Cue the fat lady -- Purcell packing

To prepare for departure, Purcell brings back staffer to oversee transition for next mayor... whoever that is

Email | Print By Ken Whitehouse

Listen closely: That off-key soprano hitting the high note you hear isn't coming from the Schermerhorn Symphony Center. She's warbling down at the Metro Courthouse just outside of Mayor Bill Purcell's office.

With just a few weeks left in office, Purcell has brought back former staffer Ellery Gould to supervise the transition of power for whoever the next mayor is. Gould, a Nashville native, most recently worked in Washington, D.C. for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Prior to that, Gould served Congressman Charlie Melancon of Louisiana as press secretaryand Congressman Jim Cooper as an aide. Gould worked for Purcell when hizzoner first took office.

According to Purcell staffers, Gould will oversee the development of transition "notebooks" for the next mayor to help ease the transfer of power. There will also be a significant amount of archiving and liaison work with various Metro departments and agencies.

The addition of Gould is a drop in the bucket compared to Purcell staffers that have already moved on to their next job. Among the departures that have left almost a skeletal crew in the courthouse are Deputy Mayor Bill Phillips, policy advisor Patrick Willard, policy assitant on urban matters Chris Koster, spokesperson Molly Sudderth, children and youth director Marc Hill, and economic and community development officer Emmett Edwards.

With the exception of former Tennessean managing editor Sandra Roberts filling in as spokesperson, most of Purcell's senior team consists of longtime senior Metro employees, like current Deputy Mayor Curt Garrigan from Metro Parks, who are on loan from other Metro departments.