Rogers, Taylor win Nashville council seats

Incumbent Tommy Rogers and third-time challenger Larry Taylor won the four-way race for two open seats on Nashville Town Council on Tuesday, each pledging to continue the work of positioning the small town for economic and residential growth.

For Taylor, after two previous failed bids for a seat on the board, the victory was vindication of a campaign he has been running off and on for the past six years, he said.

“Third time’s the charm,” Taylor said after the results were announced. “I’m so happy, so very pleased. And I’m tired.”

The 57-year-old sheriff’s deputy earned 24 percent of the 908 ballots cast, edging out third-place finisher James McBride by just five votes, 214-209.

“I’m excited to help out in making decisions to make Nashville a better place,” Taylor said.

Rogers, 66, who claimed 329 votes to win a third term on the council, said he was glad to be the lead vote-getter in the low-tension contest. All of the candidates had positive things to say leading up to the election about town council’s work in recent years.

“I worked hard to get here, and I’m looking forward to the next four years and continuing to move the town forward,” Rogers said. “You saw it yourself, none of the candidates had anything bad to say about the positive work we’ve been doing the past four years.”

That work includes maintaining a low tax rate and working to revitalize the town’s historic downtown corridor, Rogers said.

Taylor said he looks forward to offering his perspective on those and other issues.

Kelton Frazier, the low vote-getter with 152 ballots in his favor, congratulated the winners and pledged to run again in the future.

“I’ll be back in two years,” Frazier said. “You have to start somewhere.”

About 900 residents – 24 percent of Nashville’s 3,800 registered voters – cast ballots in the contest Tuesday, surpassing turnout in recent municipal contests. Each of the candidates, though, agreed participation could have been higher.

“It was a good experience, and I have enjoyed it, but I will say I am very disappointed in the turnout,” Frazier said. “Nashville deserve better than that, for a handful of people to determine the leaders of the town.”

McBride, 76, a former three-term councilman, could not be reached for comment.