Mayor Freddie O’Connell

Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell gave his first State of the City Address, detailing a path toward a more connected, affordable city with a local government that feels like a partner to residents.

Mayor O’Connell discussed Nashville’s transportation improvement program, Choose How You Move, which aims to improve sidewalks, signals, service, and safety. The referendum would add 86 miles of sidewalk improvements, 54 miles of upgraded corridors to provide more reliable transit options, and a transit system that runs 24/7, 365 days a year. The program will also add 12 modern community transit centers, 17 new park-and-ride facilities, and 35 miles of upgraded and new bicycle facilities.

The Mayor highlighted education initiatives, including expanding university MNPS partnerships to create full-ride scholarship opportunities at local colleges and universities. The city is also proposing to invest $18 million in textbooks while ensuring it continues to expand Community Achieves, nurses in every school, high-impact tutoring, summer learning camps, Saturday instruction, and mentorship programs.

Mayor O’Connell announced that the co-responder Partners in Care program is now operating countywide and has responded to more than 27,000 service calls since the launch. The city has also revised its overall approach to public safety, adding community-based safety programs and refining traditional policing programs. Specifically, the Mayor shared that homicides are down 25.6%, violent crime by 5.4%, and gun thefts from vehicles by 35% year-over-year.

Watch the Mayor’s full address here.

More State of the City Addresses

Las Vegas, Nevada

Mayor Shelley Berkley

Mayor Shelley Berkley delivered her State of the City Address, looking to the future and outlining how Las Vegas will continue to be a leading city that assists those in need, creates new opportunities, and provides safe and beautiful neighborhoods and amenities. She emphasized the city’s continued focus on helping vulnerable residents through expanded services, including the MORE Team pilot program, which connects individuals experiencing homelessness with mental health professionals, health workers, and street medicine, as well as the new Community Court that prioritizes structure, monitoring, and resources over punitive approaches.

Nashville, Tennessee

In his State of the Metro Address, Mayor Freddie O’Connell described his vision for a Nashville that is affordable, safe, healthy, welcoming, and prosperous, a city for everyone, and emphasized that progress will be purposeful, even when it is not always loud or linear. He outlined steps his administration will take to make Nashville more affordable, including proposals to cut the grocery tax, expand access to childcare, support small businesses, create jobs, build more housing, and invest in children from birth.

Knoxville, Tennessee

Mayor Indya Kincannon

In her seventh State of the City Address, Mayor Indya Kincannon proposed a lean budget that continues to prioritize public safety, affordable housing, parks, and high-quality people-focused services. She also emphasized the importance of being good stewards of taxpayer dollars, noting that her budget proposal covers essential services without raising taxes, even as the city navigates inflation, rising costs, and broader economic uncertainty.