NASHVILLE, TN – Affordable housing leader, Matt Wiltshire, announced that his campaign raised more than $504,000 in the 2nd quarter (April 1 – June 30). Wiltshire has already set the record for the most money raised in a Nashville Mayor’s race (excluding self funding). The 2nd quarter fundraising haul brings his total fundraising to $2.25m, and did not include any additional loans from the candidate. The campaign has now received nearly 3,500 contributions from more than 2,300 unique donors.
The Wiltshire campaign continues to build momentum. In June, Wiltshire earned the endorsements of the Fraternal Order of Police and a coalition of sixteen current and former Metro Councilmembers. Polling conducted shortly after Wiltshire began advertising shows he has moved into a statistical tie for first. Power Poll voters also recently expressed overwhelmingly that they believe Wiltshire will advance to the runoff.
“My vision for Nashville is a place where everyone has a shot to achieve their dreams and fulfill their full potential, and it’s clear that is resonating,” said Matt Wiltshire. “I’m honored by the outpouring of grassroots support we’re receiving.”
Background on Matt Wiltshire:
Matt Wiltshire was born and raised in Nashville and attended public schools. After fifteen years in the private sector, Wiltshire moved to work on economic and community development for Mayor Karl Dean during the great recession when the unemployment rate was over 8%. During his tenure, Nashville added 42,000 jobs, the city helped local small businesses invest in neighborhoods that had long been neglected, and the unemployment rate dropped to 2%, which was the lowest of any metropolitan area in the country. After a tenure that resulted in local small businesses expanding and national companies relocating to Nashville, Wiltshire saw housing attainability as an increasing challenge for the city. In response, he helped develop an ambitious affordable housing plan and moved to the city’s housing authority to implement that plan by redeveloping areas of concentrated poverty into thriving mixed-income neighborhoods and establishing public-private partnerships to build more housing options for Nashvillians.
