Women Square Off In Vice Mayor's Race

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- As Nashville prepares to elect a new mayor, there is also a historical undercard to watch.

Special Section: 2007 Mayoral Race

For the first time in Nashville’s history, a woman will serve the city as vice mayor.

Diane Neighbors and Carolyn Baldwin Tucker are competing in a close race to decide who will take over for Howard Gentry.

Neighbors has chaired Metro's Budget Committee, spent four years on the City Council and has spent 30 years as an education administrator.

Tucker also has nearly 30 years in education and has a reputation as a tough and uncompromising force on the City Council for the past eight years.

But both said they don't want to talk about being women, they want to talk about how they are different.

“When there is a conflict between the neighborhood and developers, I always come down on the side of the neighborhoods because I’m a grass-roots person. I believe that when the people have spoken, we need to listen,” Tucker said.

“I think my 30 years experience in Nashville, plus my state and national involvement, gives me a broader perspective and a better understanding of how it all is related (and) how things that happen on the federal level impact us on the local level and on the state level,” Neighbors said.

Metro Councilman Jim Shulman has worked closely with both women.

“Diane Neighbors has a tremendous background in child care issues and child issues and is good about bringing folks together. Carolyn is a very, very strong advocate on behalf of the underdog. Carolyn has been one of the major players to step up and speak on behalf of those that basically never get heard very much,” he said.

The vice-mayor runs the entire Council meeting from start to finish by keeping 40 members on track and on time. They are also the key liaison between the Council and the mayor.

Both women said they feel like their race has been overlooked because of the very close mayoral race.

They both said they are not very excited about the historic aspect of it all because they just want to win.

Special Section: 2007 Mayoral Race