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?

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.

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.

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]

… the more they stay the same? That’s a familiar axiom, but I hope it doesn’t ring true this time around. Nashville’s two most prominent elected officials, Mayor Karl Dean and Vice-Mayor Diane Neighbors, have ushered in new (and welcome) approaches regarding the Metro Council. Dean’s promise is to have a better working relationship with the city’s legislative body, and Neighbors’ is for shorter council meetings.

The Scene’s Jeff Woods labeled Neighbors’ early approach to running council meetings the “Best New Political Idea” in this week’s Best of Nashville issue:

“You don’t need to be sitting there for an hour-and-a-half of presentations on a public hearing night and not have yours to come up until 11:30,” says our new vice mayor, Diane Neighbors. She figures she can save time by asking council committees to tackle more of the vetting of proposed ordinances. And all those pointless memorializing resolutions? No need to take up time with those on Tuesday nights, Neighbors says.

Michael Cass reported on Dean’s initial efforts to reach out to the council last week:

Mayor Karl Dean went to the Metro Council chamber Tuesday to set a tone of cooperation with a group his predecessor was sometimes accused of neglecting. Speaking at the council’s first meeting of the new term, Dean said he would “look to you for guidance” as he tries to understand the needs of Nashville’s neighborhoods and build on the city’s recent momentum. I commit to working closely with each of you from the beginning,” the new mayor said in a brief speech. “My goal is to be accessible. While we may not agree on everything — and we shouldn’t — we should be able to sit down and talk about anything.”

I think both of these moves are welcome approaches that will promote responsible government, and I hope they continue. I think there’s a decent chance they will, but I’ll also be curious to see if they still pass muster six months from now. Here’s hoping they do.

Lisa Robbins makes a good point in this week’s Nashville Scene, the annual Best of Nashville issue, under the entry “Best Political Tragicomedy: Li’l Bob and The Blog Ranters:”

Take heed, future candidates. Send a memo to supporters: “If you wouldn’t shout it on a street corner holding one of my signs, don’t post it online!” It’s sad to watch a candidate flame out at the end of a long career playing the criminal-loving-tax-crazy-liberal-from-Massachusetts card. But the mangy dogs barking taunts in the background? You gotta laugh at that.

How much of a difference, either way, did the Clement commenters make in the overall election? Probably not that much, but judging from the generally representative vitriol that Robbins quoted in her piece, they can’t have helped Bob’s cause.

This raises interesting questions: How much can a candidate rein-in this kind of activity online? How long until one candidate resorts to having anonymous posters slamming himself or herself online, to make it appear that his opponent is the one slinging the digital dirt? [H/t to Sean for steering me to this week's Scene.]

“To the victors go the spoils,” or so said Tennessean Andrew Jackson centuries ago. Today, he might have said, “To the victors go the requests,” instead. Cronyism and political favors are thankfully not what they may have been in the past, but that hasn’t stopped local residents from expecting results in a hurry from their new public servants. One member of Karl Dean’s inner circle had been asked to take care of a speeding ticket and get someone appointed to a local board within a week of the election, before Dean was even officially mayor. (These requests were politely declined, I’m told.) Reportedly the new administration has received a minimum of 100 unsolicited resumes for employment as well.

Take a deep breath, Nashville, and let’s give our new mayor and Metro Council an opportunity to go to work before we bombard them with our every wish and whim.

Karl Dean addressed approximately 1,000 attendees around 12:30 p.m. on a beautiful and very hot day at Nashville’s Public Square Park. Here are a few highlights from his remarks:

• Dean thanked his predecessor, former Mayor Bill Purcell, and observed that Purcell nobly “did the right thing rather than the easy thing” more often than not.
• Citing an example of this approach, Dean observed that Public Square Park would not be in existence if not for Purcell’s hard work.
• Dean announced a town hall meeting on education to be held this coming Monday to begin efforts to improve Metro Nashville Public Schools, one of the core elements of his campaign platform.
• While observing that it was not a focal point of the campaign, Dean stated that regionalism and a move toward regional thinking for Nashville and its satellite cities would be a major priority during his time in office.
• The area’s concerns, particularly environmental issues, “don’t end at the county line,” he said.

Dean said that he was “personally and profoundly humbled” by the support he has received and by the responsibility he now bears. During one moment of silence, a jubilant audience member shouted, “I love you, Karl!” from the back of the crowd. Dean chuckled and replied, “I love you, too.”