Karl Dean

Last updated
Anne Davis
​
(m. 1983)​
Karl Dean
Karl Dean by Leon Roberts.jpg
6th Mayor of Metropolitan Nashville
In office
September 21, 2007 –September 25, 2015
Children3
Education Columbia University (BA)
Vanderbilt University (JD)

Karl Foster Dean (born September 20, 1955) is an American politician who served as the 6th Mayor of Nashville, Tennessee from 2007 to 2015. [1] A member of the Democratic Party, [2] he previously served as Nashville's Director of Law under Mayor Bill Purcell from 1999 to 2007. [3] In 1990, 1994 and 1998, he was elected the city's public defender. [4] Dean, an attorney by occupation, is currently an adjunct professor of law at Vanderbilt University Law School.

Contents

He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Columbia University in 1978 and a Juris Doctor from Vanderbilt University in 1981. [5] [6] [7] His campaign message for Mayor of Nashville focused on improving education, public safety and economic development saying "it's all connected." During Dean's first year in office, he reworked the arrangement between Metro and the Nashville Predators in order to keep the team in Nashville. During Dean's first term, he faced two major challenges: the Great Recession and the 2010 Tennessee floods. During his two terms in office, Dean transformed Downtown Nashville by adding a new minor league baseball stadium, a riverfront amphitheater and park and a new convention center dubbed Music City Center. Dean was friendly towards business and often used tax incentives to lure companies to Nashville. He is also involved in conservationist efforts of historical areas such as Music Row through his involvement with Music Industry Coalition. He helped preserve historic sites such as RCA Studio A. [8]

In 2017, Dean declared his candidacy for Governor of Tennessee in the 2018 election. In the first three months of the campaign, Dean raised $1.2 million and spent $200,000; he went on to win the Democratic nomination on August 2, 2018 and advanced to the general election. [9] Dean lost the election to businessman Bill Lee. [10]

In March 2005, Karl Dean wrote that Mayor Bill Purcell could seek a third term, despite a 1994 referendum on "any elected office authorized or created by the [Metro] charter." This was because the 1963 charter states that there is a three-term limit for mayors, the 1994 amendment took place against a backdrop of a push for congressional term limits, and local public discussion focused on the Metro Council. [11] In January 2003, he said a proposed law to ban job discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation was not unconstitutional. [12]

When Metro Council members' health-care benefits came under scrutiny in September 2004, because the Metro Charter does not allow pension benefits for Council members, Dean said that a health-care benefit wouldn't legally fall under a pension benefit, and therefore wouldn't be against the Charter. [13]

When asked if an amendment to the Metropolitan Charter requiring raises in the maximum property tax rates approved by the Metro Council to also be approved by Metro voters, Dean believed that a court was likely to find that provision of the Metro Charter invalid. He claimed this is because the Tennessee General Assembly has not authorized the charter of the consolidated government to restrict the authority of a legislative body to levy an ad valorem tax on property. [14]

Mayor of Nashville

Elections

Dean at a 2007 Nashville mayoral debate Karl Dean 2007.jpg
Dean at a 2007 Nashville mayoral debate

Dean announced his mayoral candidacy on December 19, 2006. [4] His campaign message focused on improving education, public safety, and economic development saying "it's all connected." The platform for his campaign stated that there are "three pitches you have to hit every day: public education, economic opportunity development and public safety.” [15] In the general election on August 2, 2007, he placed first with 24.6% of the vote. This advanced him to a run-off election against Bob Clement. [16] On September 11, 2007 Dean won the run-off election with 52.2% of the vote.

Dean easily won re-election in August 2011 with 79.2% of the vote. [17]

Dean left office on September 25, 2015. He was succeeded by Megan Barry, the first woman to be Mayor of Nashville.

Education policy

During Dean's two terms, the budget for Metro Nashville schools increased by $218 million (37 percent) and Nashville schools saw increased graduation rates, reduced dropout rates, and improved test scores. [18] He created the Limitless Libraries program, which connects Nashville Public Libraries to Metro Nashville Schools, part of a greater push to enable opportunities for under-served schools in the city. [19]

Dean also improved school choice by recruiting charter schools to the city and augmented teaching talent by partnering with Teach for America. As a part of this partnership, summer academies were created. [20]

Economic development

Dean's tenure as mayor marked sales taxes revenue increased by over $100 million (36 percent), indicative of the growth of Nashville as a major city. [21] One of the marquee projects of Dean's mayoral career was overseeing the creation of Music City Center, a massive convention center that has generated over $735 million in revenue for the city. Other projects included the construction of Ascend Amphitheater and First Tennessee Park, public venues that bring in millions of dollars of revenue to the city and have been instrumental in the expansion of downtown Nashville. Finally, Dean incentivized businesses to relocate to Nashville, including Bridgestone Americas and HCA. [22]

Great Recession

Dean led Nashville during the Great Recession. At that time, the city experiencing 7 years of GDP growth and an increase of $35 billion (45 percent) in that time. [23] Nashville has had one of the most successful recoveries from the recession. By the end of Dean's mayoral term, Nashville had added the third highest percentage employment since its lowest point in the recession out of all cities in the US, adding over 144,300 jobs (19.3 percent employment growth). [24]

Crime and safety

With public safety as one of Dean's primary campaign promises, Dean increased the size of the Nashville police force by 13.5 percent. [25] In conjunction with this, Dean opened two new precincts to more equally distribute areas of coverage and started Nashville's first DNA crime lab. [26] By 2013, Nashville had reached the lowest crime numbers and homicide rate in its history.

Environment

Dean's time as mayor was accompanied by increased construction of greenway and bike paths around the city of Nashville. He added over 4,000 acres of park land and created the city's Office of Environment and Sustainability. As a result of his efforts, curbside recycling was expanded around the Metro area and the city moved in a more green direction.

2018 gubernatorial campaign

Final results by county in 2018: .mw-parser-output .legend{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .legend-color{display:inline-block;min-width:1.25em;height:1.25em;line-height:1.25;margin:1px 0;text-align:center;border:1px solid black;background-color:transparent;color:black}.mw-parser-output .legend-text{} Bill Lee 80-90% 70-80% 60-70% 50-60% Karl Dean 60-70% 50-60% 2018 Tennessee gubernatorial election results map by county.svg
Final results by county in 2018:
  Bill Lee
  •   80–90%
  •   70–80%
  •   60–70%
  •   50–60%
   Karl Dean
  •   60–70%
  •   50–60%

On February 26, 2017, Dean announced he would run for Governor of Tennessee in the 2018 election as a Democrat. [27] He cast himself as a pro-business moderate running on a message of education, jobs, and healthcare in Tennessee. [28]

In the first three months of the campaign, Dean raised $1.2 million and spent $200,000, making him the third most funded candidate for governor behind Republicans Randy Boyd & Bill Lee.

Dean easily won the primary election over long-time state representative Craig Fitzhugh, earning over 75% of the primary vote.

In the general election, Dean was defeated handily by Bill Lee, a native Tennessean who inherited his father's plumbing and contracting business and won victory as a first-time candidate who has never held elective office.

Lee defeated Dean in the November 6 general election, receiving 1,336,106 votes (59.5%) to Dean's 864,863 votes (38.5%).

Personal life

Dean has been married to Anne Davis, a prominent Tennessee lawyer, since August 6, 1983. [29] [30] Anne Davis is a relative of Joe C. Davis Jr. and Rascoe Davis and is a proprietor of the Joe C. Davis Foundation in Nashville. Both Anne and Karl are Catholic. Dean and his wife have three children, Roscoe, Frances, and Wallen.

Dean was born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, was raised primarily in Gardner, Massachusetts, and graduated from Gardner High School in 1974. [31]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phil Bredesen</span> American politician and former Governor of Tennessee

Philip Norman Bredesen Jr. is an American politician and businessman who served as the 48th governor of Tennessee from 2003 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected in 2002 with 50.6% of the vote and re-elected in 2006 with 68.6%. He is the most recent Democrat elected to a statewide office in the state. He served as the 66th mayor of Nashville from 1991 to 1999. Bredesen is the founder of the HealthAmerica Corporation, which he sold in 1986.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Purcell (mayor)</span> American politician

William Paxson Purcell III is an American politician who served as the fifth mayor of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, elected first in 1999 and reelected to a second term in 2003. He is a member of the Democratic Party. On June 24, 2008 he was named director of Harvard University's Institute of Politics (IOP) at the John F. Kennedy School of Government. Purcell assumed the post on September 1, 2008. He was one of three co-chairs of the Harvard University Allston Work Team. He is now in private practice of law in Nashville and an adjunct professor of Public Policy at Vanderbilt University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Clement</span> American politician (born 1943)

Robert Nelson Clement is an American politician and academic administrator. He is a member of the Democratic Party and served in the United States House of Representatives, representing Tennessee, from 1988 until 2003, when he retired to run unsuccessfully for the United States Senate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Haslam</span> American businessman & politician (born 1958)

William Edward Haslam is an American billionaire businessman and politician who served as the 49th governor of Tennessee from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, Haslam previously served as the 67th mayor of Knoxville, Tennessee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metropolitan Council of Nashville and Davidson County</span> Legislative body of Nashville, Tennessee

The Metropolitan Council is the legislative body of the consolidated city-county government of Nashville, Tennessee and Davidson County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Briley</span> American politician

Clifton David Briley 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 and was sworn in as acting 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 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.

Norman Buck Dozier is a council member-at-large for the Metropolitan Council of Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee and a former mayoral candidate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 United States Senate election in Tennessee</span>

The 2014 United States Senate election in Tennessee took place on November 4, 2014, to elect a member of the United States Senate from the State of Tennessee. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander defeated Democrat Gordon Ball, and was re-elected to a third term in office with 61.9% of the vote against 31.9%.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Megan Barry</span> American politician (born 1963)

Megan Christine Barry is an American businesswoman and politician who served as the seventh mayor of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County from 2015 until March 6, 2018, when she resigned after pleading guilty to felony theft related to an extramarital affair with a city employee who had served as the head of her security detail. Barry is a member of the Democratic Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 Nashville mayoral election</span> American election in Tennessee

The 2015 Nashville mayoral election took place on August 6, 2015, to elect the next mayor of Nashville, Tennessee. Incumbent Democratic Mayor Karl Dean was term limited and could not run for re-election to a third term in office. Since there was no candidate that received a majority of votes in the initial round of the election, a runoff election was held. In the runoff election, Democratic candidate Megan Barry was elected with 54.8% of the vote, defeating Republican Candidate David Fox.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 Tennessee gubernatorial election</span> Election for the governorship of Tennessee

The 2018 Tennessee gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the next governor of Tennessee. Incumbent Republican Governor Bill Haslam was term-limited, and is prohibited by the Constitution of Tennessee from seeking a third consecutive term. Republican candidate Bill Lee was elected with 59.6% of the vote, defeating Democratic nominee and former Nashville mayor Karl Dean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 United States Senate election in Tennessee</span> Election of US Senator Marsha Blackburn

The 2018 United States Senate election in Tennessee took place on November 6, 2018, concurrently with other elections to the United States Senate, elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Republican Senator Bob Corker opted to retire instead of running for a third term. Republican U.S. Representative Marsha Blackburn won the open seat, defeating former Democratic Governor Phil Bredesen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition</span> U.S. civil rights organization

The Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition is a transgender and LGBT civil rights organization in the state of Tennessee in the United States of America.

The Nashville Fairgrounds, also known as The Fairgrounds Nashville and the Tennessee State Fairgrounds, is an entertainment complex in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. The 117-acre (47 ha) site is located southeast of Downtown Nashville on the Nolensville Pike. The historic home of the Tennessee State Fair, today the complex is home to Geodis Park, home of Nashville SC of Major League Soccer, Fairgrounds Speedway, the Tennessee State Fairground Sports Arena, the Nashville Flea Market, and The Nashville Fair. The site is undergoing redevelopment into a mixed-use development spurred by the construction of the soccer stadium with commercial and residential use and a community park. Additionally, there is a plan to renovate and upgrade Fairgrounds Speedway to host NASCAR Cup, Xfinity and Truck Series events in conjunction with Speedway Motorsports.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Let's Move Nashville</span> 2018 local referendum in Nashville, Tennessee, United States

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 plan would have included several light rail and bus rapid transit lines along major corridors, to be built between 2018 and 2032. The plan was proposed in 2017 by Mayor Megan Barry under the Tennessee IMPROVE Act and supported by some Nashville politicians and businesses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Lee (Tennessee politician)</span> 50th governor of Tennessee since 2019

William Byron Lee is an American businessman and politician who has served since 2019 as the 50th governor of Tennessee. A member of the Republican Party, Lee was president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Lee Company, a business operated by his family, from 1992 to 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 Nashville mayoral election</span> American election in Tennessee

The 2019 Nashville mayoral election took place on August 1, 2019, to elect the mayor of Nashville, Tennessee. Incumbent Democratic Mayor David Briley, who succeeded Megan Barry following her resignation and won a special election to fill the remainder of her term, ran for re-election. In the August election, Briley came in second behind city councilman John Cooper; however, no candidate took more than 50 percent of the vote, forcing a runoff between Cooper and Briley on September 12, 2019. Cooper won the runoff definitively with 69 percent of the vote.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Cooper (Tennessee politician)</span> Mayor of Nashville, Tennessee, United States

John Cooper is an American businessman who was the mayor of Nashville, Tennessee from 2019 to 2023. He served as a councilman at-large on the Metropolitan Council of Nashville and Davidson County from 2015 until 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he is the brother of former U.S. representative Jim Cooper, who represented Tennessee's 5th congressional district, which was also based in Nashville. He is also the son of former governor and U.S. Ambassador to Peru Prentice Cooper.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 Nashville mayoral election</span> American election in Tennessee

The 2023 Nashville mayoral election took place on August 3, 2023, to elect the next mayor of Nashville, Tennessee. Incumbent Democratic Mayor John Cooper did not seek re-election to a second term in office. A wide field of candidates ran to succeed Cooper, with Democratic metro councilmember Freddie O'Connell and Republican political consultant Alice Rolli advancing to the runoff because no candidate surpassed 50% of the vote. In the runoff election, Democratic candidate Freddie O'Connell was elected with 63.9% of the vote, defeating Republican Candidate Alice Rolli, becoming the 10th mayor of metro Nashville.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2007 Nashville mayoral election</span> American election in Tennessee

The 2007 Nashville mayoral election took place on August 2, 2007, to elect the next mayor of Nashville, Tennessee. Incumbent Democratic Mayor Bill Purcell was term limited and could not run for re-election to a third term in office. Since there was no candidate that received a majority of votes in the initial round of the election, a runoff election was held. In the runoff election, Democratic candidate Karl Dean was elected with 52.1% of the vote, narrowly defeating Democrat Bob Clement.

References

  1. ↑ Cass, Michael (September 21, 2007). "Dean: "We need to raise the bar on our expectations"". The Tennessean. Retrieved 2007-09-21.[ dead link ]
  2. ↑ Reisinger, Brian (February 8, 2011). "Nashville Mayor Karl Dean announces team for 2011 election". Nashville Business Journal. Retrieved June 29, 2012.
  3. ↑ "Karl Dean for Mayor of Nashville". Archived from the original on July 22, 2012. Retrieved September 11, 2007.
  4. 1 2 Harless, Bill (December 20, 2006). "Dean will leave law director post to run for mayor". The Nashville City Paper. Archived from the original on September 4, 2012.
  5. ↑ "Vanderbilt University Law School :: Karl F. Dean". Archived from the original on September 8, 2008. Retrieved September 11, 2007.
  6. ↑ "Karl Dean – Mayoral Election News Story – WSMV Nashville". Archived from the original on October 15, 2008. Retrieved September 11, 2007.
  7. ↑ "Karl Foster Dean '78 | Columbia College Today". www.college.columbia.edu. Retrieved 2022-05-04.
  8. ↑ "Studio A Nashville 50th". The Tennessean. Retrieved 2018-04-08.
  9. ↑ "Karl Dean to report raising $1.2M in first stretch of Tennessee governor's race". The Tennessean. Retrieved 2017-08-01.
  10. ↑ "AP: Bill Lee wins Tennessee governor". WREG.com. 2018-11-07. Retrieved 2018-11-07.
  11. ↑ Schrade, Brad (March 11, 2005). "Metro law director says Purcell can seek 3rd term". The Tennessean.
  12. ↑ Paine, Anne (January 31, 2003). "Metro lawyer says gay rights law meets constitutional test". The Tennessean.
  13. ↑ Schrade, Brad (September 21, 2004). "Health-care benefit shift for council questioned". The Tennessean.
  14. ↑ "2006-03.pdf" (PDF). Retrieved September 11, 2007.[ permanent dead link ]
  15. ↑ "The Tennessean Subscription Offers, Specials, and Discounts". subscribe.tennessean.com. Retrieved 2024-02-15.
  16. ↑ "ELECTION UPDATE: Dean, Clement match-up set; Gentry & Dozier concede". The Nashville City Paper. February 23, 2007. Archived from the original on September 3, 2012.
  17. ↑ "Metro election 2011: Vote totals". nashvillecitypaper.com. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
  18. ↑ Nashville. "Nashville | Fact Sheet - Highlights of the Fiscal Year 2016 Budget". www.nashville.gov. Retrieved 2017-07-17.
  19. ↑ "About | Limitless Libraries". www.limitlesslibraries.org. Retrieved 2017-08-02.
  20. ↑ "Teaching Here". Teach for America.
  21. ↑ Nashville. "Nashville | Fact Sheet - Highlights of the Fiscal Year 2016 Budget". www.nashville.gov. Retrieved 2017-08-02.
  22. ↑ Garrison, Joey (August 22, 2015). "Karl Dean legacy: Downtown Changes, Leadership Flood". The Tennessean.
  23. ↑ "Total Gross Domestic Product for Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN (MSA)". 2017-06-01.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  24. ↑ "Which Metro Areas Have Gained the Most Jobs Since the Great Recession?". www.pewtrusts.org. Retrieved 2017-08-02.
  25. ↑ Nashville. "Nashville > Page Not Found" (PDF). www.nashville.gov. Retrieved 2017-08-02.{{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help)
  26. ↑ Nashville. "Nashville | Mayor Opens Nashville's First Full-Service Crime Laboratory". www.nashville.gov. Retrieved 2017-08-02.
  27. ↑ "Former Nashville Mayor Karl Dean to run for governor of Tennessee". The Tennessean . Retrieved 18 May 2017.
  28. ↑ "Karl Dean for Governor". YouTube. Retrieved 2019-04-14.
  29. ↑ Karl Dean. "Happy 35th Anniversary to by beautiful wife Anne. I realized pretty quickly after that first dance that you were someone special. -KD @deltaannedavis". Twitter.
  30. ↑ "FACES of Nashville: Anne Davis". StyleBlueprint . Retrieved 2018-09-16.
  31. ↑ "Nashville Mayor Karl Dean Mayor in Residence at Boston University | BU Today".
Political offices
Preceded by Mayor of Nashville
2007–2015		Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by
Charles Brown
 Democratic nominee for Governor of Tennessee
2018 		Succeeded by
Jason Martin
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.