'Get right to work': Freddie O'Connell sworn in as Metro Nashville's 10th mayor

Freddie O'Connell and his daughters had a breakfast of doughnuts and blueberry muffins on Monday morning. It was a special occasion.

He took the oath of office at 7:37 a.m. to become Nashville’s mayor, capping off a 16-month journey to the city’s highest office. His two daughters and partner looked on with beaming smiles.

"It was an exciting morning," O'Connell said after the swearing in. "It was very nice to start the school day in a way that still lets the girls get to school on time, but now we'll go downstairs and get right to work."

Davidson County Circuit Court Judge David Briley, himself a former mayor, swore in O’Connell at a private ceremony in the Historic Metro Courthouse. A public inauguration is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Saturday at Public Square Park.

The work begins for the new mayor

O’Connell secured his place as the 10th mayor of Metro Nashville on Sept. 14 in a landslide runoff victory over Alice Rolli, drawing wide support as the race’s most progressive candidate. Given a short two-week window between his election and the transfer of power, he got off to a quick start preparing for his transition to the office.

The day after he was elected, O’Connell announced a three-person leadership team to oversee the transition: former Metro COVID-19 response leader Dr. Alex Jahangir, author and consultant Christy Pruitt-Haynes and attorney David Esquivel, a partner at Bass, Berry & Sims.

The three co-chairs are each tasked with focusing on one area of his transition: How Nashville works, moves and grows. Those ideas — improving government responsiveness, bolstering public transit and effectively managing Nashville’s growth — were all key messages throughout his campaign.

Another thing on O’Connell’s to-do list as mayor is deciding who in former Mayor John Cooper’s administration will stay and who will go. He said on Monday that he anticipates Metro Finance Director Kelly Flannery will be leaving the position and Metro Legal Director Wally Dietz will be staying.

"We will probably have some key staff announcements coming soon," O'Connell said. "We have some good folks joining us and some good folks staying."

Metro's relationship to the state

O'Connell on Monday said one of the biggest challenges the city faces is the tense relationship between Metro and the state.

The state passed several laws this year directly impacting the operations of Metro government, including a law to cut down the size of the Metro Council. A lawsuit is currently challenging that legislation.

O'Connell said communication with the governor's office and state legislators will be key for his administration.

"Those conversations will continue because I think as we re-engage in the conversation of regionalism we know that not just Nashville but all of Middle Tennessee needs to be successful," he said.

He said that won't happen if the city and state are viewed as "two warring factions." Instead, he said, they need to be "key partners."

O'Connell said he hopes to get together with Gov. Bill Lee soon to discuss the relationship. Talks are in the works to get a lunch set up, he said.

Key priorities

O’Connell has set ambitious goals for the start of his term. He has outlined a list of “15 fixes” he hopes to make on day one, including pushing for later high school start times — a move that would require the backing of the Metro Schools board — embarking on an initiative to move Metro buildings to 100% solar power, encouraging a review of the city’s 25-year plan and creating a Metro office dedicated to housing.

More: Inside Nashville Mayor-elect Freddie O'Connell's plans for first 100 days in office

In the meantime, O’Connell has also made several appearances at community events, including a town hall on violence hosted by the Metro Department of Public Health and the groundbreaking of the site of a new Percy Priest Elementary School last Monday and Tuesday.

Evan Mealins is the justice reporter for The Tennessean. Contact him at emealins@gannett.com or follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @EvanMealins.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Freddie O'Connell sworn in as Metro Nashville's 10th mayor