Ronnie Steine

From 1991 until 1999, Steine was a councilman-at-large in the Metro Council.^[3] In 1999, he served as vice mayor and presided over the legislative body until his departure in 2002.^[1] He had been a candidate for the race to replace Bob Clement as a member of the United States House of Representatives for Tennessee's 5th congressional district, until he withdrew from the race in April 2002. He admitted to shoplifting a pack of football trading cards from a local Target store in 2001. After the incident, he also resigned as vice mayor.^[4][5] On September 11, 2007, Steine won an election for a Metro Council at-large seat, placing third with 43,290 votes.^[2]

Steine obtained a bachelor's degree from Vanderbilt University and later earned a J.D. from Vanderbilt University Law School. From 1995 until 2001, he served as executive director of the Oasis Center, a local nonprofit organization that provides crisis, counseling and leadership development services to at-risk youth. He is a former president of the Davidson County Democratic Party.^[1]

On his campaign website, Steine stated that one of his priorities as councilman-at-large would be to increase the number of police and firefighters in Davidson County and to ensure they have the best in equipment, technology and training.^[6] In January 1998, Steine co-sponsored a bill that asked permission to waive a state law that banned cities from regulating smoking in public places, opining that the issue should be decided by individual cities and not the state.^[7]