On the campaign trail: Compare mayoral candidates' plans for police pay

As early voters head to the polls, mayoral candidates Freddie O'Connell and Alice Rolli are ramping up their final stretch ad campaigns.

O'Connell released a new hope-focused spot highlighting the voices of his supporters. Rolli purchased a few dozen ad spots across several local channels — her campaign's television debut in the runoff election.

Rolli and O'Connell continue to highlight their differences, particularly regarding state relations and public safety.

Here's what to know.

Plans for police funding

During 92Q's "Let's Talk LIVE" Mayoral Debate last week, O'Connell and Rolli addressed how they plan to ensure Nashville police receive competitive pay.

O'Connell said pay has been increased for new recruits and first responders across the board, while considering pay scales in other jurisdictions, including the Tennessee Highway Patrol. Cost of living adjustments are another key part of competitive pay, he said, and Metro employees saw those pay increases in Metro's recently passed budget.

"The top job of the mayor is to keep our citizens safe, and … if you look at our track record of investments in traditional law enforcement over the past eight years, you will find a deep investment in pay, in personnel, in facilities and in equipment," he said.

Beyond that, Metro has invested in models to respond to mental health-related calls, pairing mental health professionals with police in some cases and independently in others. Partnerships that invest in organizations keeping people safe, like "The Village" in Napier, are also key, he said. He expects to continue all of those investments as a holistic public safety approach.

Rolli said Nashville must make its police officers the best paid in Middle Tennessee if it wants to have the "best police force" in the region.

"Pay alone is not the only way to recruit and retain great officers. … It's also supporting our police," Rolli said. "It is also recognizing the frustration that many officers feel when they do the work and bring an individual in and then that person is released the next day."

She said Metro must honor the rights of crime victims by ensuring that "what's happened to them doesn't happen to someone else."

Candidates discuss how to ensure countywide investment

Rolli and O'Connell addressed how they would ensure that improvements are spread throughout the county during the final event in the Nashville Mayoral Debate series on Aug. 24.

O'Connell said Metro Council has started to use maps showing where Metro's spending plans place investments throughout the county. This is something that should continue to be used as a reference as future spending is considered, he said.

He referred to the new Mariposa Park being built in Southeast Nashville — the first park in District 30 — and a new community center in progress in Old Hickory as examples of positive change. Downtown's "incredible property tax efficiency" means more capacity for Metro to place investments throughout Davidson County, he said.

"After just opening James Lawson (High School) and Goodlettsville (Elementary School), the top questions I got when visiting those schools were, 'When are we going to get to the other schools like Glencliff and Maplewood?'" O'Connell said. "We know we've got a capital improvements program that needs to make sure we're going in sequence and having that conversation fully with the entire community.

Rolli similarly referred to downtown as "an incredible economic engine" for Nashville, noting that it must be kept safe, clean and "open for business" so it continues to produce revenue that can be used for needs throughout the county.

"We will not do things like say some groups can come and some groups won't," she said, referring to Metro Council's rejection of a potential opportunity to host the 2024 Republican National Convention. "We'll be a city that is open for business tourism, which is an enormous driver for our county."

Surplus revenue from the Music City Center should be used to increase police personnel downtown and add additional trash services, she said.

Rolli would also like to reintroduce a city mayors working group including mayors from Goodlettsville, Forest Hills, Oak Hill, Berry Hill and Belle Meade to ensure "we are funding projects regionally around the county."

Those cities have retained their own municipal governments, and combined make up less than 10% of Davidson County's population and square mileage. Demographically, they are majority white and, with the exception of Berry Hill, generally have lower poverty rates than the Metro Statistical Area overall.

Early voting tally tops 35K

As of Friday, 35,511 Nashville voters have cast their ballots in the runoff election.

Early voting remains open through Sept. 9.

The Green Hills Library ranks first for most votes cast at 5,367, followed by the Hermitage Library (4,600), Belle Meade City Hall (4,492) and the Bellevue Library (4,394).

A total of 57,461 people voted early for the Aug. 3 general election. The total vote count for that election was 101,837, or 20.52% of registered voters in Davidson County.

Rolli buys runoff campaign's first ad air time in final stretch

Both mayoral candidates will round out a mostly quiet runoff election with ads on air.

After several weeks campaigning without a television presence, Rolli's campaign purchased dozens of 30-second spots across three local channels to run from Sept. 6 through election day.

She recently published a 90-second ad on her campaign website in which she says she will "be the mayor who brings all of us together," "build a bridge with the state" and address "higher crime, higher taxes and schools that aren't getting results for our kids."

"Moving a desk from the council floor to the mayor's office won't fix Nashville," she says, taking a swing at O'Connell's background. "But a new vision, a shared purpose and your support can."

O'Connell launched his latest 30-second ad on Aug. 29, featuring several Nashville residents speaking in support of his election, for strong neighborhoods, thriving schools and hope. In the spot, O'Connell pledges to work toward safer schools and neighborhoods, affordable housing and working transit.

His campaign previously released another upbeat 30-second ad set at a family dinner that has been airing on several channels since Aug. 17.

The Save Nashville PAC, which released ads supporting Rolli in the lead-up to the general election, has also launched an ad campaign attacking O'Connell and urging voters to choose Rolli. The PAC's ads have spanned television, mailers and social media.

One of the PAC's commercials erroneously stated that Rolli would lower taxes if elected as mayor. Rolli has pledged not to raise taxes, but did not promise to lower them. Rolli said she has no connection to the PAC or the ads, and has no responsibility "to police them or fix this."

A mailer recently sent out by the PAC depicts O'Connell looming over a suburban house cloaked in darkness, claiming "Freddie O'Connell drove your taxes through the roof!" The flyer points to O'Connell's vote in support of a 34% property tax increase in 2020 following the threat of a state comptroller takeover if Nashville did not right its finances. Rolli, the mailer states, "opposes and will veto all efforts to increase taxes."

An earlier commercial and mailer from the PAC slammed O'Connell for attempting to reduce that tax increase by cutting non-personnel funding from several Metro departments, including the Metro Nashville Police Department. O'Connell's proposal was not ultimately passed.

Rolli's campaign recently sent out its own mailer focusing on her endorsement by the Fraternal Order of Police and her pledge to "give our first responders the tools they need to crack down on crime."

Television ad purchases include:

WKRN News 2

• Rolli spent $15,680 for 32 spots for 30-second ads that will run from Sept. 6 through Sept. 13.

• O'Connell purchased 46 spots for a 30-second ad running from Aug. 31 through Sept. 6 for $27,340.

WSMV Channel 4

• Rolli purchased 26 spots for $6,850 to run from Sept. 6 through Sept. 13.

• O'Connell purchased 24 spots for $4,866.25 to run from Aug. 24 through Sept. 6.

NewsChannel 5

• O'Connell purchased 41 spots for $29,835 to run from Sept. 1 through Sept. 6.

• Rolli purchased 28 spots for $36,300 to run from Sept. 6 through Sept. 14.

Dates to know for the Sept. 14 election

• Absentee ballot request deadline: Sept. 7

• Early voting: Aug. 25 through Sept. 9

• Election day: Sept. 14

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville mayor election: Compare candidates' plans for police pay