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Bert Bosse	Jill Burgin	Betsy Crossley	Anne Dunn	Rod Freeman	Brenda Lehman

Updated 1:30 p.m. Monday
Changing of the guard begins today
By SUSAN LEATHERS
Brentwood Home Page
Four years ago, history was made when Brentwood voters elected two new city commissioners – Bill Youree and (after a runoff election) Betsy Crossley – an election that grew the board from five to seven members.

Tuesday, history of another sort will be made. At least two new commissioners will be elected following the retirements of longtime commissioners Joe Reagan and Joe Sweeney. Youree, a retired healthcare executive, died suddenly less than a year after taking office. He was replaced with former commissioner Alex Noble until the 2009 election. Technically the seat Reagan now holds is one that becomes available.

Crossley is in her first re-election campaign and longtime incumbent Anne Dunn also hopes to retain a seat. Also running are Bert Bosse, Jill Burgin, Rod Freeman and Brenda Lehman.

Despite attention in the press and a get out the vote campaign by the Brentwood Cool Springs Chamber of Commerce, only 7.2 percent of the city’s 26,674 registered voters took advantage of early voting which ended last Thursday. Precincts with the highest early voting turnout were 6-1 Brentwood Library:  11.9%; 7-1 Otter Creek Church:  9.5%, and 6-2 New Hope Community Church: 8.0%.

The 10 precincts that serve Brentwood will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. today.

BHP tried to reach all of the candidates Sunday to find out there plans for today and to learn a few of their insights into the campaign process and Brentwood itself now that it is almost over. So far we’ve heard back from Bosse, Burgin, Dunn and Freeman.

For her part, Burgin said the most important thing she’s learned while campaigning “is that most folks just want to be heard. I came into this knowing that there are at least two sides to every issue, but I was surprised to find that people can live with my standing on a different side of an issue as long as I am truly willing to hear and understand their opinion.”

Today she will be finalizing details for her Election day volunteers, making phone calls and sending emails to remind people to vote, she said.

Dunn, who has held office since 1994, said “what I learned the first time still holds true.   You never take anyone’s vote for granted.  When someone votes for you,  they are giving you  trust and you have to work to deserve it during a campaign and during your time in office.”

She added that the biggest surprise to her this time round is the number of candidates in the field. “I was a bit surprised there weren’t more candidates.  In past elections we have had eight, nine and 10 people running.”

In 2009, incumbents Regina Smithson and Paul Webb and newcomer Rhea Little won four-year terms in the last city election. Reagan, who came in fourth, would have been up again had he decided to seek another term. Freeman, who ran unsuccessfully in that race, is hopeful he will garner enough votes this time to be on the other side of the equation.

He said he planned to be “dotting ‘i’s’ and crossing ‘t’s’” today. That is partly in response to what he says he has learned over the course of the campaign.

“Campaigning is very humbling … and tiring.  We live in a great community and for the most part, our citizens want to be engaged.  It is our responsibility as leaders, to find ways to allow the citizens to take ownership of their community thereby becoming engaged,” Freeman said.

Asked what his biggest surprise in the campaign has been, he answered he hadn’t really been surprised by anything but that he had confirmed something he long suspected.

“Bill Akin cares about Brentwood deeply (as do others) and is a tireless worker and campaigner for all candidates,” Freeman said, giving a shout out to Akin, a retiree who not only sponsored the first candidates forum of the season but spent hours every day of early voting standing outside the Brentwood Library urging people to vote.

Bosse has served on numerous city boards and committes over the years, but "the process of 'running'is new to me and was much more involved and challenging than I ever imagined. The amount of upfront work -- websites, mailers, advertising, position papers and committee meetings  -- has given me a greater appreciation for elected officials."

"My pride in Brentwood has gained momentum as I have met many new people and heard their stories of how much they love Brentwood and the many changes of progress through the years," Bosse said, who added his admiration for past and present commissioners "has grown to a much higher level in seeing their devotion and the incredible job they had done for this marvelous city of Brentwood, Tennessee."

He said his biggest surprise during the campaign has been "the support I received from friends, acquaintances and people I did not even know. I was so humbled and appreciative of those who took time to call me or send me notes of support."

Burgin’s biggest surprise concerned her three children.

“I was concerned that working on the campaign since November would take me away from them more, but the experience brought us all together in such a positive way,” Burgin said of twins Henry and Mason, and younger son Owen. “We all spent more time together learning about local government and issues, about listening to divergent opinions, and about making decisions.

“They each were able to use their own talents to help with campaign work, sat through candidate forums and met new people they otherwise would never have known. It was a great, happy surprise.”

Brentwood Home Page will be posting stories throughout the day Tuesday and will provide election results as soon as they are available Tuesday evening.