Freddie O'Connell
American politician
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Thomas Frederick O'Connell (born 1976/1977)[1][2][3] is an American politician and currently serves as the 10th Mayor of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County.[4] From 2015 to 2023, he served as a member of the Nashville Metro Council representing the 19th district.
1976 or 1977 (age 48–49)
Freddie O'Connell | |
|---|---|
O'Connell in 2023 | |
| 10th Mayor of Metropolitan Nashville | |
| Assumed office September 25, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | John Cooper |
| Member of the Nashville Metro Council from the 19th district | |
| In office September 1, 2015 – September 1, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Erica Gilmore |
| Succeeded by | Jacob Kupin |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Thomas Frederick O'Connell 1976 or 1977 (age 48–49) Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Party | Democratic |
Domestic partner | Whitney Boon |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Brown University (BA, BS) |
| Signature |  |
Early life and career
O'Connell was born in Nashville, Tennessee, to Beatrice, a retired teacher, and Tim, a federal civil servant and part-time songwriter.[5] He graduated from Montgomery Bell Academy in 1995, and earned two bachelor's degrees from Brown University in 2000, one in Music and the other in Computer Science.[5][6][7] He is of Jewish descent through one of his grandparents.[8]
O'Connell began his career in software and technology, working for startups and publicly traded companies. He was also president of the Salemtown Neighbors Neighborhood Association.[4] From 2005 until 2010, he co-hosted a political talk show on WRVU, the Vanderbilt University student radio station.[9]
Political career
In 2002, O'Connell ran as an Independent against future Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives Beth Harwell.[9]
O'Connell formerly served as a board member and chair of the board for the Nashville Metropolitan Transit Authority.[9] While municipal elections in Nashville are officially nonpartisan, O'Connell is a registered Democrat.[10]
In 2015, O'Connell ran for the Nashville Metro Council in the 19th district, receiving 54 percent of the vote during the August 6 election.[11] In 2019, he ran for reelection unopposed.[9]
In April 2022, O'Connell announced that he would run for mayor of Nashville in the 2023 Nashville mayoral election.[12] In the first round of voting, O'Connell led all candidates with 27.2% of the vote.[13] He defeated Alice Rolli in the runoff on September 14, 2023, winning 64% of the vote.[14] He was sworn into office on September 25.[15]
Personal life
O'Connell lives in the Salemtown neighborhood of Nashville with his partner, Dr. Whitney Boon, an attending child neurologist at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt, and their two children.[5][4] He has been known to occasionally DJ at events in the Nashville area.[16]
Electoral history
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Beth Harwell | 17,424 | 66.9 | ||
| Democratic | Shannon Wood | 7,152 | 27.5 | ||
| Independent | Thomas F. O'Connell | 1,471 | 5.6 | ||
| Total votes | 26,047 | 100.0 | |||
| Republican hold | |||||
| Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freddie O'Connell | 27,503 | 27.14 | |
| Alice Rolli | 20,472 | 20.20 | |
| Matthew Wiltshire | 17,193 | 16.97 | |
| Jeff Yarbro | 12,356 | 12.19 | |
| Heidi Campbell | 8,337 | 8.23 | |
| Sharon Hurt | 6,104 | 6.02 | |
| Vivian Willhoite | 4,758 | 4.70 | |
| Jim Gingrich | 1,668 | 1.65 | |
| Natisha Brooks | 1,458 | 1.44 | |
| Stephanie Johnson | 581 | 0.57 | |
| Fran Bush | 503 | 0.50 | |
| Bernie Cox | 322 | 0.32 | |
| Write-in | 80 | 0.07 | |
| Total votes | 101,335 | 100.00 | |