{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"Freda Player","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"D","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nFreda Player has represented District 7 on the Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools Board of Education since 2019 and currently serves as the board's chair [4]. She ran for Davidson County Clerk in the May 5, 2026 Democratic primary against Sharon Hurt and Pamela Murray, seeking to succeed retiring Clerk Brenda Wynn [1]. Hurt won the nomination with 19,440 votes (46.98%); Player finished second with 16,619 votes (40.16%); Murray finished third with 5,319 votes (12.85%) [5]. Because no Republican qualified for the office, Hurt's primary win effectively decided the general election [2]. Player's campaign emphasized \"good governance, smarter technology and protecting institutional knowledge\" built by outgoing Clerk Brenda Wynn, and pledged reduced wait times, expanded satellite office hours and modernized online services [3].\n\n## Background and education\nPlayer holds a B.A. in political science, magna cum laude, from Fisk University, and a Master's in Political Management (2003) from George Washington University [3][4].\n\n## Career\nPlayer's political career began with Al Gore's 2000 presidential campaign. She served as voter outreach coordinator and later political director for the Tennessee Democratic Party until 2008, then as state director of the Tennessee Change That Works campaign (2008-2010) and as political director for SEIU Local 205 (2010-2018), where she also served on the union's International Public Division Leadership Board [3]. She later served as senior legislative adviser in Mayor David Briley's administration - described as \"the second woman and first African-American\" to hold that role - and as a transition official under Mayor John Cooper [3].\n\n## Office history\nPlayer was elected to the Metro Nashville Board of Education's District 7 seat in 2019 [4]. She has chaired the board's Budget and Finance Committee, overseeing a roughly $1.4 billion budget, served two years as vice chair, and now chairs the full board [3][4].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Davidson County Clerk race: Meet the candidates](https://nashvillebanner.com/2026/04/23/davidson-county-clerk-candidates-sharon-hurt-freda-player-pamela-murray/) - Nashville Banner, accessed 2026-07-06\n[2] [Democrats choose Sharon Hurt as Davidson County Clerk nominee](https://nashvillebanner.com/2026/05/05/sharon-hurt-davidson-county-nashville-democrats/) - Nashville Banner, accessed 2026-07-06\n[3] [Meet Freda Player, candidate for Davidson County Clerk](https://www.aol.com/news/meet-freda-player-candidate-davidson-100731354.html) - accessed 2026-07-06\n[4] [Nashville school board chair Freda Player talks vouchers, school safety, and the politics of schools](https://www.axios.com/local/nashville/2025/02/04/nashville-school-board-chair-freda-player-talks-top-issues-facing-the-district) - Axios Nashville, accessed 2026-07-06\n[5] [Middle Tennessee Election Results: May 5, 2026](https://rutherfordsource.com/middle-tennessee-election-results-may-5-2026/) - Rutherford Source, accessed 2026-07-06","firstname":"Freda","lastname":"Player","middlename":null,"suffix":null,"token":"2thpdd6Ee7"},"token":"freda_player"},{"candidatename":"Sharon Hurt","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"D","person":{"biography":"Sharon W. Hurt is a Democratic candidate running for Davidson County Clerk in Tennessee, with the primary election scheduled for May 5, 2026 [1]. She previously served as an at-large member of the Nashville Metro Council, assuming office in 2015 and leaving on September 30, 2023 [1]. During her tenure on the council, she chaired the Public Facilities, Art & Culture Committee [1]. Hurt also ran for Mayor of Nashville in 2023, finishing sixth in the general election with 6.0 percent of the vote [1].\n\nHurt earned a bachelor's degree from Tennessee State University and holds an M.A. in nonprofit leadership from Belmont University [1]. Her professional background includes serving as the Director of Admissions and Records for 16 years at Meharry Medical College [12]. She also worked as the CEO of JUMP-Jefferson Street United Merchants Partnership, a nonprofit organization focused on cooperative economic development in North Nashville [1], [12]. A historical marker in Hadley Park highlights her leadership in the Jefferson Street community and the Gateway to Heritage project [12].\n\nAs of her 2023 mayoral campaign, Hurt was affiliated with several organizations, including the National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials, the Downtown Rotary Club, the Bellevue Exchange Club, and the Nashville Women's Breakfast Club [1]. She has been a notary for 40 years [11]. In the 2026 County Clerk race, Hurt stated she would institute an annual \"State of the Clerk\u2019s Office\" report, ensure language access for services, and cross-train employees [11]. Her campaign finance filings indicated she raised more than $30,000 prior to April 1 and loaned her campaign $10,000 [11].\n\n## Sources\n- [1] [Sharon W. Hurt - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Sharon_W._Hurt)\n- [9] [Sharon Hurt (@SharonForNash) / ...](https://x.com/sharonfornash?lang=en)\n- [11] [Davidson County Clerk race: Meet the candidates - Nashville Banner](https://nashvillebanner.com/2026/04/23/davidson-county-clerk-candidates-sharon-hurt-freda-player-pamela-murray/)\n- [12] [Sharon Hurt Historical Marker](https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=208994)","firstname":"Sharon","lastname":"Hurt","middlename":null,"suffix":null,"token":"UW0qMQzIUv"},"token":"sharon_hurt"},{"candidatename":"Pamela Murray","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"D","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nPamela \"Pam\" Murray ran for Davidson County Clerk in the May 5, 2026 Democratic primary, campaigning on her \"long record in local politics and nonprofit leadership\" and pledging enhanced transparency, satellite services, and language access for services such as vehicle registration and marriage licenses [1]. She finished third of three candidates with 5,319 votes (12.85%); Sharon Hurt won the nomination with 19,440 votes (46.98%) and Freda Player finished second with 16,619 votes (40.16%) [4]. Because no Republican qualified for the office, Hurt's primary win effectively decided the general election.\n\n## Career\nMurray describes her professional background as \"a social worker and program director\" [1]. She has run for local office repeatedly since being recalled from Metro Council: Register of Deeds in 2018 (won by Karen Johnson), Metro Council in 2015 and 2019, and Circuit Court Clerk in 2022, where she received 23 percent of the vote in a three-way primary [1][5].\n\n## Office history\nMurray represented East Nashville's District 5 on the Metro Council before being recalled by voters on November 12, 2009, by a 542-540 vote - the first successful council recall in Nashville's history [2]. The recall followed a NewsChannel 5 report that Murray was working at a methadone clinic in Detroit, Michigan, raising questions about whether she met Metro's residency requirement for her district [2]. Recall organizer Jamie Hollin also described her as \"unresponsive to constituents\" [2].\n\n## Documented disputes and controversies\nMurray sued recall organizer Jamie Hollin and others for defamation over statements made during the recall campaign. The Tennessee Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment for the defendants on December 10, 2012, finding that Murray - a public figure - had not produced sufficient evidence of \"actual malice\" to survive summary judgment [3].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Davidson County Clerk candidate Pam Murray](https://nashvillebanner.com/2026/04/17/davidson-county-clerk-candidate-pam-murray/) - Nashville Banner, accessed 2026-07-06\n[2] [Pam Murray recall, Nashville, Tennessee, 2009](https://ballotpedia.org/Pam_Murray_recall,_Nashville,_Tennessee,_2009) - Ballotpedia, accessed 2026-07-06\n[3] [Pamela Murray v. Jamie Hollin, et al.](https://www.tncourts.gov/courts/court-appeals/opinions/2012/12/10/pamela-murray-v-jamie-hollin-et-al) - Tennessee Court of Appeals, Dec. 10, 2012, accessed 2026-07-06\n[4] [Middle Tennessee Election Results: May 5, 2026](https://rutherfordsource.com/middle-tennessee-election-results-may-5-2026/) - Rutherford Source, accessed 2026-07-06\n[5] [Pam Murray](https://ballotpedia.org/Pam_Murray) - Ballotpedia, accessed 2026-07-06\n","firstname":"Pamela","lastname":"Murray","middlename":null,"suffix":null,"token":"LG1Qfe2X2T"},"token":"pamela_murray"}],"choices":null,"description":null,"district":"davidson","districtgroup":"county","districtgroupname":"County","districtname":null,"job_type":"county_clerk","o.office":"county_clerk","office":"county_clerk","officedescription":"The county clerk handles a broad set of public transactions and records: marriage and business licenses, motor-vehicle titling and registration, notary commissions, and the official minutes of the county commission. It is a high-volume administrative and records office.","officequalities":"- Administration of motor-vehicle registration, license plates, marriage licenses, and business-tax registrations for roughly 910,000 residents \u2014 a high-volume operation across a main office and satellite locations.\n- Working knowledge of Tennessee statutes governing each of those functions, which change regularly.\n- Customer-service capacity: the Clerk's office is one of the most-visited county offices by ordinary residents.\n- Financial controls for collecting state and local fees and remitting them accurately.\n- Supervision of a multi-location office staff handling high transaction volume; technology and process management as more services move online.","officeterm":4,"officetitle":"County Clerk","partisan":1,"pgr":"primary","quantity":null,"referendum":null,"source":null,"title":"County Clerk"}