Old friends turned mayoral rivals
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Before they were rivals vying to be Nashville mayor, Matt Wiltshire and Jeff Yarbro were buddies who hosted an informal social club for politicos.
Between the lines: The group, dubbed the Kitchen Cabinet, is one of many connections shared by the top mayoral candidates.
- "Nashville is a big city, but it's also a small town," Yarbro says. "Especially this race has driven that home. I have lots of friends in the race."
Why it matters: Such long-standing connections foreshadowed a congenial mayor's race. That's exactly how it's played out so far.
- There haven't been any negative television ads. You need a Ph.D. in passive aggression to parse the criticisms the candidates have lobbed at each other during the mayoral forums so far.
Flashback: Wiltshire tells Axios the Kitchen Cabinet was founded amid Democratic soul searching after the 2006 U.S. Senate race, which saw Republican Bob Corker narrowly defeat Democrat Harold Ford Jr.
- It was created as a way to network and discuss policy over breakfast at the now-closed Mad Platter. Although Wiltshire and Yarbro are Democrats, the Kitchen Cabinet was nonpartisan.
- "It was very informal," Wiltshire says. "There was no board or bylaws or dues. We didn't recognize elected officials before meetings. It was meant to be casual and welcoming to all."
- "It wasn't so much an organization as a gathering space for people to meet up," Yarbro says. The regulars who attended those early meetings included future campaign managers, high-ranking city officials and politicians like themselves.
Zoom out: There are several other ties among the top candidates. Wiltshire, Yarbro and Councilmember Freddie O'Connell were members of the same class of Generation Tennessee, a now-defunct networking group for emerging political leaders.
- Yarbro and O'Connell served on the city's MTA board together for four years.
- Wiltshire, Yarbro and businessperson Alice Rolli previously sent their children to Eakin Elementary School. (And Wiltshire and O'Connell both attended the school as kids).
- There's also the overlap of current elected officials serving in the same offices — the state Senate is home to Yarbro and Sen. Heidi Campbell. Councilmember Sharon Hurt and O'Connell have served for eight years together on the council.
What they're saying: Yarbro and Wiltshire are in agreement that the friendly approach to campaigning is good for the city. Yarbro tells Axios that Nashville has a history of taking a "constructive approach" to politics.
- "We were friends before this campaign, we'll be friends after this campaign and, as far as I'm concerned, we're friends now," Yarbro says.
- "I think it's a great thing for civil discourse and for the conversation," Wiltshire says. "It's good for people to make the case in a positive way. It's a little bit tough in a field of a dozen candidates because it makes it tougher to break out."
Yes, but: Nashville politics isn't all sunshine and singalongs. The 2015 runoff between Megan Barry and David Fox famously turned negative following a mostly positive general election campaign, with scrutiny of the candidates' religions.
💠Nate's thought bubble: Even if the race doesn't become a bare-knuckled brawl in the mold of Chicago, all this chumminess will be out the window when the runoff hits and there are two candidates left standing.
- And there are rumors that honky-tonk mogul Steve Smith will make his presence felt in the race with an attack ad. Smith didn't respond to a text message seeking comment.