Paula Foster
Paula Foster was a 2015 candidate for District 17 of the Nashville Metro Council in Tennessee. The general election took place on August 6, 2015.
Biography
Foster grew up in rural Louisiana. She attended a small Southern Baptist college, graduating with a bachelor's degree in social work. She went on to earn a master's degree in social work from the City University of New York and moved to Nashville in 2001.
Foster is in private practice as a clinical social work supervisor and therapist, and she also works as faculty for the Vanderbilt School of Nursing. She has volunteered with or is otherwise affiliated with the following organizations:[1]
- National Association of Social Workers
- NASW Tennessee Board of Directors
- NASW National Board of Directors
- National Committee on GLBT Issues
- 12th South Neighborhood Association
- Women For Tennessee’s Future
- Women’s Political Collaborative
- Davidson County Democratic Women
- Nashville Psychotherapy Institute
- Ryan White Part A Planning Council
- Ryan White Community AIDS Partnership
- Saddle-Up! Nashville
- American Red Cross
- Nashville Coalition for the Homeless
Campaign themes
2015
Foster's website highlighted the following campaign themes:[2]
Transit, parking and sidewalks
- Excerpt: "Our transit system has improved greatly in the past ten years, but it still needs work. We need to find a way to get folks out of their cars and onto the bus by expanding schedules and moving routes into currently underserved neighborhoods. We need to address the issue of providing appropriate bus stops. If we expect our citizens and visitors to use our bus system, we need to make it easy to navigate, convenient, and safe to use."
Affordable housing
- Excerpt: "Maintaining housing options in our urban core that are attainable for our police force, fire fighters, nurses, teachers, social workers, service industry employees, and others is essential. We need attention to innovative efforts create innovative development which include incentives for affordable housing units. As a social worker I have always been concerned with issues of affordable housing. As a council member, I will work to ensure it remains a priority for our city after these elections."
Development
- Excerpt: "As city planners encourage density, we see commercial interests 'creeping' into residential areas. This creates great opportunities to revitalize neighborhoods; however it can create stress and tension with longtime residents. We need to find common sense solutions to our expansion while attending to the needs of neighborhood residents. Working together, we can encourage growth while preserving the character of our neighborhoods."
Education
- Excerpt: "As Nashville grows, it needs expanded education resources. We must address funding issues in our schools and demand the highest quality education for our children. We must address neighborhood schools and school choice issues with improving diversity and accessibility as priorities. Our children deserve the best, and, working with the Board of Education, our job is to ensure they have it."
Elections
2015
The city of Nashville, Tennessee, held nonpartisan elections for mayor and metro council on August 6, 2015. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was May 21, 2015. All 41 metro council seats—including the office of vice mayor—were up for election. In District 17, Colby Sledge and Paula Foster advanced to the runoff election, defeating Chris Cotton and Tony Watson.[3] Sledge defeated Foster in the runoff election.[4] Incumbent Sandra Moore was term-limited. She ran for election to an at-large seat.[5]
| Nashville City Council District 17 Runoff Election, 2015 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
 Colby Sledge |
55.5% | 1,357 | |
| Paula Foster | 44.1% | 1,077 | |
| Write-in | 0.4% | 9 | |
| Total Votes | 2,443 | ||
| Source: City of Nashville Election Commission, "Official runoff election results," accessed October 2, 2015 | |||
| Nashville City Council District 17 General Election, 2015 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Colby Sledge |
37.7% | 938 | |
| Paula Foster |
28.1% | 700 | |
| Chris Cotton | 20.9% | 520 | |
| Tony Watson | 13.1% | 325 | |
| Write-in | 0.3% | 7 | |
| Total Votes | 2,490 | ||
| Source: City of Nashville Election Commission, "Official general election results," accessed September 15, 2015 | |||
Endorsements
2015
In 2015, Foster's endorsements include the following:[6]
- LGBTQ Victory Fund
- National Association of Social Workers - Tennessee Chapter
- Women For Tennessee's Future
- Out & About Nashville
- Tennessee Transgender Poilitical Coalition
- Women in Numbers
- Tennessee Equality Project
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Foster and her wife Jessica have two children, Hannah and Wesley Grace.[1]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Paula Foster Nashville. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Nashville, Tennessee
- Nashville, Tennessee municipal elections, 2015
- United States municipal elections, 2015
External links
- Official campaign website
- Paula Foster on Facebook
- City of Nashville Election Commission - 2015 Candidate Petition List
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Official campaign website of Paula Foster, "Meet Paula," accessed July 29, 2015
- ↑ Official campaign website of Paula Foster, "Platform," accessed July 29, 2015
- ↑ City of Nashville Election Commission, "Official general election results," accessed September 15, 2015
- ↑ City of Nashville Election Commission, "Official runoff election results," accessed October 2, 2015
- ↑ City of Nashville, "Davidson County Election Commission," accessed December 4, 2014
- ↑ Official campaign website of Paula Foster, "Endorsements," accessed July 29, 2015
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