… 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.”

New District 24 Metro Council Member Jason Holleman participated in a small swearing-in ceremony yesterday prior to today’s inauguration ceremony. As usual, Jason and Margaret’s daughter Cecilia (above) stole the show.

It turns out that legendary Nashville restaurant Jimmy Kelly’s was the place to be late on election night last week–no matter which mayoral candidate you supported in the runoff. Major players for the Dean campaign gathered on the Louise Avenue establishment’s second floor for a private celebration around midnight, but they weren’t expecting to see some of their counterparts from Team Clement upon walking in the front door. Reportedly the brief exchanges between camps were civil and respectful, but there’s no word on whether longtime proprietor Mike Kelly knew in advance that he would welcome both sides of the mayoral race that evening. Maybe it wasn’t coincidence, or maybe Kelly really does know just about every single Nashvillian out there. We’ll have to keep wondering. [Photo: wcities.com]

Mayor-elect Karl Dean earned a lot of support during the campaign, in my opinion, for doing something that politicians often don’t: Being specific about solving problems, most notably improving public education and public safety. Today’s City Paper editorial makes this argument and points out that this task will be that much tougher because it will mean developing strong relationships with two of the Metro government’s more independent officials, Schools Director Dr. Pedro Garcia and Police Chief Ronal Serpas.

Dean’s foremost task in connecting all of these dots via public policy is to send a clear signal early in his administration about his confidence or lack thereof in the heads of both departments — Metro Schools Director Dr. Pedro Garcia and Police Chief Ronal Serpas. In a campaign season political stunt of sorts, Dean already figuratively put his arm around Serpas and said the chief was doing a good job by simply failing to echo criticisms of Serpas lodged by Dean opponent Bob Clement. Garcia remained a gray area during the campaign and still is one.

Dean’s first real job will be to send a decisive signal from the bully pulpit about where he stands on the leadership of both the police and schools. Without that signal, connecting the dots may be very difficult for Dean indeed.

Dean has admirably said that he wants to be held accountable for his performance, and some of his insiders have said that he has little political sense (which, as opposed to common sense, may be a plus for Nashville now that Dean is in office and not campaigning). I applaud Dean’s focus on public education and public safety because of their direct and tangible benefits for the community and for the indirect benefits (such as continued economic development) that this emphasis can bring, but, as the City Paper notes, Dean “has his work cut out for him.” In targeting two issues that draw an opinion and political agendas from nearly everyone, is Dean biting off more than he can chew?

I had to figure that on the beach, I was either going to get good news on election night, or at least I was still on the beach. It”s definitely better to get good news, and I”m definitely pleased with last night”s election results. It”s amazing how far technology has come that I can know the results of an election taking place more than 1,000 miles away within an hour of the polls closing by merely checking e-mail from a cell phone. Here are my thoughts about the election:

• I sincerely believe that Nashville will be better off four years from now with Karl Dean as mayor as opposed to Bob Clement.
• It”s apparent to me that despite Bill Purcell”s solid performance in office, he”s made some significant bridges the past two years, enough to generate legitimate voter concern that Dean is too similar and too closely connected to Purcell.I hope Dean will look to build stronger and more equitable relationships with the new Metro Council. We need leadership that is eager and willing to collaborate with others, even those whohold diverging points of view.
• Clement conceded awfully quickly last night, and despite his “I couldn”t be negative if I tried” nonsense, he was remarkably civil in defeat. I appreciate his willingness to respond that way to results that were surely a painful development for him.
• The At-Large ruoff results largely swung in favor of progressive newcomers, with Megan Barry and Jerry Maynard earning seats.  I”m concerned to see Charlie Tygard return to the council, but I”m pleased that J.B. Loring and Ronnie Greer did not make the cut.

After more than a year of following the mayoral race more closely than I ever have before, I”m relieved that the election is finally over. A new administration affords Nashville the opportunity to continue the successes that took place under Purcell”s leadership and to hopefully mend many of the fences that he may have left in disrepair the past couple of years. I hope Nashville and its freshly elected leaders can banish the rhetoric and can get on with making this city an even better place to live for everyone.

The City Paper reports on its own polling this week indicating that Nashville’s mayoral race is headed toward a photo finish. Pat Nolan, omnipresent throughout the months of forums that have showcased all of the candidates, shared his thoughts for the story:

“All the campaigns have been very careful for weeks to not be claiming victory and to say that this was a race that as best they could tell was indeed a dead heat, too close to call and within the margin for error. Now, obviously, each side would have said they had the slight advantage — which I think is possible even within what you’ve got …” Nolan said, adding, however, that the campaigns have indicated an undecided vote larger than 6 percent.

Because the CP poll queried likely voters for the runoff election, it is amazing to me that six weeks after the general election, there are still undecided voters who expect to cast a ballot today or next Tuesday. The race has–largely accurately–been described as dull by many observers, but the runoff campaign has featured more drama (such as it has been) than at any other time since all of the candidates declared. The two candidates seem to me to be very different, and each have their diverse flaws. How is it that people who pay attention, at least nominally, to local politics still don’t know who they want to be mayor?

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.

WRVR-FM The River’s Woody and Jim weren’t impressed by Saturday night’s mayoral debate. Bob Clement, whom the duo referred to as “Mr. Phony,” fared especially poorly in a brief discussion this morning. After airing an audio clip where Clement drew from familiar talking points about not caring where good ideas originate and his intention to focus on implementing such ideas, one of the DJs observed, “If you’re running for office, aren’t you supposed to be the one with the good ideas?”

Clement’s sound byte aired between a man-on-the-street clip discussing the freshly cancelled Anchorwoman TV show, one in which the speaker observed that the show’s star might be showing too much “cleavlage,” and audio footage of a recent beauty pageant contestant explaining that 20 percent of Americans can’t locate the U.S. on a map because they don’t have enough access to maps. Ouch.