Beverly Briley

Clifton Beverly Briley (January 11, 1914 – September 14, 1980) was an American attorney and politician, the first mayor of the newly consolidated metropolitan government of Nashville and Davidson County in Tennessee. Elected to the mayor's position in 1962 as a Democrat, Briley served three terms from 1963 to 1975; he was prevented by term limits from running again. He had previously served as county judge (chief executive) of Davidson County for several terms, from 1950 to 1963.

Biography

Briley was born in West Nashville, Tennessee in 1914.^[1] Attending local schools, he became involved in Scouting as a boy and attained the rank of Eagle Scout.

He gained early admission to Vanderbilt University and Cumberland Law School. In 1932, at the age of eighteen, he became the youngest Tennessean ever admitted to the bar. He began practicing later that year and quickly made a name for himself.

In 1934, Briley married Dorothy Gordon. They had two children together, Cliff and Diane.^[1] Briley served in the US Navy during World War II as a quartermaster aboard the USS David Taylor.^[1]

After the war, he ran a successful campaign for county judge (chief executive) of Davidson County in 1950, serving until 1963.

Briley was a champion of metropolitan government and supported the merger of Nashville and Davidson County government. In 1963 he won election against Davidson County tax assessor Clifford Allen, another longtime Nashville politician, and became the first mayor of what is known as Metro Nashville. In 1966, his main opponent was Ben West, the former mayor of the earlier City of Nashville municipal government. Briley won the election in a runoff. Briley was reelected in 1970, also in a runoff. He was prevented by term limits from running again in 1974.

He remained active in Nashville politics until his death five years later. Altogether, he served as chief executive of Davidson County and of Nashville for almost 30 years.

Briley took a fairly progressive position on the Civil Rights Movement, an important question for mayors of Southern cities at the time. He readily cooperated with black leaders and is generally credited with helping smooth the transition away from racial segregation in Nashville. Public schools and lunch counters had already been desegregated by the time he took office.

On other issues, he was a conservative Democrat; in 1972 he was the area leader of "Democrats for Nixon," in an effort to strengthen southern support for Republican national candidates. That year, Nixon became the first Republican presidential candidate to carry Davidson County since the Reconstruction era. Most Republicans had been disenfranchised in Tennessee and other states when they passed new constitutions to suppress black voting by raising barriers to voter registration. White conservatives have since completed their shift in the South into the Republican Party, most leaving the Democratic Party.

Briley died on September 14, 1980 at the age of 66. He is buried at Spring Hill Cemetery in Nashville.^[2]

Legacy and honors

• Briley Parkway, a major beltway thoroughfare which runs by the Grand Ole Opry House and around much of the city, was named in his honor.
• The city-owned Beverly Briley Building, a major component of Nashville's redesigned Public Square, was named for him.
• His grandson, Rob Briley, was a politician who formerly represented the 52nd House District, a Nashville district, in the state legislature. He also served as the Democratic Majority Floor Leader; another grandson, David Briley, served as a city council representative in Nashville.

References

1. Campbell, Chester D. (January 1963). "Metro Mayor—The Man and the Job". Nashville Magazine 1 (1).
2. Gordon, Thomas Gilbert (1988). The John Hilton Gordon Family, Rutherford County, Tennessee. T.G. Gordon.

External links

• Public Square redesign details, City of Nashville