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.

This endorsement is certainly good news for Karl Dean, but how much will it help?

Twenty-seven African-American ministers endorsed Karl Dean for mayor of Nashville at an event today. The preachers put their support behind Dean, a former Metro law director and Davidson County public defender, during a reception at Harper’s restaurant on Jefferson Street. State Sen. Thelma Harper, whose husband runs the restaurant, also attended the event, as did retired Tennessee Supreme Court Justice A.A. Birch Jr., who recently made a TV ad endorsing Dean.

What percentage of African-American voters will turn out now that Howard Gentry is not on the ballot? Will it decrease, as some expect, or will these voters return to the polls to make informed choices in the runoff? Among a population where churches matter as community organizations even more than they do among society at large, how much of an impact will this support for Dean make?

As Sean and others have observed, as many as 100 local African-American ministers had previously endorsed Gentry. Do the other ministers plan to make endorsements, or did they decline to endorse Dean? Twenty-seven is a significant number, but I’m still wondering exactly how significant.

At least one former candidate in the Nashville mayor’s race is making an endorsement: Kenneth Eaton.

We Support Bob Clement As Our Next Mayor! Check Back soon for a full Site Update, as Well as a letter of Support from Mr. Eaton. Karl Dean Does not have the Experience to run this city. Karl Dean Is a Continuation of the Purcell Administration. Bob Clement Is the Change Nashville Needs!

Buck Dozier followed the odd tradition of politicians referring to themselves in the third person earlier this week, and Eaton has taken it one step further by opting for the second person “we.” Both Clement and Dean have understandably coveted endorsements that don’t appear to be coming from Dozier, David Briley, and Howard Gentry. Is this an endorsement that Clement wants, though?

I’ve read the phrase a “continuation of the Purcell administration” a few times lately in a negative light. Is following in Purcell’s footsteps a bad thing? Some Nashvillians, and they’re not all in Eaton’s camp, would say yes.

Why would any politician endorse an opponent in a runoff election? One of the questions on many area political watchers’ minds since Nashville’s mayoral election has been whether any of the also-rans will publicly lend their support to either of the “finalists.”

I’d definitely like to know whom each of the former candidates will vote for, but now that Buck Dozier is off the fence about staying on the fence, it isn’t likely to happen. I’m having a hard time coming up with reasons why a candidate should make an endorsement, but I can think of plenty why it’s not a good idea to pick a side once the battle lines have been redrawn:

• Making enemies: Picking one candidate over another might come back to haunt you, especially if you pick the losing candidate. Why would Briley, Dozier or Gentry want to gamble their influence in the next administration on the razor-thin margin of a few hundred votes?
• Alienating your base: How happy would most of Briley’s camp have been to see him endorse Bob Clement? How happy would most of Dozier’s voters have been to see him endorse Karl Dean?
• Swallowing a bitter pill: It’s a rough transition to go from trying to take votes away from an opponent to publicly asking voters to give him more.
• Impropriety: Everyone will wonder what it took, if anything, to”earn” an also-ran’s endorsement. It might be easier to revisit your own agenda down the line if you haven’t made it look like someone’s just returning a much-needed favor.

The reasons I see for making an endorsement, at least in this race, are three: One, you’re convinced one candidate is significantly worse than the other to the extent that it would hurt the city if that candidate won the runoff; two, you want a job in the next administration and don’t mind the potential backlash from such a political pick-and-roll; and three, you’re absolutely not running for anything again and don’t care what anyone else thinks about what you do. Endorsing one candidate over another in such a close race is risking something else: your own political future.

After a low voter turnout and what many have characterized as a dull mayoral race, Nashvillians were treated to an amazingly close finish and indications of a potentially nasty runoff election to come, at least from one candidate. The stories of the night, in my opinion, were the emergence of “Angry Bob” and the excellent campaign run, despite a narrow defeat, by Howard Gentry.

Other local bloggers have already pointed out what also seemed apparent to me: The one old-school career politician in the race, Bob Clement, quickly going on the offensive against opponent Karl Dean. On the one hand, it is certainly interesting to see a clearer distinction between the candidates emerging after so many bland forums this summer, but at the same time, is this kind of politicking where we want Nashville to go under the next administration? In my opinion, absolutely not, and I have confidence that the electorate will feel the same way come mid-September. I thought Sean Braisted’s remarks were right on the mark:

It’s quite amazing to see Desperate Bob, minutes after finding out he didn’t win the top spot, go so negative, so quickly…

Now, Bob may not like all the legal mumbo jumbo that caused Dean’s legal department to come to the conclusion that it did, and he can certainly lobby the State to change the laws, but lil’ Bob’s pandering on the issue is just indicative of the administration he will run. Not one based on reason or logic, but on saying whatever the hell he thinks will get him the most votes. Do we really want to move away from the steady leadership of Purcell and Bredesen to the populist pandering of Bob Clement? I sure as hell hope not.

S-Town Mike observed much the same:

That was one angry Bob Clement giving his speech tonight after finishing a close second (24%)–which seems akin to finishing last for a popular former U.S. Representative from one of Tennessee’s renowned political families having a hugely financed campaign–to Karl Dean (24%). I’m not sure whether he was just following a handler’s advice to be more passionate, but “Angry Bob” embraced the anti-immigration mantle and said something to the effect that Nashville should claim its “Manifest Destiny.” Was he saying that Nashvillians have some kind of divine right to expand and acquire new territories? Should Texans (or maybe just Belle Meadeans) worry?

Despite what promises to be an intriguing runoff, I agree with Clint Brewer that Gentry’s strong showing that had him ever-so-close to the runoff spoke volumes about his campaign:

Perhaps the story of the evening was a losing candidate - Gentry. He conceded early in the evening despite coming within only a handful of votes  of overtaking Clement. Clearly, Gentry was a lot stronger than either of the two winning campaigns in phase one or the majority of the local press thought. Imagine if he had only been better funded what could have happened. Given his showing with literally a fraction of the resources of Clement and Dean, given an equal campaign coffer Gentry might have gotten into the mid 30% range. Hopefully, he will be back.

I sure hope so, too, and I’m convinced that Nashville would have been better off with a Dean-Gentry runoff. Instead of what would likely have been a civil and engaging debate about where Nashville is headed and how we as a city can keep heading in the right direction, it looks like we may be treated–or tortured–with Angry Bob and his familiar, tired refrain against a reasonable and practical approach from Karl Dean. If nothing else, I expect that the stark contrast between these two candidates and their operating models will be hard to miss, and I trust that Nashvillians will have the wisdom to make the best choice for the city.

Today’s weather forecast (above by the hour) is right out of Election Commission Administrator Ray Barrett’s dreams: sunny with a very low chance of rain. That means that the will of the electorate (at least one-third of it) and GOTV efforts by the individual campaigns should be well served today.

Whom does the weather benefit most? I’ve read plenty of theories about this over the years. The ones that stand out in my memory are that minority populations and casual/undecided voters may be more likely to vote when the weather is accommodating. That could benefit Howard Gentry and Karl Dean, who have both gained momentum of late. As Roger Abramson observed yesterday, late momentum tends to draw the attention of voters who are not as immersed in the day-to-day happenings of the race. Supporters of David Briley have maintained for weeks that Briley’s strong grassroots efforts will pay dividends in a strong and perhaps surprising turnout in his favor today, so the good forecast may benefit him as well. This is debatable, but I’ve also heard it said that lower turnouts in this race might benefit candidates such as Buck Dozier, who has a solid but modest base of Church of Christ voters. A higher turnout may hurt or help Bob Clement depending on whether name recognition is more or less significant when more voters head to the polls. I can see reasonable arguments in both directions.

The best news is that we all can stop speculating, at least until tomorrow, for an hour or two tonight once the results come in. If you haven’t made it to the polls yet, stop procrastinating and cast your ballot.

I had two initial reactions when reading the City Paper’s endorsements of Karl Dean and Howard Gentry for what is expected to be a runoff in Nashville’s mayoral race: One, is this a cop out not to pick a single candidate for mayor? Two, is this a wise, genuine and refreshingly candid move by the paper?

The City Paper recommends Nashvillians cast their votes for either Dean or Gentry, sending both men to an anticipated run-off where the future of our city can be debated in a civil, meaningful way between two public servants who have shown they know how to lead and understand Nashville.

I settled on the latter. There’s nothing wrong with making a traditional endorsement, but in a race where it has been tough for many voters to get to know five strong candidates, this is a great move. Instead of bestowing an endorsement on one candidate when a runoff is almost sure to follow, why not endorse two well-qualified leaders and let them keep working to make their cases for mayor if they make the cut on Election Day?

Aside: It’s also refreshing to see the CP endorse two opponents of another candidate whose banner ads on the CP site have been ubiquitous for weeks. Advertising and editorial should stay independent of each other, and they certainly have in this case. To be fair, I wouldn’t necessarily frown on a paper endorsing a candidate who happens to run ads in its publication, but with these endorsements from the CP, it’s clear the paper is not letting its margins detract from its mission. That should be applauded.

How’s this for a pun: “Karl racks up newspaper endorsements” [emphasis added]. It may draw a groan or two, but Dean is the one who’s laughing right now. The city’s three major newspapers have endorsed him for the city’s top job (though it should be noted that the City Paper co-endorsed opponent Howard Gentry). After running TV commercials in heavy rotations without appearing to make much of a dent in Bob Clement’s lead in the race, Dean has clearly gained momentum in recent weeks.

Howard Gentry, who placed in a virtual tie for the lead in the City Paper poll documented in today’s edition, just fired off a missive in regard to the survey results:

MOMENTUM CONTINUES BUILDING FOR THE ONLY POLL THAT MATTERS…

Our campaign knows the only poll that matters is on election day. Still, we thought you might want to see this new City Paper/SurveyUSA independent poll that shows Howard in a statistical tie for the top spot going into the August 2nd election. Howard’s unifying message of building Nashville by building its people is resonating with folks across the city.

Gentry’s camp is right to agree with Clement spokesperson Ben Hall’s reference to the political truism that only elections, rather than polls, matter in a campaign. If a poll demonstrates a positive for you, though, then by all means BELIEVE!

I learned two things this morning from reading about the City Paper’s recently conducted mayoral poll: One, the mayoral race is very much in play for at least four candidates, though it may be headed toward a Bob Clement-Karl Dean runoff. Two, a poll is only valid if you like the results it generates. Well, at least that’s what seems to happen every time one is released:

“You can do these polls any way you want to — unscientific and random polls are of little concern to me and my campaign,” [Buck] Dozier said. “We are going after the likely voters who vote in this kind of election — not just people who are registered,” he said.

[David] Briley’s campaign said the race is far from clinched. “Our internal polling continues to show that this is a wide open race. We believe this race will be won on the ground,” said spokeswoman Emily Passini.

In a race where five candidates have significant support, I think there is an element of truth in both Dozier’s and Passini’s comments. I definitely see scenarios where Dozier and Briley can make the runoff. At the same time, though, what else can you say when you are trailing in a poll a week before Election Day except that the poll isn’t accurate?

This may be the first time during the campaign, but I definitely agree with Ben Hall on one thing: “While not directly addressing the poll, Clement spokesman Ben Hall said, ‘The only poll that matters is the one on election day.’” Is anyone else ready to stop pontificating and see how it turns out?

I’ll admit that I know very little about District Attorney Torry Johnson beyond the fact that he spent considerable time last year pondering–and then declining–a run at the city’s top office. Reportedly, he was the business community’s top choice and, at least in the media, appeared to be emerging as the insider’s favorite for the job. Compared with what was at the time an underwhelming three-candidate field (Clement, Dozier and Gentry) that was not inspiring much excitement among the electorate, Johnson looked like a safe bet to serve as Nashville’s next mayor.

Since that time, progressive candidates David Briley and Karl Dean have entered the race and, according to several polls, rank fourth and fifth among the candidates behind, among others, apparent frontrunner Bob Clement. There has been plenty of speculation that either Briley or Dean ought to leave the race to allow the other an opportunity to make what is expected to be a runoff against Clement.

Did Johnson’s ambivalence about running create the Briley-Dean quagmire that may scuttle both campaigns and result in Clement, whom many regard as an undesirable candidate, landing in the mayor’s office?

From what I have read, I do have the impression that Johnson is a person of integrity who after some legitimate soul searching decided that the timing wasn’t right for him to hit the campaign trail. Nonetheless, the timing of his decision may have a dramatic impact–for worse or for better–on the next several years of Nashville’s future.

Kroger may need to ban David Briley, Karl Dean and Howard Gentry from shopping at its stores, because all three of them have large full-color ads in Out and About’s current issue.

I’m proud of all three of those candidates for aiming to represent all of Nashville if elected to serve as mayor. Kroger will have to make a judgment call about Bob Clement, on the other hand, who is featured on pages 12 and 14 waffling about his stance on domestic partner benefits for gay city employees.