Tunnicliffe, Bailey Allied in Williamson County Commission Bids in Attempt to Oust Richards

In an unusual move, incumbent District 7 County Commissioner Tom Tunnicliffe is standing with political newcomer Nancy Bailey in an attempt to unseat his fellow incumbent District 7 Commissioner Christopher Richards.

Tunnicliffe and Bailey held a joint campaign kickoff on March 16 at Andrews Cadillac, owned by Brentwood Mayor Nelson Andrews, in an event that drew around 100 people. That event included Williamson County Mayor Rogers Anderson, Republican county mayoral candidate Andy Marshall, Williamson Inc. president and CEO Matt Largen, and numerous county commissioners and school board members.

“[In] Brentwood, we've benefited so much from good leadership and good governance, and then you realize it doesn't happen by itself,” Andrews said. “It takes people really dedicated to giving their time and the effort to learn what's going on…it's just a terrific combo, and I'm so glad they're running for this office.”

Bailey said that she was encouraged by friends to run for the seat, having more free time since most of her children have graduated from Brentwood High School. She still has one child currently enrolled at Brentwood Middle School.

“My children have had the privilege of growing up here, and it's very dear to my heart. I love our community, and I want to keep our community Williamson County,” Bailey said.

Tunnicliffe said he saw himself in Bailey, who mirrored his reasons for running for office in the first place. 

“When I talked to the folks who have talked to Nancy, and when I was introduced to Nancy, she's just exactly what I want to work with. She’s that person,” Tunnicliffe said. “I saw myself eight years ago, where she is today. She has the time to do it and the willingness to do it. The reason I ran was because I wanted to give back, and she had pretty much the same answers for me when I talked to her. I was like, ‘Let's do this. Let's work together. We're on the same exact page.’”

District 7 is represented by two commission seats, with all three candidates running as Republicans. There's a total of 24 seats on the commission. 

“Williamson County cannot cut its way to prosperity. We have stuff that needs to be done, and we need to have commissioners that are problem solvers, not performance artists, that are out there really going through to help them solve the problems in our community,” Andrews said.

Richards told the Williamson Scene that the county’s growth is the top issue he’s hearing from his constituents, adding that he’s concerned about the county’s debt and what he called “anomalies” with county resolutions without contracts. 

Richards has verbally sparred with some officials, including County Attorney Jeff Mosely and Andrews, with Andrews publicly rebuking Richards for his vote in favor of a February resolution (page 137) that requested the Tennessee General Assembly to “review and amend Tennessee’s comprehensive growth plan and annexation statutes to address county concerns related to annexation and growth management.”

Richards was one of 16 yes votes during the Feb. 9 commission meeting, while Tunnicliffe was one of 7 no votes. 

Multiple municipalities passed their own resolutions in opposition to the county’s resolution. A related state bill, sponsored by Sen. Joey Hensley (R-Hohenwald), failed in a March 18 House State and Local Government Committee.

“What really bothers me the most is the fact that Christopher Richards, who is one of our county commissioners from here in Brentwood, voted in favor of this and didn't ever call me. I'm not aware of him looking into it at all, and I don't feel like that's very fairly representing Brentwood,” Andrews said during the March 9 Brentwood City Commission meeting, also criticizing Commissioner Mary Smith, a Republican candidate for county mayor who also voted for the resolution.

“I think if they contacted us, we talked through and they still supported it, I could respect their independence, but I do not appreciate them not including us in the conversation,” Andrews continued.

Richards said he was surprised it was a concern for Andrews, pushing back on the notion he should have discussed the issue with him at all. 

“No, I hadn't reached out to him [Andrews.] I'm surprised it was even a concern for him. It has a very minimal effect on the City of Brentwood. I think that they were just more concerned about having their authority possibly questioned,” Richards said, adding that he’s “not surprised at all” that Tunnicliffe and Bailey are running in support of each other.

Voters elected Richards to the seat in a special election in 2022. He said that so far he doesn't see the duo as posing much of a challenge this election cycle. 

“My two opponents have very little support from what I’ve been able to see,” he said. 

“Universally, I've been supported in what I'm doing. There's nothing secret to what I'm doing. I've been very open and very honest about what I'm doing. I'm not, in a backhanded way, trying to make sure that we raise debt and make sure that nobody knows about it. I'm trying to be very careful about what we spend, and I don't dismiss the importance of those issues. What I see from my opponents is not a lot, quite honestly.” 

Early voting in the May 5 primary election takes place from April 15-April 30, with more information about voting in Williamson County available online here.