On the campaign trail: Nashville's O'Connell and Rolli discuss officers in schools

Cassandra Stephenson, Nashville Tennessean
Updated ·5 min read

Early voting for Nashville's mayoral runoff election starts Friday, beginning the final stretch for contenders Freddie O'Connell and Alice Rolli.

The pair will face off in the fourth and final leg of The Nashville Mayoral Debates at Belmont University's Fisher Center Thursday.

The debate series is a collaboration between The Tennessean, NewsChannel5, Belmont, American Baptist College and the League of Women Voters of Nashville. Thursday's event will start at 6:20 p.m. and free tickets are available to the public through Belmont University.

Tennessean readers submitted a variety of questions they would ask the candidates, ranging from public debt and neighborhood investment to public safety and relations with the state legislature.

Meanwhile, the Tennessee legislature started a special session on public safety, mental health and gun reform Monday, leading to renewed demonstrations for school safety and gun control in the emotional aftermath of the Covenant School shooting in March.

Candidate perspectives on School Resource Officers

An education-focused forum hosted last week by Opportunity Nashville referenced the impact of the Covenant shooting on Nashville's school safety. The forum was broadcast on Nashville Public Television.

Sitting Mayor John Cooper and Nashville Police Chief John Drake have already communicated long-term plans to place full-time school resource officers on every Metro Nashville Public Schools campus. This includes elementary schools — an idea that's seen resistance for years.

Staffing shortages pose challenges, too. This year, each high school campus will have two officers, with other officers rotating among the district's middle schools. Overtime will be set aside when possible for officers to spend time at elementary schools.

Nashville mayoral race: Freddie O'Connell, Alice Rolli debate public schools issues

O'Connell said MNPS middle and high schools each have funding and plans in place for SROs, and Metro's budget this year included funding for safety equipment like ballistic film on glass, radios and other technology. On the topic of SROs in elementary schools, he's considering a more tailored approach.

"I am not inclined to tell elementary schools, at each school, that they need to go do this," he said. "I think the most appropriate thing is for school leadership to be working with (Parent-Teacher Organizations) and (Parent-Teacher-Student Organizations) where they exist, to be working with the community of students and families and ... I would rather see that be done from a ground up level, (where) Dr. Battle and the school board think this is the right approach, and they agree with the Metro Nashville Police Department."

Rolli has been clear about her support for more officers in schools in addition to funding infusions for security and safety equipment spanning public, private and parochial schools.

"I'm fully supportive of increasing SROs in the schools, and I'd like us to get smart about what we need to do to put that 'help wanted' sign out," Rolli said. "I wish that we could unilaterally disarm. We cannot. So we have to operate in the world that we're in."

She also called for devoting dollars to safety improvements.

The candidates largely agree on the importance of teacher safety.

"We want to make sure there is a good guy there so that teachers also feel that they don't need to worry about their personal safety," Rolli said.

"I think it's important to make sure that we focus on those plans at a leadership level in partnership between the district and police, so we don't leave our teachers feeling like they have to be our first responders," O'Connell said.

Television ads run thin leading up to runoff

The weeks following the Aug. 3 general election have seen less TV ad traffic, though O'Connell is ramping up his on-air spots. Rolli's campaign has yet to release a fresh ad, though there are indications of a "shoot" in the works.

O'Connell's campaign released a new 30-second ad on Aug. 17. It was an upbeat spot featuring a family dinner and a game of Jenga with O'Connell's two daughters. O'Connell pledges investments in police, fire, teachers, public health professionals and workable transit, casting a wide net perhaps intended to appeal to center-field voters.

"You and I both know the future of Nashville is not a game," he says in the ad. "Our families have a lot on the line ... Together, we can build a Nashville for Nashvillians, with solutions that actually help families: stronger schools and safer neighborhoods. When I'm mayor, Nashville families are finally going to be Nashville's top priority."

O'Connell purchased 42 spots on WKRN News 2, running from Aug. 17 through Aug. 23 for $22,425, according to FCC filings. Another batch on NewsChannel5 covers 60 spots during the same period for $35,975. WSMV Channel 4 also shows filings for O'Connell within the last week.

Rolli's campaign remains largely silent in federal filings, though a supporting political action committee does have a few upcoming spots on the books. The SAVE Nashville PAC, which has previously run television ads supporting Rolli, purchased eight spots on WSMV Channel 4 to run from Aug. 23 through Aug. 27 for a total $6,200, according to filings publicly available as of 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Rolli and her main campaign consultant firm McShane LLC severed ties earlier this month. Rolli said she separated from the firm immediately after confirming a "more than strong connection to (the) Proud Boys," a right-wing extremist group. Woodrow Johnston, senior vice president of the Las Vegas-based firm, provided a letter showing he resigned days earlier due to a misalignment on "what direction we want to take the campaign."

Johnston faced scrutiny in 2021 over messages he sent suggesting Proud Boys attendance at a 2020 Nevada rally protesting the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. Johnston said any controversy surrounding himself or McShane is typically discussed upon first meeting a client, and "this did not prevent Mrs. Rolli from signing up with our firm."

In an Aug. 12 reply to Johnston's resignation, Rolli noted that Civitas, a Nashville-based marketing agency, was running a "shoot" the next day and assets could be turned over to them.

Dates to know for the Sept. 14 election

Children's reporter Rachel Wegner contributed to this story.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: O'Connell, Rolli talk school resource officers ahead of early voting