New Commissioners Sworn into Office, Nelson Andrews Elected Mayor

Brentwood’s newest city commissioners Janet Donahue and Kim Smithson Gawrys were sworn into office during Monday night’s city commission meeting, which also saw the election of commissioner Nelson Andrews to the role of mayor, and no action taken on an ethics inquiry centered on former mayor Mark Gorman, who was overwhelmingly defeated in the May 6 election.

“Regardless of who you supported, I think that it's pretty remarkable that we can all say we participated in the historic event for our city, and I'm very honored and very humbled to be here, and a little emotional, because there's a connection and history here,” Gawrys said, noting the history and service of her late mother, Commissioner Regina Smithson, who died in 2022 after more than 30 years of public service. “I'm very humbled, and I appreciate that you, as residents, have entrusted me to be your voice and represent you on this commission.”

Donahue said she looks forward to working with the rest of the commissioners to continue making Brentwood a desirable place for people to live and to work.

“My focus used to be very small, it's gotten much larger, and you all have been wonderful, and whether you supported me or supported someone else, I respect you, and I hope that I can honor the trust that you've placed in me with your votes by doing the right thing, being diligent in what I do, remembering that I work for and that I represent you,” she said.

Mayor Andrews and Vice Mayor Little

Incumbent commissioner Rhea Little was also sworn in for his new term, with County Mayor Rogers Anderson issuing the oath of office.

The commission then unanimously voted to elect Andrews as mayor, a largely ceremonial role on the commission. Commissioner Ken Travis, who had been serving as Vice Mayor under Gorman, withdrew his name from the nomination “in order to move forward and help unify” the commission.

“This is a very talented group up here, and I think we're very capable of working together,” Travis said. “My promise is I'll continue to always try to do better, and I'm glad to sit up here and do what needs to be done for this great city of Brentwood.”

Andrews touted what he said his goals are as mayor, “transparency, community and consistency,” goals that he said he hopes will be reflected throughout the body.

“For years, pre-Covid, we had a tradition of the commission regularly meeting with our state reps, our school board reps, our county reps, and just really, not necessarily having a deep agenda, but having good relationships and having the time to spend with each other, and I think Covid took a bite out of that tradition, but I think we can get back to it,” Andrews said.

“I think that's important, but also looking for ways, not just with the volunteers and other elected officials, but really continuing to integrate Brentwood as a part of the larger community, and making sure we know our neighbors, making sure we know the adjoining municipalities, making sure we don't have a huge development grow out on the top of the hill without hearing about it ahead of time,” he continued. “Try to have the lens of communication with all these people around us, so we have a good relationship, and have a better opportunity to problem solve on a large basis.”

Little was elected to the role of vice mayor in a 6-1 vote, with Commissioner Susannah Macmillan voting for herself to serve in that role.

Macmillan signaled interest in continuing to help lead the city with her self-nomination for the vice mayor role during the May 8 commission briefing and gave no indication during Monday night’s meeting that she was no longer interested in serving – however, she abruptly resigned from the commission on Tuesday afternoon.

Macmillan, along with Travis, Gorman and former Commissioner Allison Spears were referenced as the “gang of four” during citizen comments, with citizen Randy Smith saying, “originally said I was going to come here and say two down, two to go, but really it's two down, three to go, because we got to get [District 61 Rep.] Gino Bulso out next.”

That comment received laughter and applause from some of the audience, and referenced a bill sponsored by Bulso which allows the city to enter into a public-private agreement on recreational sports facilities. Some commissioners were upset that Bulso communicated directly with Gorman, instead of the entire commission, about the bill which has since been signed into law.

Another notable citizen comment was made by former Brentwood City Manager Mike Walker (1990-2013), who endorsed Donahue, Gawrys and Little in last week’s election, and entered the commission chambers on Monday for the first time since he retired.

“For the first time I've ever done that, because of my concern about the direction of the former majority of the board was taking with our community with this divisive leadership,” Walker said, and congratulated the winners.

“While, I think all three of you that just got elected will do a great job as policy makers of the city, note that I will not always agree with your decisions, but that's okay, because I know that you will solicit input from citizens, and you'll listen to them on issues and desires, and I know you will not be making backroom deals that are targeted to benefit only special interest groups and friends,” he added.

Walker also urged the commission to do three things including, “establish a written policy on any proposed amendments to the city's charter by the Tennessee General Assembly that will be initiated by the board first, and require endorsement by the entire board by resolution,” citing Bulso’s bill.

He also advocated that the commission dismiss the “ridiculous” ethics complaint against Little who he called “one of the most honorable public servants that I have ever known,” and asked the commission to reach out to county officials to “begin to forge a positive work relationship again that was significantly damaged in the past two years by self-centered special interests.”

No Action Taken on Gorman Ethics Complaint

The meeting also saw discussion and a unanimous vote by the commission to take no action on the April 25 ethics complaint filed against Gorman, because any potential action, such as a censure, would have no impact on Gorman and an investigation would cost taxpayer money.

As previously reported, that complaint alleged that he used his position on the Board of Commissioners to obtain private business deals and failed to disclose any potential conflicts of interest when voting as a commissioner.

Commissioner Anne Dunn called it a “lengthy” complaint that would see an investigation look over some two years of records, meeting videos and numerous interviews.

“I think the election result was enough of a censure. I think Mr. Gorman got the idea of what a lot of the community felt about this,” Dunn said, while also referencing another ongoing ethics complaint centered on Vice Mayor Little, a complaint which the commission is moving forward on investigating.

“I felt like Commissioner Little’s case could have been decided in 10 minutes, open and shut. We had no reason to hire anybody except now to clear [Little’s] name, since the board would not vote at that time to dismiss it,” Dunn continued. “[Gorman’s complaint], I think, is going to work its way through the legal system, without the city of Brentwood spending any money helping in that regard. … I, for one, don't want to spend another dime on that, so that's why I made that motion.”

Andrews added the concerns about Gorman’s conduct are serious.

“While I don't take these lightly, I also see that properly investigating, as Commissioner Dunn pointed out, it takes significant taxpayer resources,” Andrews said. “Seeing that Mayor Gorman is no longer a member of this commission, it also renders the outcome of investigation moot from our standpoint, but I want to be clear that it's not an assessment of the validity of the citizen concerns, but strictly from our perspective, I'm glad to set this aside, and let the involved parties take on the investigation privately.”