Mayoral candidate Carol Swain called on Acting Mayor David Briley to “terminate Metro Chief Operating Officer Rich Riebeling for misappropration of funds” in a statement released by her campaign on Tuesday.
“Today, I am calling for acting Mayor David Briley to terminate Metro COO Rich Riebeling for misappropriation of funds. If he does not fire Riebeling it will show he is truly committed to ‘continuity’ of a system that has rewarded big business and developers at the expense of the citizens of Nashville,” Swain said in the statement.
“I would also like to state my unequivocal support for the Fairgrounds. I think it is important and necessary to honor the Rains family’s wishes that the Tennessee State Fair would be held on the land they gave to the city,” she added.
“Over the last decade, there has been a concerted effort by members of the Metropolitan government to fundamentally change the character of the Fairgrounds. Men like Rich Riebeling and Larry Atema have misappropriated funds that were earmarked for much needed improvements,” the former Vanderbilt professor continued.
“It is time to move on from crony contracts and backroom deals of the Dean, Barry, and now Briley administrations. As Mayor, I will put my full support behind the Fairgrounds and do everything in my power to preserve and uphold it’s cultural heritage,” Swain concluded.
As The Tennessee Star has reported, Riebeling has been at the center of a number of financial scandals in Metro Nashville Government over the eleven years he has been employed there.
The most recent incident, in which $7 million of federal funding that was supposed to go to flood victims and was instead used to build Ascend Amphitheater, was first reported by WSMV last week.
