Jim Shulman

Jim Shulman is the vice mayor of Nashville, Tennessee and President of the Metropolitan Council of Nashville and Davidson County. He was sworn in on September 17, 2018.[1] He is also the CEO of Safe Haven Family Shelter, a Nashville-based organization that helps individuals and families experiencing homelessness.[2]

Jim Shulman
Vice Mayor of Nashville
In office
September 17, 2018 – September 1, 2023
Preceded byDavid Briley
Succeeded byAngie Henderson
Personal details
Political partyDemocratic

Previously, Shulman served as a council member representing the 25th district from 1999 to 2007 and then as an at-large council member from 2015 until he was sworn in as vice mayor. As an at-large council member, Shulman was one of three no votes on a $14 million incentive package for the Opryland water park.[3]

On August 3, 2023, Shulman was defeated for re-election by Metro councilmember Angie Henderson[4]

Vice Mayor

Election

Shulman was elected in the 2018 special election. After finishing second in the general special election, Shulman won the runoff, defeating Sheri Weiner.[5] Weiner had been the acting Vice Mayer since then-Vice Mayor David Briley assumed the Mayor's office following Megan Barry's resignation.[6]

Shulman was elected to a full four-year term in August 2019.[7]

Fair Board Appointees

After Nashville Mayor John Cooper missed deadlines on more than a dozen appointments, including appointments for two positions on the Board of Fair Commissioners, the responsibility to make these appointments fell to Shulman. The vice mayor twice nominated a black woman for the position despite calls for increased representation from the Hispanic community.[8] Shulman later nominated and the council approved the appointment of Mario Avila, a Latino man, and Jasper Hendricks, a black man.[9]

Homelessness

During his time as at-large council member, Shulman was critical of the city's response to homelessness, specifically its cold weather plan.[10] He spoke at December 2016 memorial service in memory of the 87 homeless people who died on the streets of Nashville in 2016.[11] In January 2017, he held an emergency meeting to allow one cold weather shelter to go over capacity.[12]

On April 14, 2021, Shulman was named CEO of Safe Haven Family Shelter effective July 14.[2]

As vice mayor, Shulman held a series of meetings in November and December 2021 to gather ideas and solutions to outdoor homelessness in Nashville.[13][14] One change that was discussed at these meetings was raising the opening temperature for Metro Nashville's Overflow Shelter to 32 degrees from its previous temperature of 28 degrees. The city's shelter committee voted to change that temperature threshold in early December.[15]

Some stakeholders have noted the mayor's absence from this series of meetings as a sign that the mayor is not interested in listening to other community members.[16]

References
  1. Morris, Chuck. "Shulman to be sworn in today as Nashville Vice Mayor". WSMV Nashville. Retrieved 2022-01-24.
  2. Friedman, Adam. "Nashville Vice Mayor Jim Shulman named new CEO of Safe Haven Family Shelter". The Tennessean. Retrieved 2022-01-24.
  3. Garrison, Joey. "Council advances $14M in incentives for Opryland water park". The Tennessean. Retrieved 2022-01-24.
  4. Morris, Chuck (August 3, 2023). "Incumbent beat in race for Nashville's vice mayor". WSMV-TV. Retrieved August 26, 2023.
  5. Garrison, Joey. "Jim Shulman elected Nashville vice mayor in lopsided runoff election". The Tennessean. Retrieved 2022-01-24.
  6. "Shulman elected Nashville vice mayor". WSMV Nashville. Retrieved 2022-01-24.
  7. Aycock, Dylan Skye (2019-08-01). "VOTE 2019: Jim Shulman wins Nashville's vice mayor race". impact. Retrieved 2022-01-24.
  8. Crutchfield, Ambriehl (2021-03-23). "A Fight Over Diverse Representation In Nashville Has Left No One Satisfied |". wpln.org. Retrieved 2022-01-24.
  9. Crutchfield, Ambriehl (2022-01-10). "Nashville fairgrounds will get two people of color as board members, after a yearlong political stalemate |". wpln.org. Retrieved 2022-01-24.
  10. Garrison, Joey. "Homelessness in Nashville spikes 10 percent". The Tennessean. Retrieved 2022-01-24.
  11. Garrison, Joey. "Nashville remembers 87 homeless who died in 2016". The Tennessean. Retrieved 2022-01-24.
  12. "Nashville Homeless Shelters At Capacity". WTVF. 2017-01-07. Retrieved 2022-01-24.
  13. Veysey, Morgan Nicole (2021-12-01). "Nashville Vice Mayor Jim Schulman Hosts First Public Meeting to Discuss Plans for Outdoor Homelessness". Tennessee Star. Retrieved 2022-01-24.
  14. LaMere, Maggie (2021-12-01). "Is Nashville doing enough to address homelessness? Vice mayor says no". WZTV. Retrieved 2022-01-24.
  15. Veysey, Morgan Nicole (2021-12-15). "Nashville Vice Mayor Jim Shulman Releases Plan for Battling Homelessness". Tennessee Star. Retrieved 2022-01-24.
  16. Glover, Erika (2021-12-02). "'He won't listen': Nonprofit calls out Nashville mayor's absence at homelessness meetings". WZTV. Retrieved 2022-01-24.
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