NASHIVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Before her sudden fall, former Nashville Mayor Megan Barry was a progressive, pro-business rising star among Tennessee’s struggling Democrats a firmly red state.
She officiated the city’s first gay marriage before being elected in 2015. She pushed for tremendous growth, helping shape an ever-changing skyline of construction cranes and new high-rises.
When the Barrys’ only son died of a drug overdose in July, people across the country rallied to console her and her husband Bruce. She was the face of a key ballot referendum coming up in May that will ask voters to shoulder tax increases to help build a $5.4 billion transit system.
But Barry’s quick political ascent came crashing down Tuesday after a wild, five-week freefall, as she pleaded guilty to stealing thousands of taxpayer dollars to carry on an affair with her former bodyguard and resigned.
Barry stunned the city in late January when she confessed to the extramarital relationship, which began in spring 2016 and continued as her popularity and accomplishments grew. She says it has since ended, but she hasn’t disclosed when.