About Karl Dean

Karl Dean is the sixth mayor of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County. He was elected on Sept. 11, 2007 and was re-elected on Aug. 4, 2011 with nearly 80 percent of the vote. As mayor, Dean has acted as a strong advocate for education reform in Metro Nashville Public Schools. Every year he has fully funded the budget for Metro schools despite cuts to most other departments. He also has allocated additional funds from Metro’s general operating budget for education-related programs, including the Attendance Center and the Nashville After Zone Alliance. Dean also formed the Education First Fund at the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee to draw private support for education reform initiatives. Dean first held public office when he was elected as Nashville’s Public Defender in 1990, a post he was re-elected to in 1994 and 1998. Dean served as Metro Law Director from 1999 to January 2007, when he resigned to run for the office of mayor.