Freddie O'Connell
10th Mayor of Metropolitan Nashville
Assumed office
September 25, 2023
Preceded byJohn Cooper
Member of the Nashville Metro Council
from the 19th district
In office
September 1, 2015 – September 1, 2023
Preceded byErica Gilmore
Succeeded byJacob Kupin
Personal details
Born
Thomas Frederick O'Connell

1976 or 1977 (age 46–47)
Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic[lower-alpha 1]
SpouseWhitney Boon
Children2
EducationBrown University (BA)

Thomas Frederick O'Connell (born 1976/1977)[2][3][4] is an American politician who is mayor of Metropolitan Nashville. From 2015 to 2023, he served as a member of the Nashville Metro Council from the 19th district.

Early life and career

O'Connell was born in Nashville, Tennessee, to Beatrice, a retired teacher, and Tim, a federal civil servant and part-time songwriter.[5] He graduated from Montgomery Bell Academy in 1995 and earned a bachelor's degree from Brown University in 2000.[6][7] He is of Jewish descent through one of his grandparents.[8]

O'Connell began his career in software and technology, working for startups and publicly traded companies. He was also president of the Salemtown Neighbors Neighborhood Association.[9] From 2005 until 2010, he co-hosted a political talk show on WRVU, the Vanderbilt University student radio station.[10]

Political career

In 2002, O'Connell ran as an Independent against future Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives Beth Harwell.[10]

O'Connell has served as a board member and chair of the board for the Nashville Metropolitan Transit Authority.[10] While municipal elections in Nashville are officially nonpartisan, O'Connell is a Democrat.[11]

In 2015, O'Connell ran for the Nashville Metro Council in the 19th district, receiving 54 percent of the vote during the August 6 election.[12] In 2019, he ran for reelection unopposed.[10]

O'Connell after being declared the winner in the first round of the 2023 Nashville mayoral election

In April 2022, O'Connell announced that he would run for mayor of Nashville in the 2023 Nashville mayoral election.[13] In the first round of voting, O'Connell led all candidates with 27.2% of the vote.[14] He defeated Alice Rolli in the runoff on September 14, 2023, winning 64% of the vote.[15] He was sworn into office on September 25.[16]

Personal life

O'Connell lives in the Salemtown neighborhood of Nashville with his partner Whitney Boon, a neurologist at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt. They have two children.[5]

Electoral history

Tennessee's 56th state house district General Election, 2002[17]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Beth Harwell 17,424 66.9
Democratic Shannon Wood 7,152 27.5
Independent Thomas F. O'Connell 1,471 5.6
Total votes 26,047 100.0
Republican hold
2015 Nashville Metro Council Election, District 19[18]
Candidate Votes  %
Freddie O'Connell 900 54.3
Amanda Harrison 322 19.4
Keith Caldwell 237 14.3
Bill Shick 190 11.5
Write-in 8 0.5
Total votes 1,657 100
2019 Nashville Metro Council Election, District 19[19]
Candidate Votes  %
Freddie O'Connell 1,709 96.6
Write-in 61 3.4
Total votes 1,770 100
2023 Nashville mayoral election (first round)[20]
Candidate Votes  %
Freddie O'Connell 27,470 27.2
Alice Rolli 20,458 20.2
Matthew Wiltshire 17,186 17.0
Jeff Yarbro 12,343 12.2
Heidi Campbell 8,330 8.2
Sharon Hurt 6,100 6.0
Vivian Willhoite 4,754 4.7
Jim Gingrich 1,668 1.6
Natisha Brooks 1,455 1.4
Stephanie Johnson 577 0.6
Fran Bush 503 0.5
Bernie Cox 321 0.3
Write-in 80 0.1
Total votes 101,245 100
2023 Nashville mayoral election (runoff)[21]
Candidate Votes  %
Freddie O'Connell 72,932 63.8
Alice Rolli 41,171 36.0
Write-in 123 0.1
Total votes 114,226 100

Notes

  1. ↑ Tennessee Code 2-13-208 requires all municipal elections and their respective offices to be nonpartisan.[1]

References

  1. ↑ "Tennessee Code 2-13-208 – Municipal elections to be nonpartisan". LawServer.com. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  2. ↑ "Freddie O'Connell elected Nashville mayor - Axios Nashville".
  3. ↑ Montgomery Bell Academy 1993. Montgomery Bell Academy. p. 149. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
  4. ↑ "Is there enough grassroots support to build on our transit successes?". Nashville Post. September 12, 2023. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
  5. 1 2 Plazas, David (2023-05-24). "Meet Freddie O'Connell, candidate for Nashville mayor". The Tennessean. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  6. ↑ "Freddie O'Connell". BallotReady. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
  7. ↑ https://tennesseelookout.com/2023/09/18/a-bloody-clipboard-and-biodiesel-car-the-story-behind-freddie-oconnells-rise-to-nashville-mayor/
  8. ↑ https://twitter.com/freddieoconnell/status/1057289849902907393
  9. ↑ "Freddie O'Connell". Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Friedman, Adam (September 18, 2023). "A bloody clipboard and biodiesel car: The story behind Freddie O'Connell's rise to Nashville mayor". Tennessee Lookout. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
  11. ↑ Plazas, David (June 22, 2023). "Struggling to pick a Nashville mayoral candidate? This scorecard might help". The Tennessean. Nashville. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  12. ↑ Wilemon, Tom (August 6, 2015). "Freddie O'Connell wins without runoff in District 19". The Tennessean. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
  13. ↑ Stephenson, Cassandra. "Council member Freddie O'Connell announces 2023 bid for Nashville mayor". The Tennessean.
  14. ↑ "Freddie O'Connell, Alice Rolli secure spot in Nashville mayoral runoff". August 4, 2023.
  15. ↑ Elliott, Stephen (September 14, 2023). "Freddie O'Connell Wins Mayoral Race, Besting Alice Rolli". Nashville Scene.
  16. ↑ "'Get right to work': Freddie O'Connell sworn in as Metro Nashville's 10th mayor". The Tennessean.
  17. ↑ "November 5, 2002 General Election" (PDF). Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  18. ↑ "August 6, 2015 Election Results (Certified)". Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
  19. ↑ "August 1, 2019 Election Results (Certified)". Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
  20. ↑ "August 3, 2023 Election Results (Unofficial)". Nashville Election Commission. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
  21. ↑ "September 14, 2023 Election Results (Unofficial)". Retrieved September 14, 2023.
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