Karl Dean

Karl Dean
6th Mayor of Metropolitan Nashville
In office
September 21, 2007 – September 25, 2015
DeputyDiane Neighbors
Preceded byBill Purcell
Succeeded byMegan Barry
Personal details
Born
Karl Foster Dean

(1955-09-20) September 20, 1955 (age 69)
Sioux Falls, South Dakota, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Anne Davis
​
(m. 1983)​
Children3
EducationColumbia University (BA)
Vanderbilt University (JD)

Karl Foster Dean (born September 20, 1955) is an American politician who served as the 6th Mayor of Nashville, Tennessee from 2007 to 2015.[1] A member of the Democratic Party,[2] he previously served as Nashville's Director of Law under Mayor Bill Purcell from 1999 to 2007.[3] In 1990, 1994 and 1998, he was elected the city's public defender.[4] Dean, an attorney by occupation, is currently an adjunct professor of law at Vanderbilt University Law School.

He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Columbia University in 1978 and a Juris Doctor from Vanderbilt University in 1981.[5][6][7] His campaign message for Mayor of Nashville focused on improving education, public safety and economic development saying "it's all connected." During Dean's first year in office, he reworked the arrangement between Metro and the Nashville Predators in order to keep the team in Nashville. During Dean's first term, he faced two major challenges: the Great Recession and the 2010 Tennessee floods. During his two terms in office, Dean transformed Downtown Nashville by adding a new minor league baseball stadium, a riverfront amphitheater and park and a new convention center dubbed Music City Center. Dean was friendly towards business and often used tax incentives to lure companies to Nashville. He is also involved in conservationist efforts of historical areas such as Music Row through his involvement with Music Industry Coalition. He helped preserve historic sites such as RCA Studio A.[8]

In 2017, Dean declared his candidacy for Governor of Tennessee in the 2018 election. In the first three months of the campaign, Dean raised $1.2 million and spent $200,000; he went on to win the Democratic nomination on August 2, 2018 and advanced to the general election.[9] Dean lost the election to businessman Bill Lee.[10]

  1. ^ Cass, Michael (September 21, 2007). "Dean: "We need to raise the bar on our expectations"". The Tennessean. Retrieved 2007-09-21.[dead link‍]
  2. ^ Reisinger, Brian (February 8, 2011). "Nashville Mayor Karl Dean announces team for 2011 election". Nashville Business Journal. Retrieved June 29, 2012.
  3. ^ "Karl Dean for Mayor of Nashville". Archived from the original on July 22, 2012. Retrieved September 11, 2007.
  4. ^ Harless, Bill (December 20, 2006). "Dean will leave law director post to run for mayor". The Nashville City Paper. Archived from the original on September 4, 2012.
  5. ^ "Vanderbilt University Law School :: Karl F. Dean". Archived from the original on September 8, 2008. Retrieved September 11, 2007.
  6. ^ "Karl Dean – Mayoral Election News Story – WSMV Nashville". Archived from the original on October 15, 2008. Retrieved September 11, 2007.
  7. ^ "Karl Foster Dean '78 | Columbia College Today". www.college.columbia.edu. Retrieved 2022-05-04.
  8. ^ "Studio A Nashville 50th". The Tennessean. Retrieved 2018-04-08.
  9. ^ "Karl Dean to report raising $1.2M in first stretch of Tennessee governor's race". The Tennessean. Retrieved 2017-08-01.
  10. ^ "AP: Bill Lee wins Tennessee governor". WREG.com. 2018-11-07. Retrieved 2018-11-07.