Nashville Metro Council member Olivia Hill was elected President Pro Tempore on Tuesday, making her the highest-ranking transgender official in Tennessee government history. The at-large council member, who already made history in 2023 as the first openly transgender person elected to public office in the state, now holds a leadership post that puts her in line to preside over the 40-member council whenever the vice mayor is absent.
District 13 Council Member Russ Bradford nominated Hill for the position, and she won the post over fellow nominee Council Member Jeff Preptit, according to Legigram. The role carries real institutional weight: under the Rules of Procedure of the Metropolitan Council of Nashville and Davidson County, the President Pro Tempore serves as presiding officer whenever the vice mayor is absent, and would take over presiding duties entirely if the vice mayor's office became vacant until a successor is qualified. As WSMV reports, the role essentially entails filling in for the vice mayor when needed. Hill's term runs through August 31, 2027.
Hill said she was proud of the moment and its historical significance, telling WSMV, “I'm still trying to take it all in.” She added that every member entered the council because Nashville voters trusted them to serve, and she promised to work hard and listen in her new role.
From Navy Engineer to Council Leader
Hill's path to Nashville politics began decades before she ever ran for office. Born and raised in Nashville, she served 10 years in the U.S. Navy's engineering division from 1986 to 1995, completing three overseas deployments and seeing combat during the Gulf War, according to background compiled by Vanderbilt Law School. That military engineering training set the stage for a long civilian career keeping the lights and heat running at one of Nashville's largest institutions.
She spent more than 25 years at the Vanderbilt University Power Plant, working her way through physical trade roles including plumber, electrician and boiler specialist before rising to senior supervisor and acting manager. She received the university's Chancellor's Heart and Soul Award in 2019, per a release distributed by PR Newswire.
A Lawsuit, a Settlement, and a Historic Election
Hill's time at Vanderbilt did not end without conflict. Following her workplace gender transition in 2018 and 2019, she filed a federal employment discrimination lawsuit against the university in September 2021, alleging severe workplace harassment. The case was resolved through a settlement in January 2022, and Hill retired from Vanderbilt that same December once the legal proceedings concluded, according to details recorded on her Wikipedia page.
Two years later, Hill made history again. She won her Metro Council at-large seat in a September 14, 2023 runoff election, capturing 25,802 votes, or 12.9% of the runoff vote, according to results published by the Metro Nashville government. That victory made her the first openly transgender person elected to public office in Tennessee history, a campaign backed by the national LGBTQ+ Victory Fund. Her election also landed amid a broader shift in Nashville governance: women won 22 of the 40 council seats that year, including all five citywide at-large seats, marking the first female-majority Metro Council in the city's history, as The Guardian reported at the time.
Deep Roots and a Council Résumé
Hill is a fourth-generation Nashvillian, and the great-granddaughter of Horace Greely Hill, who founded the regional supermarket chain H.G. Hill Food Stores in 1906 — a brand that remains a familiar commercial name across Middle Tennessee, per her Wikipedia entry. Before her election to the council's second-highest leadership post, she built a résumé of legislative experience, chairing the Metro Council's Government Operations and Regulations Committee, the District Energy System Advisory Board, and the council's LGBTQ Caucus, according to NashvilleVoyager.
Hill's rise to council leadership comes as Tennessee's state legislature has moved in the opposite direction on transgender rights, enacting laws banning gender-affirming medical care for minors and restricting transgender public accommodations, a tension documented by the Guardian's 2023 coverage of her election. Hill has said she believes titles, labels, political parties and differences don't have to prevent respect, collaboration and friendship among council members, and that people can change hearts by showing up, doing the work, listening, and letting others know them.
