 |
| Bill Freeman |
I take great pride in being a Nashvillian. I was born here. I was raised here.
I met my wife here. I have worked here and we’ve raised our three children
here. Nashville is a part of me, and I would not have it any other way. I truly
love this city and the people who make it such a special place.
Thirty-five years ago, with my business partner Jimmy Webb, we started our
company, Freeman Webb, right here in Nashville. At that time all we had
was one employee, one apartment complex and one big dream.
Today, through years of hard work and perseverance we are a billion dollar
business that employs almost 500 people and either manages or owns 15,000
apartment units across the southeast.
For me, for my family and for that company that started with just one big
dream – Nashville has been very good to us.
During the 35 years that we have been in business and the lifetime I have
lived here, past Mayors of our city have had a vision for Nashville. Think of
the vision that went into building Nashville as a center for scholarship and
learning, for music culture and entertainment, and the vision to make
Nashville a regional and national center for business and commerce.
And along the way, these visionaries maintained the traditional culture of
our city where people can still raise their families, look after their neighbors
and, more often than not, do business on a handshake.
Right now we face a critical moment in the stewardship of our extraordinary
city and determining what it will look like 10 years from now and 20 years
from now.
Mayor Karl Dean is fond of saying, “I believe Nashville’s best days are still
ahead.” But those “best days” are no forgone conclusion. Rather, they are
dependent on the steady vision and leadership from a Mayor ready to guide
Nashville into the next generation.
It is imperative that we make Nashville a place where people not only want
to, but can, raise their families, educate their children and make an honest
living. I want my grandchildren to grow up in a Nashville like that and the
next Mayor of Nashville must be prepared to make the important decisions
about the kind of city we are going to be in 10 years or 20 years.
I want to be that next Mayor.
The next Mayor of Nashville will not have time for any “on the job
training.” In order to sustain the momentum our city has built, Nashville
needs a Mayor who can step in and on day one, make the critical decisions
and get right to work.
I can be that next Mayor.
I have a sense of what those critical decisions are and I have strong feelings
about what makes this city great. I’d like to put my experience and skills to
work and lead Nashville forward at this truly exciting time in our city.
Every day I walk into Freeman Webb and make critical decisions for employees and the thousands of people who live in the apartments we own
and manage. No “on the job training” will be necessary for me if elected the
next Mayor of Nashville.
To me, being a Mayor is the most satisfying job you can have in public
service. You see and experience the direct results of your decisions every
day; unlike you can in any state or federal position. The decisions you make
have a direct result on the family in front of you in line at the grocery store.
They affect the schools where your children and grandchildren attend, and
directly impact the lives of those who sit next to you at church on Sunday.We need a Mayor of Nashville who understands that. The next mayor has to
understand that even seemingly mundane tasks are something vitally
important to the people of Nashville and their day-to-day lives.
The next Mayor of Nashville also has to understand the gravity and
importance of decisions that will make our schools the leaders of innovation,
and not those playing catch up. The next Mayor of Nashville has to
understand the importance of not only keeping businesses in Nashville, but recruiting others to relocate not just near Nashville, but inside our city limits.
I want to be that next Mayor.
Today is December 19 and there are still eight months until the citizens of
Nashville will elect a new Mayor. In the coming months there are a number
of items I will be talking about, such as:
- How Nashville schools need to be better, and how we will accomplish
that.
- How to tackle the mass transit challenges we are facing.
- How to keep Nashville trending upward with successful economic
development.
For now though, we are only six days away from Christmas and everyone
should be focused on spending time with their families. We will talk more
about my vision for Nashville in the New Year,
but I want you to know the answer to the most important question, why I am
running for Mayor of Nashville.
I am running for Mayor, because I want to add my unique point of view to
this conversation.
I am running for Mayor to give something back to the city that has given me
everything.
I am running for Mayor so I can do everything I can to ensure that my
grandchildren and the children across our beautiful city have the
opportunities in front of them to do what Jimmy Webb and I did 35 years
ago.
The decisions the next Mayor of Nashville makes will have an impact on
their lives years form now and determine the kind of city that Nashville will
become.
Growing up in Nashville set the stage for me to become the successful
businessman I am today. Now, I want to be the Mayor of Nashville that sets
the stage for the next generation. If the people of Nashville choose to come
together behind my ideas, I’d be honored to lead this great city into its
exciting future.
Top Stories
Posts
