After serving eight years on the Metro council from East Nashville’s
District 6, Mike Jameson has done his time and has passed the torch to
Peter Westerholm. He hands over the responsibility to serve a vibrant
community he helped build, a community filled with budding businesses,
active neighborhood associations, dog walkers, new parents pushing
strollers, and packs of roving joggers. But it wasn’t always so.
When Jameson moved to East Nashville in 1990, things were vastly
different. “There was sort of a bunker mentality, neighborhood
associations didn’t like holding their meetings at night because people
didn’t want to come out in the dark,” he recalls. “There was really only
one place to eat, The Knife and Fork. But since then, the neighborhood
has done a 180. Now you can’t find a place to park at some of the
establishments and you see baby strollers everywhere.”
Besides the aftereffects of the ’98 tornado, one area where he
attributes the change is the revamp of Lockeland Design Center. “It’s
turned into an attractive place for parents and has effectively changed
the landscape of the neighborhood,” he says.
What is the secret to Jameson’s success?, “Mike took office at the
emergence of extraordinary growth in East Nashville, when our future as
an urban neighborhood was still anyone’s guess,” neighborhood activist
Catherine McTamaney says. “Because Mike was both immediately responsive
and deliberative in his responses, a diplomacy that helped to focus a
lot of different interests, and more importantly, created an expectation
that this was a neighborhood that rewarded your involvement. He helped
establish a culture of engagement that’s likely to define East Nashville
for years to come.”
Highs and lows
Besides working with the unique set of needs in District 6, his
proudest achievements have been his various efforts to bring “genuine
environmentalism” to the council. This included a LEED Certification
bill, work with impervious surfaces and storm water legislation, and
streamlining green permits. Also, he says he is glad to have been
successful in rooting out rules that favored the “Good Ole Boys Club.”
When he started eight years ago, there were still many laws on the books
that were written to protect incumbent officials and Jameson was able
to get many of those issues resolved successfully.
Recently, Jameson worked on a bill that became controversial — the
home-based business bill. A constituent brought to his attention that
her home-based business was technically illegal. Looking into it
further, he realized that possibly 13,000 other home-based businesses,
including the untold number of Nashville home studios, were possibly
illegal if there were clients coming into the home to do business. Mike
researched and found that other cities had addressed it effectively and
he tried to come up with something that fixed the problem.
“We had 11 public meetings about it,” Jameson says. But it was
largely misunderstood — some people even asked why he wanted to put home
studios out of business, which was the opposite of what he was trying
to do. He left for vacation and returned to find effective opposition to
the bill, too near the end of his term to work it out successfully. He
hopes someone will fix it in the future. “Seattle passed it two days
after it failed here,” he says.
So what’s next?
After leaving the council, Jameson planned to go back to work as a
litigator at North, Pursell, Ramos and Jameson, PLC. “I have clients who
have been extremely patient with me over the years,” he says. He also
was selected this year for Leadership Nashville, an exclusive executive
leadership program that chooses 40 community leaders yearly to
participate in their nine-month program. And recently he was asked to
write a column for the Nashville Scene, sort of an insider’s view of
local government.
In October, he announced he will be running for the recently vacated
judgeship in the Davidson County General Sessions court, replacing Judge
Leon Ruben who recently passed away. The vacancy will be filled by the
Metro council and likely will be voted on at the second council meeting
in November. Looking back on his time on the council, Jameson says he is
“incredibly glad” he was able to serve East Nashville over the last
eight years. And East Nashville is incredibly glad — and grateful too.
Monday, 11 April 2016
Ex-Metro councilman, defense attorney joins Morgan & Morgan
Former Metro councilman and General Sessions judge Mike Jameson has
joined plaintiffs' firm Morgan & Morgan, managing partner Kathryn
Barnett announced today.
Jameson (pictured) comes to Morgan & Morgan after working as both a founding attorney and a defense attorney for about 23 years with Nashville-based North, Pursell & Ramos.
The firm's press release notes Jameson has never lost a case at trial.
"It is thrilling to work for a firm that knows the value of hard work for their clients," Jameson said in the release. "As a defense lawyer for 23 years, I litigated cases against plaintiffs' firms that often seemed unwilling to fight for their client, much less even take cases to trial. I handled too many cases against 'settlement mills' that barely learned their clients' names or, worse, the true value of their claims. Morgan & Morgan relishes the courtroom and leaves no stone unturned to get there."
From 2003 through 2011, Jameson, an alumnus of the University of Tennessee School of Law, served two terms on the Metro Council. In the fall of 2011, Jameson was appointed judge to the General Sessions Court, Division VIII, to serve out the unexpired term of the late Judge Leon Ruben until 2012, when he was defeated by Rachel Bell in the Democratic primary.
Jameson (pictured) comes to Morgan & Morgan after working as both a founding attorney and a defense attorney for about 23 years with Nashville-based North, Pursell & Ramos.
The firm's press release notes Jameson has never lost a case at trial.
"It is thrilling to work for a firm that knows the value of hard work for their clients," Jameson said in the release. "As a defense lawyer for 23 years, I litigated cases against plaintiffs' firms that often seemed unwilling to fight for their client, much less even take cases to trial. I handled too many cases against 'settlement mills' that barely learned their clients' names or, worse, the true value of their claims. Morgan & Morgan relishes the courtroom and leaves no stone unturned to get there."
From 2003 through 2011, Jameson, an alumnus of the University of Tennessee School of Law, served two terms on the Metro Council. In the fall of 2011, Jameson was appointed judge to the General Sessions Court, Division VIII, to serve out the unexpired term of the late Judge Leon Ruben until 2012, when he was defeated by Rachel Bell in the Democratic primary.
Judge Jameson's TV Ad Out of Order
In his race for General Sessions judge, Mike Jameson is airing this
happy little TV ad starring his children. As proof of what makes their
dad a fair and tough judge, the ad says, the kids boast of his "22 years
of experience" and claim he deserves thanks for "cutting the crime rate
37 percent [in his council district]."
That's great, isn't it? There's only one problem. It's misleading.
A judge for 22 years? Jameson has been wearing a black robe for all of three months. Cutting the crime rate? Please.
Jameson was appointed to replace the late General Sessions Judge Leon Ruben in November by his friends on the Metro Council, where he represented East Nashville for eight years. Now, he's running for the job in next week's election against two other Democrats — Jack Byrd and Rachel Bell.
Most lawyers in a Nashville Bar Association poll recommended Jameson over his rivals. They think he's the best qualified. So he must have at least a few good qualities to exaggerate in a TV ad. Instead, he mischaracterizes his experience — and makes his kids to do his dirty work. Kudos to Jameson and his media consultant, Bill Fletcher, for giving all the judge's supporters reason to think twice about voting for him.
Update: Over at In Session, Michael Cass ignores the misleading info in Jameson's ad to write about similarities he sees in an MTV video. What insight! This helps explain why, along with Gail Kerr, Cass is the Nashville PR world's go-to guy for puff pieces. With media watchdogs like Cass, we can all sleep peacefully.
Update: Jameson laughs off any claim that the ad misleads about his experience. The 22 years clearly refers to his legal background, he says. "The ad isn't claiming I've been a judge for 22 years. I mean, I'm not 65 years old." The same point regarding legal experience has been made in his direct mail pieces, he notes. Jameson adds that he has indeed handled "thousands of cases" — both before his appointment as well as after. Because of the nature of the General Sessions docket, it is not uncommon within a brief tenure to handle hundreds of cases a day, he notes. He further stands by the crime reduction statistics. "You only get 30 seconds in a commercial, so you can't elaborate. But again, our mail pieces spell out that I indeed worked with the police on anti-crime legislation and funding, and that crime indeed dropped 37 percent in my Council district."
That's great, isn't it? There's only one problem. It's misleading.
A judge for 22 years? Jameson has been wearing a black robe for all of three months. Cutting the crime rate? Please.
Jameson was appointed to replace the late General Sessions Judge Leon Ruben in November by his friends on the Metro Council, where he represented East Nashville for eight years. Now, he's running for the job in next week's election against two other Democrats — Jack Byrd and Rachel Bell.
Most lawyers in a Nashville Bar Association poll recommended Jameson over his rivals. They think he's the best qualified. So he must have at least a few good qualities to exaggerate in a TV ad. Instead, he mischaracterizes his experience — and makes his kids to do his dirty work. Kudos to Jameson and his media consultant, Bill Fletcher, for giving all the judge's supporters reason to think twice about voting for him.
Update: Over at In Session, Michael Cass ignores the misleading info in Jameson's ad to write about similarities he sees in an MTV video. What insight! This helps explain why, along with Gail Kerr, Cass is the Nashville PR world's go-to guy for puff pieces. With media watchdogs like Cass, we can all sleep peacefully.
Update: Jameson laughs off any claim that the ad misleads about his experience. The 22 years clearly refers to his legal background, he says. "The ad isn't claiming I've been a judge for 22 years. I mean, I'm not 65 years old." The same point regarding legal experience has been made in his direct mail pieces, he notes. Jameson adds that he has indeed handled "thousands of cases" — both before his appointment as well as after. Because of the nature of the General Sessions docket, it is not uncommon within a brief tenure to handle hundreds of cases a day, he notes. He further stands by the crime reduction statistics. "You only get 30 seconds in a commercial, so you can't elaborate. But again, our mail pieces spell out that I indeed worked with the police on anti-crime legislation and funding, and that crime indeed dropped 37 percent in my Council district."
Mike Jameson named new Metro Council attorney
Mike
Jameson, a litigation attorney and former East Nashville councilman who
had a brief run as a General Sessions judge, is Vice Mayor David
Briley's pick to be the Metro Council's new special counsel and director
of the council office.
Briley on Thursday named Jameson — a political ally and personal friend — to fill the vacancy created by the departure of council attorney Jon Cooper, who Nashville Mayor Megan Barry appointed last week as new Metro Department of Law director in her administration. The council approved Cooper's appointment on Tuesday and would also need to sign off on Jameson's appointment to make it official.
"He has experience on the council, he's a great lawyer and is willing to do it," Briley said. "And he will hit the ground running on day one.
"He is a strong believer in the importance of the Metro Council," he added. "He has stayed out of politics here for the last few years and has not really been actively engaged, so he has a sense of interest in the quality of life in the city, but not really involved that much politically. I know he will be a steady hand in the office here."
In choosing Jameson, Briley has picked someone known as a voice for progressives and neighborhoods during his stint on the Metro Council, from 2003 through 2011. Jameson was also a council critic of former Mayor Karl Dean, particularly on financing Music City Center and redeveloping the city-owned fairgrounds, Dean-led projects that Jameson both opposed.
Briley, a former at-large councilman from 1999 through 2007, served alongside Jameson for four years. The two are close friends who often shared the same political causes when their council terms overlapped. Jameson also served as chairman of Briley's unsuccessful mayoral campaign in the 2007 election won by Dean.
"It's an honor to be nominated and I hope my years of service on the Metro Council give some added perspective to the advice I would give council members," Jameson said. "It will be a daunting task to try to fill the shoes of Jon Cooper, who served council members so well for so long."
Following his council term, Jameson was appointed by the council in November 2011 to fill an unexpired term of former Davidson County General Sessions Division VIII Judge Leon Ruben, who died earlier that year. Months later, Jameson lost his reelection to that judicial seat to Rachel Bell in the March 2012 Democratic primary.
Jameson, a Nashville native and attorney for 25 years, began his legal career as an assistant public defender, eventually becoming a partner in the Nashville law firm of North, Pursell, Ramos & Jameson, PLC. There, he focused on civil litigation, commercial litigation, medical malpractice and business litigation.
For the past year,
Jameson has practiced at Morgan & Morgan, a personal injury law
firm. He is a graduate of Father Ryan High School, Vanderbilt
University, and the law school at The University of Tennessee.Briley on Thursday named Jameson — a political ally and personal friend — to fill the vacancy created by the departure of council attorney Jon Cooper, who Nashville Mayor Megan Barry appointed last week as new Metro Department of Law director in her administration. The council approved Cooper's appointment on Tuesday and would also need to sign off on Jameson's appointment to make it official.
"He has experience on the council, he's a great lawyer and is willing to do it," Briley said. "And he will hit the ground running on day one.
"He is a strong believer in the importance of the Metro Council," he added. "He has stayed out of politics here for the last few years and has not really been actively engaged, so he has a sense of interest in the quality of life in the city, but not really involved that much politically. I know he will be a steady hand in the office here."
In choosing Jameson, Briley has picked someone known as a voice for progressives and neighborhoods during his stint on the Metro Council, from 2003 through 2011. Jameson was also a council critic of former Mayor Karl Dean, particularly on financing Music City Center and redeveloping the city-owned fairgrounds, Dean-led projects that Jameson both opposed.
Briley, a former at-large councilman from 1999 through 2007, served alongside Jameson for four years. The two are close friends who often shared the same political causes when their council terms overlapped. Jameson also served as chairman of Briley's unsuccessful mayoral campaign in the 2007 election won by Dean.
"It's an honor to be nominated and I hope my years of service on the Metro Council give some added perspective to the advice I would give council members," Jameson said. "It will be a daunting task to try to fill the shoes of Jon Cooper, who served council members so well for so long."
Following his council term, Jameson was appointed by the council in November 2011 to fill an unexpired term of former Davidson County General Sessions Division VIII Judge Leon Ruben, who died earlier that year. Months later, Jameson lost his reelection to that judicial seat to Rachel Bell in the March 2012 Democratic primary.
Jameson, a Nashville native and attorney for 25 years, began his legal career as an assistant public defender, eventually becoming a partner in the Nashville law firm of North, Pursell, Ramos & Jameson, PLC. There, he focused on civil litigation, commercial litigation, medical malpractice and business litigation.
Briley, who said he approached Jameson about the council attorney position, told The Tennessean he talked to "quite a few people" who had an interest in the job. He said all of them held the right qualifications, but said he felt Jameson was best positioned to "hit the ground running."
Jameson, contingent on council approval, would begin his new job as special legal counsel and director of the council office on Nov. 1. Briley said Jameson's salary would match that of the Metro law director, which is currently $165,000.
Rachel Bell's hard work pulled off stunner, beating Mike Jameson
News of the stunning returns in the Davidson County General Sessions
judge race spread among Metro Council members as they listened to a
lengthy public hearing on a controversial Antioch-area asphalt plant
Tuesday night. They couldn’t believe the results. Attention immediately
diverted to an old colleague.
Looking down at their laptops and fidgeting with their cell phones, council members saw that Mike Jameson, a former two-term councilman whom they had appointed to the bench three months earlier, had lost the early vote — and lost decisively — to attorney Rachel Bell in the Democratic primary for General Sessions judge.
“He’s done,” a mayor’s office aide at the front of the council chambers put it bluntly.
That prognostication proved accurate. With all the votes counted a few hours later, Bell, a 34-year-old attorney with seven years of legal experience, ended up with 54 percent of more than 16,000 votes, defeating Jameson, a star among local progressives and fixture in Metro politics for nearly a decade, by a healthy 15 percentage points. Attorney Jack Byrd finished a distant third.
It was a shocker. With big-name supporters, incumbent status, superior fundraising prowess and ostensibly greater name recognition, Jameson was supposed to win this race. Wasn’t he? Instead, Bell crushed him.
At-large Councilman Jerry Maynard, a Jameson supporter, called the dynamics of the low turnout primary “a perfect storm.” His analysis suggests Bell, who is black, benefited from blacks being energized to vote for President Barack Obama in the Democratic primary that night.
“A lot of Democrats stayed home because they thought Jameson had it in the bag,” Maynard, Jameson’s highest profile black supporter, told The City Paper. “A lot of African-Americans came out because they wanted to vote for Barack Obama, even though it’s the primary and even though he had no opponent. They were very excited to go out and vote for Obama.
“I heard many people tell me at the polls that the message was, ‘Go vote for Barack Obama, and while you’re there, vote for Bell,’ ” Maynard said.
Time will tell whether this was the case. Voting figures for individual precincts won’t be available until later this month, according to Davidson County Elections Administrator Albert Tieche.
Still, even Jameson supporters like Maynard acknowledge Bell hit the campaign trail hard. She outworked the political veteran and ran a better campaign, observers say. While Jameson seemed determined to point out each and every one of his political friends — on his television commercial and on campaign mail pieces — Bell more effectively identified her voters. And they voted. Jameson’s campaign seemed insider. Bell’s was just the opposite.
It added up to a major upset.
Jameson, 48, enjoyed what seemed like every advantage a candidate could want. His $88,000 was more than double Bell’s campaign cash, a financial edge he used to air a television commercial that highlighted another advantage — endorsements from some well-known local politicos, including former Mayor Bill Purcell, council members Megan Barry, Jerry Maynard, Ronnie Steine, Charlie Tygard, Emily Evans, Jason Holleman, and several Democratic state lawmakers.
Then there was Jameson’s backing from Nashville attorneys. A poll of Nashville Bar Association members found 49 percent of respondents “highly recommended” Jameson for the job, far better than the 7 percent who did the same for Bell. In fact, Bell had the highest negatives in the poll: One out of five participants went so far as to not recommend her to the General Sessions post.
An elated Bell from her victory party last week turned to a Christian expression: “But God!” she said. “That’s all I would like to say. If you put that in the paper, that will be enough for me.”
In an interview the following day, Bell, a diabetic, lifelong Nashvillian and former college basketball player, hinted at some keys to her win: Hustle, combined with a willingness to stump at any event anywhere; and a capable campaign machine that many underestimated.
“The community stood behind me,” Bell said. “I had a great staff and campaign team, and a great group of volunteers, family, friends and clients.”
Though Bell, whose slogan was “Ring the Bell for Justice,” described supporters from “every part of town,” she seemed to focus her get-out-the-vote effort in the historically black neighborhoods of North Nashville and Bordeaux, her home base. A partner at Bell & Kinslow who works on civil and criminal cases, Bell is positioned to be just the second black judge of 11 Davidson County General Sessions judges currently on the bench. She’s favored to win the general election in August.
“I know that we mobilized and worked really hard in our base,” Bell said. “I wanted us to be successful, but if we weren’t successful, I still wanted to make sure my neighborhood, my home town, came out and voted for me.
“Some people said I needed to do it backwards, go to other parts of the city, and then back home,” she said. “I said, ‘No, I’ve got to start at home. We’ve got to start at home first.’ ”
On his loss, Jameson didn’t express any regrets and tipped his cap to his counterpart: “I think she ran an excellent campaign. She’s to be commended for that.”
Working for the Bell team was Ellery Gould, a Hillsboro High School friend of Bell’s who today works as a Democratic political consultant. Gould agreed to work for his old friend as an in-kind contribution. It was his first Nashville race in years. “I’ve never seen a harder working candidate,” he told The City Paper.
“She might not have ultimately had the same amount of resources as Jameson, but she used them effectively,” Gould said.
“When you are faced with limited resources, you have to really spend that money smart, and so it was really a matter of judicious targeting,” he added.
While Jameson turned to Nashville-based Democratic consulting media firm Fletcher Rowley Inc. to go on television, Bell relied on some basics. She passed out business cards to seemingly everyone she met. She bought advertising on MTA buses and in print publications. Robo-calls and mailed ads — which Jameson also used — hit targeted audiences. Bell’s visibility was unmatched by any other candidate this election cycle.
“She made herself available,” said Councilman Lonnell Matthews Jr., a Bell supporter. “She really presented herself and was visible at a lot of events in the community. A lot of people didn’t know who she was, so she really relied on presenting herself and trying to introduce herself to people face to face.
“It paid off in the long run,” he said.
Jameson’s decision to pay for television ads will be questioned. As it turned out, the two judicial candidates to go on TV — the other was Circuit Court judge candidate Stan Kweller — both lost.
Tipping them to air the ad, however, could have been the breakdown of early voting demographics, discovered before Election Day. According to their internal numbers, based on individual voting files, black turnout in early voting was up 10 percent from the Democratic primary four years ago.
For them, that confirmed a fear. A Super Tuesday that featured a competitive Republican presidential primary had attracted some Jameson supporters. (A voter wasn’t allowed to vote in both primaries.) The “perfect storm” that Maynard described seemed to be brewing.
“Rachel deserves all the credit for winning,” said attorney David Briley, a former councilman who supported Jameson. “She ran a good race. In a low turnout election like that, there are a lot of factors that come into play that can push the outcome one way or another. She’s the beneficiary of that, and I think Mike suffered as a result of the shift in turnout.”
The Bell-Jameson race could force some in the local political class to rethink some assumptions. Perhaps district council members like Jameson don’t have the name recognition countywide that those in the tiny universe of Metro government think they do. And perhaps endorsements from local politicians aren’t that influential at the polls.
Neither of those advantages carried the day for Jameson. Bell countered both with hard work and a positive attitude.
“I went everywhere I could, and I spoke to everybody and had a personal conversation with each person I shook hands with,” she said
Throughout it all was one theme: “I always told the team from the very beginning that this would be a very spiritual race and that we were going to stay grounded and have faith.”
Looking down at their laptops and fidgeting with their cell phones, council members saw that Mike Jameson, a former two-term councilman whom they had appointed to the bench three months earlier, had lost the early vote — and lost decisively — to attorney Rachel Bell in the Democratic primary for General Sessions judge.
“He’s done,” a mayor’s office aide at the front of the council chambers put it bluntly.
That prognostication proved accurate. With all the votes counted a few hours later, Bell, a 34-year-old attorney with seven years of legal experience, ended up with 54 percent of more than 16,000 votes, defeating Jameson, a star among local progressives and fixture in Metro politics for nearly a decade, by a healthy 15 percentage points. Attorney Jack Byrd finished a distant third.
It was a shocker. With big-name supporters, incumbent status, superior fundraising prowess and ostensibly greater name recognition, Jameson was supposed to win this race. Wasn’t he? Instead, Bell crushed him.
At-large Councilman Jerry Maynard, a Jameson supporter, called the dynamics of the low turnout primary “a perfect storm.” His analysis suggests Bell, who is black, benefited from blacks being energized to vote for President Barack Obama in the Democratic primary that night.
“A lot of Democrats stayed home because they thought Jameson had it in the bag,” Maynard, Jameson’s highest profile black supporter, told The City Paper. “A lot of African-Americans came out because they wanted to vote for Barack Obama, even though it’s the primary and even though he had no opponent. They were very excited to go out and vote for Obama.
“I heard many people tell me at the polls that the message was, ‘Go vote for Barack Obama, and while you’re there, vote for Bell,’ ” Maynard said.
Time will tell whether this was the case. Voting figures for individual precincts won’t be available until later this month, according to Davidson County Elections Administrator Albert Tieche.
Still, even Jameson supporters like Maynard acknowledge Bell hit the campaign trail hard. She outworked the political veteran and ran a better campaign, observers say. While Jameson seemed determined to point out each and every one of his political friends — on his television commercial and on campaign mail pieces — Bell more effectively identified her voters. And they voted. Jameson’s campaign seemed insider. Bell’s was just the opposite.
It added up to a major upset.
Jameson, 48, enjoyed what seemed like every advantage a candidate could want. His $88,000 was more than double Bell’s campaign cash, a financial edge he used to air a television commercial that highlighted another advantage — endorsements from some well-known local politicos, including former Mayor Bill Purcell, council members Megan Barry, Jerry Maynard, Ronnie Steine, Charlie Tygard, Emily Evans, Jason Holleman, and several Democratic state lawmakers.
Then there was Jameson’s backing from Nashville attorneys. A poll of Nashville Bar Association members found 49 percent of respondents “highly recommended” Jameson for the job, far better than the 7 percent who did the same for Bell. In fact, Bell had the highest negatives in the poll: One out of five participants went so far as to not recommend her to the General Sessions post.
An elated Bell from her victory party last week turned to a Christian expression: “But God!” she said. “That’s all I would like to say. If you put that in the paper, that will be enough for me.”
In an interview the following day, Bell, a diabetic, lifelong Nashvillian and former college basketball player, hinted at some keys to her win: Hustle, combined with a willingness to stump at any event anywhere; and a capable campaign machine that many underestimated.
“The community stood behind me,” Bell said. “I had a great staff and campaign team, and a great group of volunteers, family, friends and clients.”
Though Bell, whose slogan was “Ring the Bell for Justice,” described supporters from “every part of town,” she seemed to focus her get-out-the-vote effort in the historically black neighborhoods of North Nashville and Bordeaux, her home base. A partner at Bell & Kinslow who works on civil and criminal cases, Bell is positioned to be just the second black judge of 11 Davidson County General Sessions judges currently on the bench. She’s favored to win the general election in August.
“I know that we mobilized and worked really hard in our base,” Bell said. “I wanted us to be successful, but if we weren’t successful, I still wanted to make sure my neighborhood, my home town, came out and voted for me.
“Some people said I needed to do it backwards, go to other parts of the city, and then back home,” she said. “I said, ‘No, I’ve got to start at home. We’ve got to start at home first.’ ”
On his loss, Jameson didn’t express any regrets and tipped his cap to his counterpart: “I think she ran an excellent campaign. She’s to be commended for that.”
Working for the Bell team was Ellery Gould, a Hillsboro High School friend of Bell’s who today works as a Democratic political consultant. Gould agreed to work for his old friend as an in-kind contribution. It was his first Nashville race in years. “I’ve never seen a harder working candidate,” he told The City Paper.
“She might not have ultimately had the same amount of resources as Jameson, but she used them effectively,” Gould said.
“When you are faced with limited resources, you have to really spend that money smart, and so it was really a matter of judicious targeting,” he added.
While Jameson turned to Nashville-based Democratic consulting media firm Fletcher Rowley Inc. to go on television, Bell relied on some basics. She passed out business cards to seemingly everyone she met. She bought advertising on MTA buses and in print publications. Robo-calls and mailed ads — which Jameson also used — hit targeted audiences. Bell’s visibility was unmatched by any other candidate this election cycle.
“She made herself available,” said Councilman Lonnell Matthews Jr., a Bell supporter. “She really presented herself and was visible at a lot of events in the community. A lot of people didn’t know who she was, so she really relied on presenting herself and trying to introduce herself to people face to face.
“It paid off in the long run,” he said.
Jameson’s decision to pay for television ads will be questioned. As it turned out, the two judicial candidates to go on TV — the other was Circuit Court judge candidate Stan Kweller — both lost.
Tipping them to air the ad, however, could have been the breakdown of early voting demographics, discovered before Election Day. According to their internal numbers, based on individual voting files, black turnout in early voting was up 10 percent from the Democratic primary four years ago.
For them, that confirmed a fear. A Super Tuesday that featured a competitive Republican presidential primary had attracted some Jameson supporters. (A voter wasn’t allowed to vote in both primaries.) The “perfect storm” that Maynard described seemed to be brewing.
“Rachel deserves all the credit for winning,” said attorney David Briley, a former councilman who supported Jameson. “She ran a good race. In a low turnout election like that, there are a lot of factors that come into play that can push the outcome one way or another. She’s the beneficiary of that, and I think Mike suffered as a result of the shift in turnout.”
The Bell-Jameson race could force some in the local political class to rethink some assumptions. Perhaps district council members like Jameson don’t have the name recognition countywide that those in the tiny universe of Metro government think they do. And perhaps endorsements from local politicians aren’t that influential at the polls.
Neither of those advantages carried the day for Jameson. Bell countered both with hard work and a positive attitude.
“I went everywhere I could, and I spoke to everybody and had a personal conversation with each person I shook hands with,” she said
Throughout it all was one theme: “I always told the team from the very beginning that this would be a very spiritual race and that we were going to stay grounded and have faith.”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)