Mayor Betsy Crossley holds up the final numbers at her victory party Tuesday night.

Brentwood Home Page staff reports
With only 11.53 percent of Brentwood’s registered voters participating, two incumbents and two newcomers won Tuesday’s municipal election. Mayor Betsy Crossley received the most votes, with 2228. Newcomer Rod Freeman followed with 1986. Incumbent Anne Dunn garnered 1869 while newcomer Jill Burgin had 1800.

Challenger Bert Bosse came in fifth, with 1111, while Brenda Lehman had 1079.

Rod Freeman, third from right, poses with family and supporters at his home Tuesday night.

Jill Burgin gets the thumbs up from husband Tim as they realize she has won a seat on the Brentwood City Commission.

With a 'tally board' to keep track of results, longtime Anne Dunn celebrates her most recent victory at Cool Springs House. Husband John, center back, and daughter Amy are among the well-wishers.

Freeman and Burgin will take their seats along with the rest of the seven-member City Commission, which also includes Rhea Little, Regina Smithson and Paul Webb, on Monday. Longtime commissioners Joe Reagan and Joe Sweeney retired from public office, leaving two open seats on the board.

Once the polls closed at 7 p.m. it was party time for the four winners.

“I am honored and excited to serve Brentwood as a city commissioner,” Burgin said after her campaign gathering at Granny White Park Pavilion. “It humbles me to think that people would cast a vote for me especially in such a qualified field of candidates. I hope I can find a way to thank everyone who helped with my campaign, and I look forward to more learning and listening over the next four years.”

Crossley celebrated with friends and supporters at the FiftyForward Martin Center, while Freeman hosted a gathering at his Murray Lane home. Dunn was surrounded by a large contingent at the Cool Springs House in Crockett Park.

“I’m humbled and honored,” Crossley said Tuesday night. “I sure didn’t see me coming out on top. I’m flabbergasted.”

Four years ago in her first race for public office, Crossley and candidate tied for fourth place. She ultimately won a runoff election.

Soggy Election Day

Election Day dawned cold and wet. The weather was given partial blame for the day’s low turnout, but the lower than normal early voting numbers already didn’t bode well for participation, according to many veteran election workers and watchers.

“It’s pathetic,” longtime election official Keith Loftis said at Otter Creek Church of Christ, the city’s largest precinct. While just over 250 people cast votes there on Tuesday, only 72 had voted at the site by lunchtime.

"It's the worst I've ever seen," he said at that time.  

Voter Mary Williams said she would prefer the municipal election not be scheduled by itself.

"It's very hard to remember. If I hadn't been out and seen the signs 'Oh, yeah, it's today,' I would have forgotten," Williams said after she voted at Otter Creek.

At approximately 1p.m., only 22 voters had participated at Holy Family Catholic Church. One of those was Lori Pearce. She echoed Williams’ sentiments when she suggested turnout could be increased -- and the city could save money -- by holding the city election in conjunction with a general election.

That thought was echoed at Otter Creek by Rod Brown, chairman of the county's Election Commission. Brown said the city spends about $35,000 for each of its independent elections.

Bert Bosse chats with Linda Hirsch, Election Commission chairman Rob Brown and Rachel Waterhouse on Tuesday.

Candidates on the move

Throughout the day, the six candidates made the rounds of precincts, crisscrossing the city to shake as many hands as possible.

Crossley took an hour away from the polls to give the keynote address at the Brentwood Woman’s Club's annual awards luncheon. At the Brentwood Country Club she apologized for being dressed in a campaign T-shirt and running shoes but explained she had been out since 5:30 a.m. and would be on the trail until late afternoon.

Bosse, at Otter Creek Church in the early afternoon, said he had already been to six other precincts and planned to hit more before the polls closed.

The precinct at New Hope Community Church on Wilson Pike – which is usually hopping during presidential elections and state primaries -- had a very slow morning. When Freeman stopped by to check in on one of his volunteers, he mused that he wished someone could “turn off the faucet.”

 “It’s been fun,” first-time candidate Lehman said at Otter Creek just before the polls closed. “I’m so thankful for the sun,” she said, a thought shared by more than one candidate and volunteer who spent hours standing in the elements beyond the 100-foot boundary until Mother Nature finally took pity and cleared the skies in the afternoon.

She was there with two of her three children, 12-year-old twins Connor and Kaitlynn, who with family friend Gabrielle Prow, 11, waved voters in on busy Franklin Road.

 Voters share concerns, issues

Voter Callie Victory, a longtime Williamson County resident, said she had moved to Brentwood a year ago in part because of the city's bigger-lot sizes. She thought overcrowding and the numbers of kids in school are issues for Brentwood.

"I think the other thing is about where people are building," she said. "A lot of people want to have vast amounts of space -- there's only so much room. It'll be interesting to see where that goes this year."

Candidate Brenda Lehman gets a hand from her twins, Connor and Kaitlynn, right, and family friend Gabrielle Prow, left.

Williams said "growth and how to handle it" is Brentwood's biggest issue. She said she was voting for only Freeman, a member of her church, because she trusted his opinions. "Last time he didn't (lose) by that much so I'm just going to vote for him and not vote for other people because I'm not well-versed" on other candidates.

At Brentwood Safety Center East on Sunset Road, Larry Mullins, a certified public account, was only the fourth person to show up at vote at the site 2 1/2 hours into Election Day. "I don't think right now we have any real issues in Brentwood, other than maybe too many incumbents," he said.

Mullins said he voted for all four of the "new people" -- Bosse, Burgin, Freeman and Lehman. He said one reason was that he didn't live in a subdivision and he didn't think the incumbents "care about you unless you live in a subdivision and have a homeowners association speak up for you."

At Concord Community Church of the Nazarene in far east Brentwood, election officer Karen Vernon said a "whopping" 12 people had voted the first couple of hours and that included three workers.

The early voting total from the precinct was 94. Some 3,000 voted in the presidential election at the precinct, although a number of those voters aren't eligible for the Brentwood city election.

"People don't turn out for local elections," Vernon said.

"They'll turn out if we have a tax one," noted election worker Delores Johnson.

Vernon recalled that the first time she worked an election several years ago only 85 people voted all day for school board members. "The next time was about taxes and hundreds of people voted."

BHP correspondents Carol Stuart, Jodi Rall and Wendy Hosse as well as editor Susan Leathers contributed to this report. Photos by Jodi Rall and Peg Fredi.