Brentwood Mayor Paul Webb, with flag, visits with resident Devin McClendon at Town Center Saturday. With him is his wife Pat, right.

By SUSAN LEATHERS
Brentwood Home Page
On May 9, the official Brentwood mayor’s gavel passed to Paul Webb, who was elected by a majority of his fellow city commissioners to serve a two-year term as the city’s head honcho.  While Webb was first elected to the Brentwood City Commission in 2007, his interest in public service has been with him almost as long as he can remember.

But did you know he has been a volunteer Park Ranger at Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona or was a DJ in high school? Did you know his “day job” is as an administrator of a Nashville church?

Brentwood Home Page thought it would be a good idea for city residents to get to know him a little better. We came up with a series of questions, some serious, some silly, to help introduce the man who will be the most visible representative of the city – and therefore its residents – to each of you.

Full Name:  Paul Lynn Webb

Born:  Crossville, TN 1953

Years in Brentwood:  Moved in September 1983 = 28 years

The family:  My family consists of my lovely wife, Pat; son Austin and his wife Devin, sons Jason and Adam.  We have a pound puppy, Snoozer and a fish.  We have two “grand-dogs” Ellie and Cooper.

Talk about a quick transition of power. On May 9, minutes after he was elected as Brentwood's mayor, former mayor Betsy Crossley's name plate was still in place.

Professional life:   I am the Administrator (Business Manager) for Westminster Presbyterian Church.  I am a licensed CPA.  I have worked in government, construction and in the services industries.

How do you balance your personal, professional and public lives?  I have been involved in Scouts, school PTOs, Buddies of Nashville, Civitan, baseball and soccer coach and church work.  Balancing my work with public service is not new because I have done this my entire adulthood.   I have always lived this way so serving as a commissioner is not a radical change in my life.

Favorite ice cream flavor?  Chocolate, any variety.

Last book you read?  Just finished “Plan of Attack” by Bob Woodward.  It was a half price book at the friends of the library sale, $1.50.  

Favorite food?   I enjoy food with special flavors like Cajun or Latin inspired foods. I also love cakes from The Flour Shop, especially the strawberry and the Italian cream cakes.

How do you stay in shape? I have an elliptical machine which is used most mornings unless I have morning meetings.  I enjoy gardening and working around the house to burn off calories and let my mind “rest”.

What did you want to do when you grew up?  I always had an interest in law and in public service/politics.  I actually started on my accounting degree as a path to law school.  Making a living took priority over law school but not my interest in public service.

What’s your favorite thing about living in Brentwood?  I really love our green space with our large residential lots, our parks and the few large farms we still have in our city. Of course the library is a family favorite and our friendly, helpful citizens. 

What’s your favorite thing about serving in Brentwood?  I enjoy helping citizens solve a problem they may have with the city.  Helping is a big reason I enjoy public service. 

What’s your least favorite thing about being in public office?  I do not know of a least favorite thing as I enjoy serving.  I dislike it when we have contentious issues that separate us but that is the joy of living in a democracy.

List three things in or concerning the city you hope to see accomplished during your term as mayor. I hope to see more activity in our Town Center area.  The prospect of more mixed use and residential development within the next two years is exciting.

I want to see us develop our master plan for Smith Park and begin the steps to get it open before the end of two years.  I also want to see our Flagpole Park planned and hopefully open for use.

I want to see an end to this recession so that we continue to improve our city.

What do you think the first major challenge you will face as mayor will be? I don’t see anything that could be labeled a major challenge.  My plan is to view each item before us and then decide how to vote.

Who decides where city commissioners sit during meetings?  It has usually been decided by the commissioners.  I started this two-year term sitting in Joe Sweeney’s old seat because I saw it as an honor to carry on his dedication to our city.  After the election of mayor and vice-mayor, the commissioners got together to decide among them who was going to sit where.  The mayor sits in the middle but the other commissioners and vice-mayor may sit in any of the other six chairs.

You’ve caused quite a stir about how fast you get through the meetings. Were you an auctioneer in a past life? I was not an auctioneer.  I did work as a radio DJ and sportscaster at the local radio station while in high school.   I watched our state legislature at the end of the session and saw how they read the bills and then went to discussion and votes.  It is funny that some thought I went fast while others commented that we went through the agenda very efficiently.

On Tuesday, Mayor Paul Webb introduced the state's new first lady, Crissy Haslam, at the FiftyForward Martin Center.

o you aspire to run for a higher office? I have no plans to run for higher office and I don’t expect to run for any elected office other than Brentwood City Commissioner.

There was a lot of talk during recent election about low-voter turnout and the timing of the municipal election. You will be up for re-election in 2013. Would you like to run in conjunction with other races or do you prefer the city-only election we have now? What are the pros and cons? I am not in favor of changing our election dates.  When we have a Brentwood election, we discuss Brentwood issues.  That is the main reason I prefer what we have now.  When you put local elections at the same time as state wide or national elections, everything is focused on those larger races so the local issues do not get discussed. 

In our area, most of the elections for other cities are held on dates specifically for them.  Metro Davidson County has elections this year in late summer.  Franklin has elections this year in early fall.  Brentwood and Spring Hill held elections this spring.  I think this system works.

You are an accountant by education and training. How does that serve you in your role as city commissioner/city mayor?  My accounting training and work history helps me understand the budgets and how they work.  Fund accounting and governmental accounting are somewhat different from business accounting rules and can be hard to understand.  My work experience helps me when I vote on the budget.  My experience in the construction industry helps me understand where the developers and property owners want to go with their project so I can evaluate its worth to the city.

The mayor makes a whopping $50 extra a month to serve. What do you plan to do with all that extra cash?  I will spend that extra, and more, on gas and parking going to and from events representing Brentwood.  

Where are you going on vacation this year?  Vacation!  Vacation!   We are planning some time away later this year but not sure where or when.  I will have some “staycation” days to do home improvements.

What is the best vacation you’ve ever taken?  I am very partial to the West, especially the Southwest.  I like traveling through the region looking at the landscapes and learning more about the native culture.  I took a vacation recently where I explored lighthouses.  My travels took me from Acadia, Maine to the Outer Banks.  It was a trip full of history and great eating.  Fresh seafood, yum.

As mayor, what can you do about the high gas prices charged in Brentwood as opposed to areas just north and south of us? The market decides the price of fuel.  Everyone needs to decide where to buy gas.  We have some full service stations here as well as some discount gas vendors in our city.  As mayor, I urge everyone to make as many purchases in Brentwood and Williamson County as possible.

You’ve taken some pretty cool sabbaticals in your lifetime. Tell us about them. I had a summer sabbatical a few years ago where I was a volunteer Park Ranger at Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona for three months.  It was great living inside the park, working with people from around the world and being able to learn more about the geology and the native people of the area.

I mentioned earlier about my lighthouse trips.  I combined that with taking smaller trips with each member of my family individually.  Each was unique and fun.  I went from the far southwestern U.S. to the northeastern tip of the country and spots in between.  One of those trips was to New Orleans with my oldest son. The history, the people and the food of New Orleans is something I want to enjoy again.

I want to thank the members of Westminster Presbyterian Church, my employers, for allowing the senior staff of the church to take sabbaticals every few years.

Best piece of advice you would give anyone thinking about going into public office?  I think that anyone considering entering public office needs to be aware of the time commitment.  Make sure you can devote the time and energy needed for the job.  It is rewarding but not everyone has the call to be a public servant.

What’s the most unusual call or complaint you’ve taken since being elected?  I had a citizen contact me who wanted me to do something about the airplanes flying over Brentwood.  I did contact airport officials to get more information about the rules.  The city of Brentwood has no authority when it comes to flight paths; it is a federal government responsibility.

What one thing would most surprise people about you? I think people are surprised when our family is together.  Pat and I are vertically challenged but our sons are all about 6 foot tall.  My brother and I have fun with that as well because people do not believe we are brothers because he is over 6 foot and a bit slimmer than I am.  I am also a big fan of all kinds of auto racing.