Clifton David Briley (born January 8, 1964) is an American politician. A Democrat, he was the eighth mayor of Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County. He was elected in 2015 as

vice-mayor The deputy mayor (also known as vice mayor, assistant mayor, or mayor ''pro tem'') is an elective or appointive office of the second-ranking official that is present in many, but not all, local governments. Duties and functions Many elected depu ...

and was sworn in as

acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor or actress who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a broad r ...

mayor after Megan Barry's resignation on March 6, 2018. Briley went on to win the May 24 special election for the balance of Barry's term with 55% of the vote over nearly a dozen challengers, avoiding a

runoff Runoff, run-off or RUNOFF may refer to: * RUNOFF, the first computer text-formatting program * Runoff or run-off, another name for bleed, printing that lies beyond the edges to which a printed sheet is trimmed * Runoff or run-off, a stock marke ...

and making him the official mayor of Nashville. John Cooper defeated Briley in the 2019 Nashville mayoral election. Briley was the first native of both Nashville and Tennessee since Bill Boner in 1991 to be mayor.

Education

Briley is a lifelong Nashvillian, and his grandfather was the first elected mayor of Metropolitan Nashville. His early education included Glendale Elementary School, Lipscomb Middle School, and Montgomery Bell Academy. Briley earned a bachelor's degree from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private research university in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll in 1789 as Georgetown College, the university has grown to comprise eleven undergraduate and graduate ...

in 1987 before traveling to

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived ...

where he volunteered as a teacher of English. He completed his JD at

Golden Gate University Golden Gate University (GGU or Golden Gate) is a private university in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1901, GGU specializes in educating professionals through its schools of law, business, taxation, and accounting. The university offers ...

in 1995 and received honors for administrative and

environmental law Environmental law is a collective term encompassing aspects of the law that provide protection to the environment. A related but distinct set of regulatory regimes, now strongly influenced by environmental Legal doctrine, legal principles, focu ...

Political career

Briley was elected to serve as an At Large Metro Councilman for Davidson County from 1999 to 2007. He was the Vice-Chair of the Budget and Finance Committee and held seats on the Personnel, Public Information, Human Relations and Housing Committee, the Traffic and Parking Committee and the Greenways Committee. He was past Chair of the Ad Hoc Committee on Solid Waste and the Water Rate Oversight Committee. Briley was voted Best Council Member by the ''

Nashville Scene ''Nashville Scene'' is an alternative newsweekly in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1989, became a part of Village Voice Media in 1999, and later joined the ranks of sixteen other publications after a merger of Village Voice Media with ...

'' in 2001, 2002 and 2006 and was spotlighted as one of "40 under 40" by '' Business Nashville'' magazine in June 2000. In November 2006, Briley announced his candidacy for

Mayor of Nashville The Mayor of Nashville is the chief executive of Nashville Tennessee's government. The current mayor is John Cooper, a member of the Democratic party. Each mayor serves a term of four years, with a limit of two terms, unless this is interrupt ...

. His campaign included a number of familiar political faces, including Will Cheek Jr., member of the

Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the governing body of the United States Democratic Party. The committee coordinates strategy to support Democratic Party candidates throughout the country for local, state, and national office, as well ...

and former chair of the

Tennessee Democratic Party The Tennessee Democratic Party (TNDP) is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in Tennessee. The party was founded in 1826 and is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. The Tennessee Democratic Party began alongside President Andrew Jack ...

, and his son, Will Cheek III, an attorney at the firm of Bone McAllester Norton. Jerry Martin, who served at Finance Director under

Congressman A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...

Jim Cooper in 2002, chaired the campaign's finance committee. Emily Passini was campaign manager; Drew Stanieuski was deputy campaign manager. Sarah Lingo was finance director and Alex Youn was director of field operations. Briley finished fifth in the August 2007 election and returned to private life. In 2015, Briley was elected

Vice Mayor The deputy mayor (also known as vice mayor, assistant mayor, or mayor ''pro tem'') is an elective or appointive office of the second-ranking official that is present in many, but not all, local governments. Duties and functions Many elected depu ...

of Nashville. On March 6, 2018, Mayor Megan Barry resigned her position after pleading guilty to felony theft in a

plea bargain A plea bargain (also plea agreement or plea deal) is an agreement in criminal law proceedings, whereby the prosecutor provides a concession to the defendant in exchange for a plea of guilt or ''nolo contendere.'' This may mean that the defendant ...

regarding improper use of public funds for travel expenses and an affair with the head of her security, leaving the Vice Mayor to fill the position. Briley was sworn in as acting mayor of Metro Nashville. Within a week of his acceding to the office, Briley announced both his intent to run for the remaining year of Barry's term in the Nashville mayoral election, which was initially set for August 2, 2018 by the Davidson County Election Commission, but subsequently moved to May 2018 after a lawsuit filed by opponents was successful, and a plan to demolish the abandoned Herschel Greer Stadium, former home of the

Nashville Sounds The Nashville Sounds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Nashville, Tennessee, and are named for the city's association with the music indus ...

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in No ...

baseball team. Greer Stadium was on the grounds of

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

Fort Negley Fort Negley was a fortification built by Union troops after the capture of Nashville, Tennessee during the American Civil War, located approximately south of the city center. It was the largest inland fort built in the United States during the ...

, and Briley announced a plan to leave the area as undeveloped, natural park space, in part out of respect to the many

slaves Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

and former slaves who worked on the construction of Fort Negley, several of whom died in the process and whose remains are buried on the grounds. Briley also continued the mayor's office's support of the

Let's Move Nashville Let's Move Nashville was a local referendum in Nashville, Tennessee, on May 1, 2018, that would have funded the construction of a mass transit system under the Nashville Metropolitan Transit Authority in Davidson County. The $8.9 billion pla ...

transit referendum, signing a "Declaration of Transportation Independence" on April 2. Briley's support seemingly meant little to the transit referendum, which was defeated by over a three-to-two majority on May 1, 2018, but apparently his support did little to dampen his personal popularity, as he was elected by an absolute majority to the balance of Berry's unexpired term in a special election only three weeks later over a dozen opponents, all of whom had expressed opposition to the transit initiative. Briley campaigned for re-election as Mayor of Metropolitan Nashville in the 2019 Nashville mayoral election. In the election's first round, John Cooper led Briley 35% to 25% as both advanced to a runoff election in the 10-candidate race, followed by Vanderbilt University professor

Carol M. Swain Carol Miller Swain (born March 7, 1954) is a retired professor of political science and law at Vanderbilt University. A frequent television analyst, she is the author and editor of several books. Her interests include race relations, immigrat ...

and Tennessee House of Representatives member

John Ray Clemmons John Ray Clemmons (born July 14, 1977) is an American politician from the state of Tennessee. A member of the Democratic Party, he serves in the Tennessee House of Representatives, representing the 55th district, in West Nashville. Early l ...

. In the runoff, Briley was defeated by Cooper by approximately 70% to 30%. Cooper then succeeded Briley as Mayor of Nashville when he was sworn in on September 28, 2019.

Contributions

In 2005, Briley proposed citywide wireless Internet access for Nashville. Received coolly by the administration, Briley's proposal nonetheless contributed to the development of free wireless access at Davidson County's public libraries as well as many public parks, including Centennial Park. A task force, led by Briley and including council members and representatives from technology and infrastructure providers, ultimately supported this narrower public access. In 2006, Briley was one of a small number of vocal opponents to proposed development which would have moved the city's AAA baseball team, the Nashville Sounds, into downtown Nashville. This proposed development, adjacent to Nashville's Riverfront Park along the

Cumberland River The Cumberland River is a major waterway of the Southern United States. The U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 8, 2011 river drains almost of southern Kentucky and ...

, was eventually cancelled and later replaced by a plan for a new stadium located slightly north of downtown Nashville,

First Tennessee Park First Horizon Park, formerly known as First Tennessee Park, is a baseball park in downtown Nashville, Tennessee, United States. The home of the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A Nashville Sounds of the International League, it opened on April 17, ...

. In 2007, Briley wrote legislation requiring government buildings in Nashville to be built within

LEED Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating systems for the design, construction ...

certification requirements.

Personal life

Briley is married to Jodie Bell and has one son. He is the grandson of Beverly Briley, first mayor of the combined Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County. His brother,

Rob Briley Rob Briley (born October 15, 1966, Nashville, Tennessee, United States) is an American politician and a Democratic former member of the Tennessee House of Representatives for the 52nd district, which is part of Davidson County. He is the brothe ...

, has previously served as a Tennessee State Representative for the 52nd District. Briley has been a practicing lawyer and was a member of Bone McAllester Norton PLLC prior to becoming mayor and having to wind up his legal practice; unlike his former position of vice mayor, being Mayor of Nashville is a full-time occupation. After his defeat for a full term, Briley returned to his previous position at Bone McAllester Norton.

References

External links