• Skirt-lifting Nashville Democrat Mayor Megan Barry admits to extramarit

    From #MeToo #TimesUp@21:1/5 to All on Sat Aug 24 23:04:42 2019
    XPost: alt.politics.libertarian, alt.politics.socialism.libertarian, sac.general
    XPost: alt.politics.usa

    NASHVILLE — Mayor Megan Barry said Wednesday she had an
    extramarital affair with the police officer in charge of her
    security detail, an extraordinary admission that rocks the
    popular Nashville mayor's first term.

    Barry, in an interview with The Tennessean on Wednesday
    afternoon, apologized "for the harm I've done to the people I
    love and the people who counted on me."

    She confirmed the affair with Metro police Sgt. Robert Forrest
    Jr. since the spring or summer of 2016, just months after she
    entered office the previous fall. Forrest submitted his
    retirement papers Jan. 17. His final day was Wednesday.

    "We had an affair, and it was wrong, and we shouldn't have done
    it," Barry said. "He was part of my security detail, and as part
    of that responsibility, I should have gone to the (police)
    chief, and I should have said what was going on, and that was a
    mistake.

    "People that we admire can also be flawed humans, and I'm
    flawed, and I'm incredibly sad and sorry for the disappointment
    that I will see in those little girls' faces. But, what I hope
    they can also see is that people make mistakes, and you move on
    from those."

    Forrest, 58, was a regular presence with the mayor during public
    events, travel and even trips abroad. According to public
    records obtained by The Tennessean, thousands of taxpayer
    dollars covered Forrest's travel with the mayor on city business.

    While several of the trips included other members of the mayor's
    office, nine of the trips were with only Barry and Forrest,
    including a trip to Greece in September.

    Barry said she is no longer seeing Forrest.

    The mayor told her staff about the affair Wednesday afternoon
    and has scheduled a 7 p.m. CT news conference to discuss the
    matter.

    No plans to resign
    Barry hesitated when asked whether she plans to resign, but said
    she will not, despite rumors swirling Wednesday that she might
    step down. She also said she won't be taking a leave of absence
    and would be in the mayor's office Thursday. She said she
    doesn't believe the relationship violated any Metro ethics laws
    or guidelines.

    "This is a bad day, and there's going to be more bad days, but
    this is not my worst day," Barry said. "And I know the
    difference between a mistake — which is what I made and I fully
    own — and a tragedy. And this is not a tragedy. And I want to
    regain the trust of Nashvillians. And I will continue to serve."

    Her decision to go public came after inquiries this week from
    The Tennessean following the Jan. 17 resignation of Forrest, the
    head of security for the last three Nashville mayors.

    The scandal presents a monumental test both politically and
    personally for the mayor, who lost her only son in July to a
    drug overdose. Voters elected Barry mayor in 2015, and she has
    enjoyed approval ratings above 70%, bolstered by high marks from
    the city's Democrats.

    "I know that God's going to forgive me, but the citizens of
    Nashville don't have to," Barry said. "My hope is that I can
    earn their forgiveness, and I can earn back their trust, and we
    can do the great work for this city that Nashville deserves."

    Officer's last day in mayor's office Wednesday
    In a letter to a supervisor, Forrest, a 30-year veteran of the
    department, announced his retirement and gave a two-week notice
    on Jan. 17. His last day was Wednesday. He led a four-person
    team in charge of keeping the mayor safe and transporting her to
    various functions.

    "I have had an outstanding career and have enjoyed coming to
    work each day," Forrest said in the letter. "I plan to make the
    transition as soon as possible."

    Forrest offered no other explanation. In 2000, he signed a law
    enforcement code of ethics stating, "I will keep my private life
    unsullied as an example to all and will behave in a manner that
    does not bring discredit to me or to my agency."

    Barry, 54, is married to Bruce Barry, a professor at the
    Vanderbilt University Owen Graduate School of Management. The
    mayor declined to go into detail about her relationship with her
    husband, but said they are not separating. She asked for privacy
    on that matter.

    Mayor, officer billed more than $33K in travel together
    The relationship is the first extramarital affair in the
    Nashville mayor's office that has gone public since former Mayor
    Bill Boner's public romances in 1990s with a 34-year-old country
    singer and a former bodyguard, who was also a Metro Police
    officer.

    Forrest, who has been married for at least 28 years, frequently
    provided security for for the mayor on out-of-town trips for
    conferences and other city business.

    Barry's been the most visible mayor in Nashville history, and
    has gained national attention as rising star in Democratic
    ranks. At times, she's taken on almost celebrity status, rubbing
    shoulders with the city's musicians, athletes and appearing at
    concerts and Predators playoffs games.

    Last year, Forrest traveled with Barry overseas to Paris and
    Athens. He also accompanied her on trips to cities across the
    U.S., including to Washington D.C., New York, Denver, Oakland,
    Salt Lake City and Kansas City in the last 10 months alone.

    The trip to Greece Sept. 12-18 was for the Athens Democracy
    Forum as part of Nashville's involvement in the 100 Resilient
    Cities network led by the Rockefeller Foundation.

    According to travel records obtained by The Tennessean, the bill
    for Forrest’s trips between January 2017 and October 2017 cost
    $21,712. Barry’s travel expenses between Jan. 1, 2017, and this
    year totaled $11,382.

    Barry’s travel expenses are less, because on some trips
    foundations or organizations hosting the conference sponsor the
    travel costs.

    Barry said she was told by Police Chief Steve Anderson advised
    her that she is “always the mayor and you should be secured
    appropriately.”

    Each of the trips where Forrest provided security for her were
    business related, she said.

    “Those trips were all business related and those trips he
    traveled with me as my detail, which is standard policy with the
    police department to have detail with me wherever I am,” Barry
    said.

    Scandal hits during mayor's pivotal transit push
    Barry, one of Tennessee's most prominent Democrats and a
    favorite of liberals, overcame a significant fundraising
    disadvantage to win the 2015 mayoral election, defeating six
    opponents and David Fox in a runoff.

    The revelation of the relationship could have major
    ramifications on Barry's push for a $5.4 billion mass transit
    project, which she wants voter approval on through a May 1
    referendum. The transit referendum, which has proven
    contentious, is the most significant challenge politically that
    Barry has faced during her two-and-a-half years in office.

    Barry said she was elected on transit and other issues such as
    affordable housing and that she doesn't see her work on the
    transit project stopping.

    As an At-large Metro councilwoman from 2007 to 2015, Barry
    carved out a reputation for being pro-business but progressive
    on social issues — a formula that she's brought into the mayor's
    office.

    Professionally, Barry worked as an ethics and compliance officer
    at Premier Ehtics and Comppliane.

    Barry lost only son to overdose in July

    Barry also became a national voice in the country's opioid
    crisis last year after the death of her 22-year-old son Max, who
    died from a mix of drugs that included opioids.

    After Barry's son Max Barry died last year from a drug overdose,
    it was Forrest who came to her home at 3 a.m. to break the news.

    Forrest has supervised the security for mayors dating to Mayor
    Bill Purcell, who was elected in 1999. According to his bio,
    Forrest also has been the supervisor of the hate crime
    investigations unit, crime stoppers and security for visiting
    dignitaries. He spent 31 years in the department.

    https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/01/31/nashvill e-mayor-megan-barry-admits-extramarital-relationship/1085057001/
     

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