# Freddie O'Connell

Thomas Frederick O'Connell (born 1976/1977) is an American politician and currently serves as the 10th Mayor of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County. From 2015 to 2023, he served as a member of the Nashville Metro Council representing the 19th district.

## 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. 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. He is of Jewish descent through one of his grandparents.
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. From 2005 until 2010, he co-hosted a political talk show on WRVU, the Vanderbilt University student radio station.

## Political career

In 2002, O'Connell ran as an Independent against future Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives Beth Harwell.
O'Connell formerly served as a board member and chair of the board for the Nashville Metropolitan Transit Authority. While municipal elections in Nashville are officially nonpartisan, O'Connell identifies as a Democrat.
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. In 2019, he ran for reelection unopposed.
In April 2022, O'Connell announced that he would run for mayor of Nashville in the 2023 Nashville mayoral election. In the first round of voting, O'Connell led all candidates with 27.2% of the vote. He defeated Alice Rolli in the runoff on September 14, 2023, winning 64% of the vote. He was sworn into office on September 25.

## 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. He has been known to occasionally DJ at events in the Nashville area.

## Electoral history

Tennessee's 56th state house district General Election, 2002 :
| Party | 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 | Total votes | Total votes | 26,047 | 100.0 |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |
2015 Nashville Metro Council Election, District 19 :
| Candidate | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Freddie O'Connell | Freddie O'Connell | 900 | 54.3 |
| Amanda Harrison | Amanda Harrison | 322 | 19.4 |
| Keith Caldwell | Keith Caldwell | 237 | 14.3 |
| Bill Shick | Bill Shick | 190 | 11.5 |
| Write-in | Write-in | 8 | 0.5 |
| Total votes | Total votes | 1,657 | 100 |
2019 Nashville Metro Council Election, District 19 :
| Candidate | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Freddie O'Connell | Freddie O'Connell | 1,709 | 96.6 |
| Write-in | Write-in | 61 | 3.4 |
| Total votes | Total votes | 1,770 | 100 |
2023 Nashville mayoral election (first round) :
| Candidate | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Freddie O'Connell | Freddie O'Connell | 27,503 | 27.14 |
| Alice Rolli | Alice Rolli | 20,472 | 20.20 |
| Matthew Wiltshire | Matthew Wiltshire | 17,193 | 16.97 |
| Jeff Yarbro | Jeff Yarbro | 12,356 | 12.19 |
| Heidi Campbell | Heidi Campbell | 8,337 | 8.23 |
| Sharon Hurt | Sharon Hurt | 6,104 | 6.02 |
| Vivian Willhoite | Vivian Willhoite | 4,758 | 4.70 |
| Jim Gingrich | Jim Gingrich | 1,668 | 1.65 |
| Natisha Brooks | Natisha Brooks | 1,458 | 1.44 |
| Stephanie Johnson | Stephanie Johnson | 581 | 0.57 |
| Fran Bush | Fran Bush | 503 | 0.50 |
| Bernie Cox | Bernie Cox | 322 | 0.32 |
| Write-in | Write-in | 80 | 0.07 |
| Total votes | Total votes | 101,335 | 100.00 |
2023 Nashville Mayoral general election (runoff) :
| Candidate | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Freddie O'Connell | Freddie O'Connell | 72,989 | 63.8 |
| Alice Rolli | Alice Rolli | 41,205 | 36.0 |
| Write-in | Write-in | 123 | 0.1 |
| Total votes | Total votes | 114,317 | 100 |