A resolution commending and honoring Brenda Wynn upon her retirement from the office of the Davidson County Clerk.

Topics

Elections & charter

Introduced: August 18, 2026
Last action: Adopted · August 18, 2026

AI summary — check the source Spot-checked in audit

Council honors retiring County Clerk Brenda Wynn in a 35-0 vote

Metro Council adopted a ceremonial resolution commending Davidson County Clerk Brenda Wynn as she retires after 14 years in the office. Council Member Zulfat Suara, the lead sponsor, called Wynn the first African-American woman to serve as a constitutional officer in Nashville and credited her with modernizing the clerk's office and with extensive behind-the-scenes community work (t=6800, t=6830). Three other council members followed with tributes, including personal stories about Wynn officiating a wedding and about marriage licenses handled by her office (t=6976, t=7141). No one spoke against it; the official record shows 35 yes votes, 0 no, 0 abstaining.

What it does

This is a ceremonial resolution — it commends and honors Brenda Wynn for her service as Davidson County Clerk upon her retirement. It carries no funding, rule change, or legal effect.

What happened, in plain language

The resolution was adopted. The official record lists the motion — to adopt the resolution and to add every member voting yes as a co-sponsor under Council Rule 12.3 — as approved 35 yes, 0 no, 0 abstaining. Because this is a resolution rather than an ordinance, this single vote finishes it; there is no second or third reading. The packet's votes list is empty, so individual members' positions come from the official action text, which names all 35 yes votes: Suara, Porterfield, Evans-Segall, Allen, Hill, Kimbrough, Toombs, Gamble, Cortese, Parker, Capp, Benedict, Hancock, Webb, Eslick, Evans, Bradford, Huffman, Gregg, Welsch, Vo, Cash, Kupin, Horton, Preptit, Johnston, Nash, Benton, Ellis, Sepulveda, Rutherford, Styles, Lee, Ewing, and Spain.

On the floor · 10 points

Context

The chair of the Rules, Confirmations and Public Elections Committee reported the committee had recommended approval, 7 in favor and 0 against.

a council member Watch 1:52:41
For

Suara asked that Rule 12.3 be applied so every council member voting yes is added as a co-sponsor of the resolution.

Zulfat Suara Watch 1:52:46
For

Wynn was the first African-American woman to serve as a constitutional officer, and she brought changes to the clerk's office that made it work much better for the public.

Zulfat Suara Watch 1:53:20
For

Beyond the office itself, Wynn worked with many community organizations, usually in the background rather than out front, over 14 years of service.

Zulfat Suara Watch 1:53:43
For

Wynn's fingerprints are on many city initiatives without her name being attached, and she knows how to work across the aisle with all kinds of people.

a council member Watch 1:54:46
For

On a recent visit to get vehicle tags, the office was efficient, people moved through quickly, and employees seemed happy — evidence of the improvements Wynn made.

a council member Watch 1:55:37
For

Told a personal story: before holding office, they walked into the clerk's office as a member of the public and asked Wynn to officiate their wedding on the pedestrian bridge, and she agreed on the spot and showed up.

a council member Watch 1:56:16
Context

Asked to invoke the 'Murphy rule' on a colleague's behalf; the presiding officer explained the co-sponsor rule was already part of Suara's motion and had been properly seconded.

a council member Watch 1:57:52
For

Having officiated a wedding in their district that day, thanked Wynn for making sure marriage licenses and 'all the love that happens in Nashville' get recorded.

a council member Watch 1:59:01
For

Wynn was consistently kind and willing to help and partner with people across the city, whether in an official capacity or not, and has been an example to many.

a council member Watch 1:59:25

What the AI is unsure about

The packet's structured votes array is empty and voice_vote is marked false; the 35-0 tally and the list of members comes from the official action text. On the transcript the presiding officer took the vote by asking for ayes and then for any no or abstain votes (t=7217–7225), so the recorded roll of 35 co-sponsoring yes votes reflects the official minutes rather than an audible roll call. Four council members spoke in support, but three of them appear in the transcript only as anonymized speaker ids, so they are described as 'a council member' rather than named — the presiding officer's introductions suggest who they were, but that is not attributed here. The transcript slice runs past this item's conclusion at about t=7233 and includes several later agenda items (the Master Gardeners resolution, a flood-prone property purchase, and two late-filed first-reading ordinances); none of that material is part of this item and it is not summarized here. Transcript spellings of names are imperfect (e.g. 'Swara' for Suara, 'Wynne' for Wynn); the official title's spelling is used.

This summary was written from the meeting transcript and the official action record, then checked by a second pass looking for claims the transcript does not support. Where the two disagree, the record and the recording are what count.

See this item in the full agenda for August 18, 2026 →

History

Considered August 18, 2026 Metropolitan Council

See the full August 18, 2026 agenda →
Adopted August 18, 2026 Metropolitan Council

Official record

The resolution was approved by the Rules, Confirmations, and Public Elections Committee. Council Member Suara moved to adopt the resolution and that all members voting in the affirmative be listed as a cosponsor pursuant to Rule 12.3 of the Rules of Procedure of the Council, which motion was seconded and approved by the following vote: Yes (35): Suara, Porterfield, Evans-Segall, Allen, Hill, Kimbrough, Toombs, Gamble, Cortese, Parker, Capp, Benedict, Hancock, Webb, Eslick, Evans, Bradford, Huffman, Gregg, Welsch, Vo, Cash, Kupin, Horton, Preptit, Johnston, Nash, Benton, Ellis, Sepulveda, Rutherford, Styles, Lee, Ewing, and Spain; No (0); Abstain (0)

See the full August 18, 2026 agenda →

The filed text for this matter has not been published here yet. It is available on Legistar.

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