Nashville Mayor Megan Barry ensnared in scandal involving affair and possible favoritism

Nashville Mayor Megan Berry ensnared in scandal
(Image credit: Rick Diamond/Getty Images for CRS)

Last Wednesday, Nashville Mayor Megan Barry admitted to having an extramarital affair with Nashville Police Sgt. Robert Forrest Jr., the head of her security detail until his resignation Jan. 17. Barry, a Democrat, and Forrest are both married, and their affair apparently began in the spring of 2016, just months after she took office. On Tuesday, USA Today reported that Barry had also recommended Forrest's daughter, Macy Amos, for a job in the city's legal department. Amos got the job in January 2016.

Amos, by all accounts, was qualified for the entry-level job — a recent law school graduate, she had interned with the two previous Nashville mayors as well as the sheriff's office, and clerked at the Davidson County Circuit Court — and Metro Law Department Director Jon Cooper said it was his decision to hire her, not Barry's. "The mayor did recommend Macy during a meeting I had with her at some point, as did a number of people in the legal community," Cooper told USA Today. Amos, 26, was the "logical choice" for the job, he added.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.