Nashville — Mayor John Cooper today announced the appointment of Bill R. Phillips as Deputy Mayor, Chief of Staff effective Thursday, January 2, 2020. As a seasoned political operative with more than 40 years of public service and executive leadership experience, Phillips will manage the Mayor’s Office staff and serve as a senior adviser to Mayor Cooper.
“I look forward to once again serving the city I love so dearly,” said Phillips. “While I’m fond of the many experiences I’ve had in state and federal government, it’s the time I spent at City Hall that has been the most meaningful. Nashville is fortunate to have experienced such tremendous growth since my previous tenure as Deputy Mayor. We’re going to make sure that everyone in our city shares in its continued growth through hard work and the efficient use of our talent and resources.”
As founder of Bill Phillips Company, Phillips was a principal in Windrow Phillips Group before retiring in June 2019. He served for more than seven years as Deputy Mayor of Nashville and Davidson County under Mayor Bill Purcell. In 1994, Phillips became Associate Vice Chancellor for University Relations at Vanderbilt University after concluding a yearlong fellowship at Vanderbilt’s First Amendment Center.
Previously, Phillips served as a Presidential appointee in various capacities during the executive administrations of President Ronald Reagan and President George H.W. Bush, and as Deputy Governor to Nevada Governor Robert List. He served as Chief of Staff of the Republican National Committee and Manager of the 1988 Republican Convention, as well as Chief of Staff of the U.S. Department of Education. Phillips has worked in three Presidential campaigns for Republican candidates, and in 1992, he was Assistant Campaign Manager for Operations of the Bush-Quayle Committee.
Phillips also worked as a newspaper journalist and editor for Gannett in California and Nevada. He is a Vietnam combat veteran.
The Nashville Voice is left wondering what does this mean for the status of current Deputy Mayor Brenda Haywood. Deputy Mayor Haywood was recently selected as one of the Nashville Voice’s Nashville Top 10 Most Powerful African Americans.
