Briley went on to win the May 24 special election for the balance of Barry's term with 55% of the vote over nearly a dozen challengers, avoiding a runoff and making him the official mayor of Nashville.

[5] Briley earned a bachelor's degree from Georgetown University in 1987[6] before traveling to Latin America where he volunteered as a teacher of English.

[7] GoreNet was a group that supported the Al Gore campaign with a focus on grassroots and online organizing as well as hosting small dollar donor events.

[4][11] Within a week of his acceding to the office, Briley announced both his intent to run for the remaining year of Barry's term in the Nashville mayoral election, which was initially set for August 2, 2018 by the Davidson County Election Commission,[12] but subsequently moved to May 2018 after a lawsuit filed by opponents was successful, and a plan to demolish the abandoned Herschel Greer Stadium, former home of the Nashville Sounds minor league baseball team.

Greer Stadium was on the grounds of Civil War Fort Negley, and Briley announced a plan to leave the area as undeveloped, natural park space, in part out of respect to the many slaves and former slaves who worked on the construction of Fort Negley, several of whom died in the process and whose remains are buried on the grounds.

[13][14] Briley also continued the mayor's office's support of the Let's Move Nashville transit referendum, signing a "Declaration of Transportation Independence" on April 2.

[15] Briley's support seemingly meant little to the transit referendum, which was defeated by over a three-to-two majority on May 1, 2018,[citation needed] but apparently his support did little to dampen his personal popularity, as he was elected by an absolute majority to the balance of Berry's unexpired term in a special election only three weeks later over a dozen opponents, all of whom had expressed opposition to the transit initiative.

[21] A task force, led by Briley and including council members and representatives from technology and infrastructure providers, ultimately supported this narrower public access.