Megan Barry

Megan Barry
7th Mayor of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County
In office September 25, 2015 – March 6, 2018
Preceded by	Karl Dean
Succeeded by	David Briley
Personal details
Born	Megan Christine Mueller (1963-09-22) September 22, 1963 Santa Ana, California
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Bruce Barry
Children	Max
Alma mater	Baker University Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University
Profession	Ethics-compliance officer
Religion	Roman Catholic
Website	www.meganbarry.com

Megan Barry (born September 22, 1963) is a convicted felon and former mayor of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County. She was the first woman to hold the post. Previously, she served as a Council Member At Large on the Nashville-Davidson Metropolitan Council. Barry is a Democrat.

Barry resigned from office on March 6, 2018. On that same day, Barry pled guilty to a single count of criminal theft over $10,000 for misapproppriating city funds to Nashville Police Sgt. Robert Forrest, with whom she was having an extramarital affair. As part of a plea agreement, she was sentenced to three years probation and ordered to pay $11,000 in restitution to the city. In a seperate proceeding, Sgt. Forrest, who was the head of Barry's security detail, received three years probation and he was ordered to pay $45,000 in restitution.

Early life and education

Barry was born on September 22, 1963 in Santa Ana, California. She grew up in Overland Park, Kansas. She earned a bachelor's degree from Baker University in Baldwin, Kansas and an MBA from the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.

Corporate career

Barry spent several years as a specialist in business ethics and corporate responsibility for the multinational telecommunications firm Nortel Networks. From 2003 to 2012, Barry was vice president of ethics and compliance at Premier, Inc., a health-care group purchasing organization. She has also worked as Principal of Barry & Associates, an independent consulting organization to multinational corporations on issues dealing with business ethics and corporate social responsibility.

Political career

Metropolitan Councilwoman At Large

Barry was first elected to one of the five at-large seats on the 40-member Metro Council in September 2007, and won re-election to a second four-year term in August 2011. In winning re-election she was the top vote getter among the five incumbents who successfully sought a second term. During the 2013-14 council year she chaired the Rules Committee and served as a member of the Budget and Finance Committee and the Personnel Committee.

2015 Mayoral Campaign

Barry started her mayoral campaign in April 2013, filing paperwork with the Davidson County Election Commission naming Nashville attorney Leigh Walton as her campaign's treasurer. She received the largest total of votes for mayor in this election, but did not achieve an absolute majority of votes cast in the race, setting up her runoff race against hedge fund manager David Fox, the second-place finisher.

Barry won a decisive victory over David Fox in a September 10 runoff election.

Mayor of Nashville

Barry took office on September 25, 2015, becoming the first woman to hold the post and the second woman to serve as mayor of one of the "Big Four" cities in Tennessee. Her inauguration was held in the Music City Center in Nashville. The theme was "We Make Nashville".

Community roles

Barry is an Emeritus Board Member of the Ethics & Compliance Officer Association and served as the first chairperson of The Conference Board's Global Council on Ethics and Business Practices. She also served as the Associate Director of the Cal Turner Program for Moral Leadership at Vanderbilt University

Barry serves on the board of directors of Nashville's Center for Non-profit Management, the Nashville Repertory Theater, the Belcourt Theater, and the YWCA of Nashville and Middle Tennessee. She is a member of the Ethics Advisory Board for the Belmont University College of Business Administration. She served as co-chair for the Conexión Americas annual "El Cafecito" event in 2013.

Personal life

Barry is married to Bruce Barry, a professor at Vanderbilt University's Owen Graduate School of Management. The couple has one son, Max.

Electoral history

Nashville Mayoral Run-Off Election, September 2015
Candidate		Votes	%	±%
✓	Megan Barry	60,519	55
	David Fox	49,694	45

Nashville Mayoral Election, August 2015
Candidate		Votes	%	±%
✓	Megan Barry	24,553	23.5
✓	David Fox	23,754	22.8
	Bill Freeman	22,308	21.3
	Howard Gentry	12,110	11.5
	Charles Robert Bone	10,962	10.5
	Linda Eskind Rebrovick	5,827	5.6
	Jeremy Kane	4,767	4.6

Nashville Council At-Large Election, August 2011
Candidate		Votes	%	±%
✓	Megan Barry	30,212	11.9
✓	Ronnie Steine	29,262	11.6
✓	Tim Garrett	28,017	11.1
✓	Charlie Tygard	26,982	10.7
✓	Jerry Maynard	25,851	10.2
	Eric Crafton	20,528	8.1
	Vivan Wilhoite	17,659	6.9
	Sam Coleman	15,437	6.1
	Ken Jakes	12,396	4.9
	Renard Francois	10,516	4.2
	Donna Crawford	10,263	4.1
	Charles Townsend, Sr.	6,972	2.8
	James “Jim” Maxwell	4,967	2
	Keith Speer	3,224	1.3
	Don O’Donniley	3,080	1.2
	Sajid Usmani	3,064	1.2
	J Wooten	2,344	0.9
	Donald Ray McFolin	1,429	0.6

Barry also ran in the August 2007 Nashville Council At-Large Election, but those returns are not available from the Davidson County Election Commission. In 2007, Barry won her first term to the Council as an At-Large Councilwoman.

See also

• List of mayors of the largest 50 US cities

External links

• "Mayor Megan Barry, Biography" at the Metropolitan Government of Nashville-Davidson County Office of the Mayor website.
• "Megan Barry's mayoral campaign" website.

Political offices
Preceded by Karl Dean	Mayor of Nashville, Tennessee 2015–2018	Succeeded by David Briley