After receiving more than 23,000 votes in the Aug. 2 election, Vice Mayor Howard Gentry was just 405 votes short of being included in the mayoral runoff.

Video: Word On The Street (8/13/07)

If he had the money the two runoff winners spent on their campaigns, Gentry may have been in the runoff and could well have been Metro's next mayor.

But even as an election loser, the vice mayor could decide who will be this city's new mayor.

He has met with both candidates but has not heard from them since.

If Gentry was to mobilize those who voted for him, and get them to vote for either Karl Dean or Bob Clement, it would weigh heavily on their campaigns.

Some politicians are calling Gentry the king of the hill for the runoff election.

So, what will he do?

"The king of the hill has not committed yet," Gentry told Channel 4’s Larry Brinton. "The jury is still out."

The truth is, he may just sit on the sidelines and offer his support to neither candidate

Although the vice mayor said either Dean or Clement could be good mayors, he doesn't seem completely happy with either.

In particular, while he sees an interest by the two candidates in improving Metro school graduation rates, he doesn't see other issues in education as a priority.

"Sixty percent of the kids are below the poverty level," Gentry said. "But nothing is being said about economic disparity."

By supporting one or the other candidates, Gentry could get his campaign debts paid off and other goodies, some politicians said.

However, he said he is not interested, he said.

Gentry said he doesn't want anything for himself. He said he just wants the people of Nashville to benefit.

Metro councilman David Briley also failed to make the runoff election for mayor.

After talking with both candidates, he said he is offering his assistance to both campaigns but will not endorse either one.