’s former mayor won re-election in a 2003 landslide and was widely hailed for his focus on neighborhoods and his smart and pragmatic approach to government. Purcell also received high marks for his eloquence, particularly in describing the city of Nashville in front of audiences local and elsewhere.

Despite these and many other accolades and accomplishments, another take on Purcell has been emerging since the runoff election that made Karl Dean his successor. Yesterday, the City Paper’s Richard Lawson reported on the business community’s “love-hate relationship” with the mayor and Purcell’s habit for “slow-walking” initiatives he didn’t support. The Sounds downtown stadium deal and plans for a new convention center are high-profile examples.

Outgoing Predators owner Craig Leipold was quoted in The Tennessean over the weekend praising Dean for his work in negotiations with David Freeman’s ownership group. I don’t think I’m assuming too much in saying that the following quote speaks volumes about Leipold’s opinions on Dean and on his predecessor: “It’s so exciting to have a mayor that understands the value this team has for Nashville. I was very impressed with his commitment to make it work.”

Privately, I’ve heard one insider discuss the major shift in leadership style that is taking place as Dean begins to make the mayor’s office his own. No one’s sure who knows how to manage a department, the source said, because none of the managers have been allowed to manage in eight years. Everything has been controlled centrally. It all had to come through the mayor’s office. The insider also mentioned that some council members were enthusiastic to have the new mayor meet individually and cordially with them after “having been ignored” for years.

Only time will tell how history regards Nashville’s most recent former mayor. There’s no risk here of another Bill Boner emerging from the aftermath that’s under way, but when the dust finally settles, what will the conventional wisdom look like on the space between the Bredesen and Dean administrations?

Governor Phil Bredesen, who gave most of the limelight to first lady Andrea Conte today, spoke briefly at the Preds rally. He thanked the key players and, most significantly, lauded praise on new Mayor Karl Dean and his efforts negotiating with the new ownership group.

“You really have done a great job with this,” Bredesen said. “It would have been easy for a newly elected mayor to offer verbal support and not much else.” Bredesen went on to say that negotiations such as these are “difficult technically and politically” and thanked Dean for his willingness to step up and get a deal done. “It’s an honor to be here with you today,” he said. “I’m a fan.”

It’s remarkable to observe this sincere goodwill from Bredesen, who many have speculated did not get along with former Mayor Bill Purcell. Bredesen’s show of favor on Dean, who now at long last has breathing room to start the rest of his term, can’t hurt as he turns his attention to the rest of his agenda.

Mayor Karl Dean (above) was center stage today for a news conference/rally to officially acknowledge the agreement between the mayor’s office and the prospective ownership group led by David Freeman. Dean recognized the ownership group, his staff, Our Team Nashville and many others for their efforts to help the team remain in Nashville.

Dean emphasized that he and his administration did the best they could to balance the team’s need for lease changes with the interests of local taxpayers. He thanked the ownership group for their positive response to the city’s “best and final” offer.

The mayor also said that, with the agreement signed, the “bottom line” for the team to “stay forever” is more support. “The fans control the destiny of the team,” he said. Dean and others referred to this as the city’s “second chance” to support the NHL on the local level.

WGFX-FM’s George Plaster, who served as emcee for the brief remarks, echoed Dean’s comments. He said, “Let’s never need a second chance again.” I agree.

I thought the familiar Sommet Center cheer (above) deserved a slight modification this afternoon. After two months of back and forth negotiations that served as excruciating theater for Preds fans, the city and the prospective ownership group announced today that they have a deal. David Freema’s statement included the following words that had to sound good for a host of hockey fans in Middle Tennessee:

“Our group wishes to thank the fans for their continued support, patience and enthusiasm for Predators hockey. This club has been playing great hockey this month. The Preds are undefeated in their last seven games and have climbed into fourth place in the Western Conference.

“We hope that we can simply play our own small role in the long term of success and prosperity of the Predators hockey club and the City of Nashville. Thank you for allowing us to be a part of this experience.”

There are hurdles left to clear, including Sports Authority, Metro Council and NHL approval, but I think the outlook for the transaction is looking bright at this point. If nothing else, as I told a few people back in September, once a deal emerges from the thorough hands of Mayor Dean and his administration, it will be as thoughtful and as practical a deal as it can be. I’ve said before that Dean impresses me as practical and reasonable above all else, and I think his handiwork here is poised to serve the city and its hockey franchise well for years to come.

Thank you, Craig Leipold, for extending yesterday’s ownership deadline. This gives the city and the local buyers the opportunity to do the right deal for both parties, not just a deal that is right before the deadline.

Thank you, Mayor Dean, for being thorough in this tough task of negotiating and doing your best to create a partnership that works for the Preds and for Nashville.

Thank you, David Freeman and company, for stepping up to keep the Preds in town and for innovating when it comes to ways to make “Our Team” successful right here in town.

If everything is going according to schedule, Mayor Karl Dean is speaking to the city’s movers and shakers right now at the Nashville Rotary Club. This Sunday will mark one month in office for the mayor, and there’s been plenty of activity to keep him busy during that time: School zoning reorganization discussions, high profile incidences of juvenile violence and negotiations with the prospective Preds ownership group, to name a few.

According to the calendar in today’s Tennessean, Dean is planning to talk about his first month in office and his early actions as mayor. I’m eager to see where all of the items I’ve mentioned above are ultimately headed, but so far Dean has clearly seemed engaged, active and willing to listen. He’s remembering his campaign platform by holding a series of town hall meetings on education and doing his best to get up to full speed quickly.

What’s your take on Dean now that he’s settling in as mayor? Is he off to a good start, still coasting through a honeymoon period or on the right track? Let me know your take in the comments. [Image: Nashville.gov]

• To Jim Balsillie: Thanks, but no thanks (not that you asked me). I don’t believe your sudden faith in Nashville as a hockey market, and I still think you’ll look for the first opportunity you can to shift the Preds to Ontario.
• How much is Balsillie offering (while not offering during an exclusive negotiating period, of course) for the team now? If it’s close to the David Freeman group’s offer of $193 million, that frees up more than $40 million of Balsillie’s original offer to pay the way out of town in the future. That’s all or at least a large chunk of the $25 to $75 million Balsillie is promising as an exit fee paid to the city for the Preds’ departure.
• Is this offer remotely serious, or is Balsillie reappearing at the perfect time to add pressure to the “still-making progress” negotiations between the city and the Freeman Group? This is sheer speculation, but would Balsillie’s leverage to keep the Preds in town give him a leg up with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman for an expansion franchise down the road?
• What does Bo Roberts, fresh from the Howard Gentry and Dean campaign camps, know that the rest of us don’t? I respect Bo, but I am seriously questioning why he has aligned with an offer and a potential owner that are at the least very suspicious.

• Are the Preds a better team without Paul Kariya on their roster? I think they’ll post fewer points during the regular season, but they may be a tougher test in the playoffs with their current lineup. Yes, I think they’ll make the playoffs.
• How much “progress” can you make without getting a deal done? Mayor Karl Dean and the prospective Preds ownership group are still negotiating. This is beginning to seem like getting a penalty when the football is spotted half-a-foot from the goal line. Wait, wrong sport …
• Speaking of progress, I hope this minority hiring initiative makes it from blueprint to contract someday, unlike prior efforts.
• I like the new Chamber of Commerce logo. The old one never really excited me.
• The Cahal shooting is horrible. My thoughts go out to the victim’s family. This tragedy is an exclamation point on the sentence the mayoral race started about needing to reduce juvenile crime.
• Looking beyond the Harry Potter influences, this student grouping at Harding Academy makes a lot of sense to me. All of our kids could use more mentoring and guidance to become leaders and responsible citizens.