S2.7 Mayor John Cooper: The Exit Interview

Climbing the Charts with Angie Lawless and Brandon Miller

On this very special episode of Climbing the Climbs, we are joined by John Cooper, Music City’s 9th Mayor (since the consolidation of the Metro Government in 1963).

One of the few things Mayor Cooper’s champions and critics can both agree on is that he served a term that was almost Biblical in nature. His first week on the job, the city was threatened with receivership by the State of Tennessee. And, that fact is almost forgotten because of shadows cast by subsequent events: the worst global pandemic in a century and one that caused him to shut down the city, the most destructive tornado the city has ever experienced, a Christmas Day bombing that 2nd Avenue still hasn’t recovered from 3 years later, and an almost existential threat posed by a supermajority Republican General Assembly. And then there was the Covenant school shooting that captured the attention of the nation and the world.

Mayor Cooper offers a candid take on the most challenging events he confronted as Mayor, telling us that it’s “actually very inspiring to be a mayor when you have these kinds of challenges because people really come together.” Mayor Cooper believes one of his greatest legacies will be his financial stewardship as the CEO of Music City. He describes the status of Nashville’s finances, when he first took office after a reluctant decision to run for Mayor, as “broke” but “disguising its broke-ness through several deceptive budget practices.” Even some of Cooper’s harshest critics will have to concede some points as he offers strong empirical support for his record, which includes dramatically raising funding for public education, creating a living wage for Metro employees, and turning around the city’s credit rating.

Mayor Cooper also offers a master class in negotiations by walking us thru the salient details of the Titans Stadium deal, explaining why critics of the stadium deal are simply wrong—or worse, engaging in all all too popular cynicism in their often deceptive attacks on the deal which he says will pave the way for Nashville’s “biggest next chapter.” Mayor Cooper explains what qualities Nashvillians should seek out when selecting our next mayor, and explains some of the aspects of being mayor that many may not fully appreciate or fully understand.

Finally, Mayor Cooper offers some truly fascinating insights and concluding thoughts about his beloved city’s past, present, and future, including why he thinks Music City is poised to be the “human connection capital in America.” That theme was, and is, the driving inspiration for the Climbing the Charts podcast, and we can’t wait for our listeners to hear Mayor Cooper’s thoughts on the subject.