Nashville Mayor Megan Barry Pleads Guilty to Theft and Agrees to Resign


NASHVILLE — Mayor Megan Barry of Nashville pleaded guilty to theft of property and agreed to resign on Tuesday after a turbulent five weeks in which she acknowledged having an affair with the head of her security detail and faced persistent questions about whether she misspent taxpayer money.
Ms. Barry agreed to serve three years of probation and pay restitution to the city after pleading guilty to the charge, a felony. Ms. Barry, a Democrat, became the first woman to serve as Nashville’s mayor in 2015 and had been seen until recently as a promising liberal voice in a region where her party has struggled.
Ms. Barry discussed her exit at a brief news conference after her court appearance on Tuesday morning. She did not take questions and did not discuss her decision to plead guilty.
“It has been my honor, and it has been the privilege of my entire professional life, to have the blessing and the opportunity to be your mayor,” Ms. Barry said.
Ms. Barry was a popular and powerful mayor who helped land a Major League Soccer team and was pushing for an expansion of public transportation. But after acknowledging her relationship with former Sgt. Robert Forrest Jr. of the Metro Nashville Police Department, who led the mayoral security detail before retiring in January, much of that support eroded. Ms. Barry was married at the time of the affair, as was Mr. Forrest.
Separately, Mr. Forrest pleaded guilty on Tuesday to the same charge as Ms. Barry, and also received three years of probation. According to prosecutors, Mr. Forrest must give back $45,000 that he was paid improperly “during times when he was not performing his duties.”
As part of her probation, Ms. Barry must reimburse the local government $11,000 for what prosecutors called “unlawful expenditures.”
Vice Mayor David Briley will be sworn in as mayor on Tuesday afternoon, according to a statement from his office. “This is a hard day for Nashville,” he said in the statement.
While many in Nashville were willing to reserve judgment on the affair itself, questions mounted about whether Ms. Barry improperly took taxpayer-funded trips with Mr. Forrest and whether she gave his daughter preferential treatment when she sought a city job.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, at the request of the local prosecutor, was investigating whether Ms. Barry or Mr. Forrest broke any laws concerning misuse of public funds. The City Council voted last month to create a special committee to investigate the trips.
Ms. Barry, 54, a former corporate ethics and compliance officer, was known for her outspoken support of abortion rights and same-sex marriage. Even as calls for her exit mounted, Ms. Barry maintained a public presence in Nashville and brushed aside suggestions that she should quit. On Monday, she posted photos of an appearance at a groundbreaking ceremony for a future solar park.

But Ms. Barry’s words in late January, when she admitted to the affair, eventually proved prophetic. “I know that God will forgive me,” she said then, “but that Nashville doesn’t have to.”

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