Nashville police union backs John Cooper for mayor, other Metro Council candidates

The Tennessean

The Nashville police union is backing At-large Council member John Cooper for mayor.

The Fraternal Order of Police — which represents thousands of local, state and federal law enforcement personnel stationed in the Nashville area. — released their endorsements Monday for candidates running for Metro office.

"I am honored to be endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police," Cooper said in a statement. "Keeping people safe is the first job of government. Policing is a difficult and noble profession and the rank and file should be treated fairly by their superiors, just as the citizenry at large deserve to be treated fairly. It is the job of the mayor to set clear goals, provide the resources necessary, and hold people accountable for results."

Cooper said that the FOP endorsement comes despite recent disagreement on the debate for a property tax increase.

Metro Council considered a budget last week that called for a nearly 16% tax hike that would have funded 20 additional police positions. The measure — which Cooper did not support — failed to pass by one vote.

The FOP did not endorse a candidate in last year's special election, because no candidate received a majority of support from the union's members.

Mayor David Briley — who is running again in the Aug. 1 election along with major challengers state Rep. John Ray Clemmons and retired Vanderbilt professor Carol Swain — led the way in police union backing last year, but two conservatives in the race, Swain and Ralph Bristol, nearly matched that total collectively.

The group is endorsing Michael Craddock, Steve Glover, Gary Moore, Adam Dread and Sheri Weiner for Metro's five at-large council seats.

The election is Aug. 1 with early voting starting July 12

Full list of FOP endorsements

Mayor: John Cooper
Vice Mayor: No endorsement
At-large: Michael Craddock, Steve Glover, Gary Moore, Adam Dread and Sheri Weiner
District 1: Johnathan Hall
District 2: Decosta Hastings
District 3: Jennifer Gamble
District 4: Robert Swope
District 5: No endorsement
District 6: Brett Withers
District 7: Emily Benedict
District 8: No endorsement
District 9: Tonya Hancock
District 10: Zach Young
District 11: Larry Hagar
District 12: Geric Smith
District 13: Russ Bradford
District 14: Kevin Rhoten
District 15: Jeff Syracuse
District 16: Tony Tenpenny
District 17: Colby Sledge
District 18: Tom Cash
District 19: Freddie O'Connell
District 20: No endorsement
District 21: No endorsement
District 22: Gloria Hausser
District 23: Mina Johnson
District 24: Kathleen Murphy
District 25: No endorsement
District 26: Jeremy Elrod
District 27: Bob Nash
District 28: No endorsement
District 29: Delishia Porterfield
District 30: Sherry Jones
District 31: John Rutherford
District 32: Joy Styles
District 33: Antoinette Lee
District 34: No endorsement
District 35: Dave Rosenberg

Yihyun Jeong covers politics in Nashville for USA TODAY NETWORK - TENNESSEE. Reach her at yjeong@tennessean.com and follow her on Twitter @yihyun_jeong.