Committee directs mayor's office to restart Entertainment Commission hiring; substitute removes Metro Arts language

The Arts, Parks, Libraries & Entertainment Committee of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County voted Nov. 4, 2025, to press the mayor's office to resume the hiring process for an executive director for the Entertainment Commission after the search stalled in December 2024.

The committee first approved a substitute that removed Metro Arts from the text and focused the resolution on the Entertainment Commission. Committee members said the appointment process had been repeatedly delayed by administrative issues, including confusion about whether the office existed in payroll and whether a business unit had been created so staff could be paid and interviews could proceed.

Committee members described a sequence of roadblocks that they said prevented the search from moving forward and caused several candidates to withdraw. The substitute directs the mayor's office to reopen the applicant window and allow hiring steps to proceed concurrently with remaining administrative setup so interviews and selection can continue without further delay.

A member scheduled a special called meeting with administration staff and department representatives (named in committee discussion as Rosenberg, Jamari Brown from the mayor's office, Derek Smith from legal, Mary Jo from finance, and Shannon Hall from human resources) to clarify outstanding process steps. Several members said that while the administrative meeting is useful, a public committee action creates a record of accountability and provides an enforcement mechanism if the work does not proceed.

The committee also received public comment opposing early drafts that mentioned Metro Arts. Campbell West, a public commenter, told the committee the earlier language misrepresented Metro Arts' recent progress, saying the department had stabilized under an interim director and that framing the agency as in disarray could harm recruitment and morale.

The substitute passed 7-0. The resolution as amended later carried with a recorded vote of 6 in favor, 0 opposed and 1 non-vote. The motion and vote tallies were recorded in committee minutes; the committee did not record individual yes/no votes by name in the transcript.

Committee members said they will monitor the outcomes of the special administrative meeting and requested follow-up reports to the committee if further steps are needed to complete the hiring process.