Once a rising star, Nashville ex-mayor freefalls with affair
NASHIVILLE, Tenn. — Before her sudden fall, former Nashville Mayor Megan Barry was a progressive, pro-business rising star among Tennessee’s struggling Democrats in a firmly red state.
She officiated the city’s first gay marriage before being elected in 2015. She pushed for tremendous growth, helping shape an ever-changing skyline of construction cranes and new high-rises.
When the Barrys’ only son died of a drug overdose in July, people across the country rallied to console her and her husband, Bruce. She was the face of a key ballot referendum coming up in May that will ask voters to shoulder tax increases to help build a $5.4 billion transit system.
But Barry’s quick political ascent seemed to hit the dirt on Tuesday after a wild, five-week freefall, as she pleaded guilty to stealing thousands of taxpayer dollars to carry on an affair with her former bodyguard and resigned.