 He was elected in 2015 as vice-mayor and was sworn in as acting mayor after Megan Barry's resignation on March 6, 2018.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.John Cooper defeated Briley in the 2019 Nashville mayoral election.