Meet Vivian Wilhoite, candidate for Davidson County Property Assessor
Editor's note: The Tennessean Editorial Board invited candidates for the March 5, 2024 Metro Nashville-Davidson County primary election to fill out our questionnaire. They include biographical information and answers to seven questions on variety of topics from key policy issues to their recommendation for visitors on what to see or do in the city.Early voting goes from Feb. 14-27. Learn more at the Davidson County Election Commission.
Name: Vivian Wilhoite
Position: Davidson County Assessor of Property
Political party: Democratic
Age: 60
What neighborhood/part of the county do you live in? Southeast Davidson - Metro Council District 29
Education: Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration, major in Marketing with some course studies in Real Estate • The Tennessee State University • Graduated 1987
Job history: Assessor of Property Metropolitan Nashville-Davidson County, Tennessee - Current Position• Elected March 2016 • Seeking Re-Election • Charged with the responsibility to identify, list, classify and value all taxable real, personality & commercial property in Nashville-Davidson County, Tennessee. Successfully supervises a 77 member staff and oversees an operating budget of $10 million. Chief of Consumer Services/Manager of Outreach • State of Tennessee • Tennessee Public Service Commission/Tennessee Regulatory Authority - June 1996 to August 2016 Responsible for proactively connecting local communities throughout Tennessee with the Public Service Commission to better inform of its regulatory oversight of the for-profit gas, water, electric and telephone utilities. Councilmember Metropolitan Nashville & Davidson County City Council, Nashville, Tennessee - August 2003 – August 2011 • Successfully elected to serve a two- 4 year terms limited of a 40-member legislative body. Proactively formulated and collaborated collectively in establishing policies to positively impact the district represented, the city & the county organization with a $2.4 billion dollar budget. Successfully attended 100% of the council meetings representing a district population constituency of 10,000-12,000. Staff Real Estate Appraiser • State of Tennessee- Tennessee Public Service Commission - May 1987 to June 1995 • Responsible for the identifying, listing and appraising property of public utilities for ad valorem tax purposes.
Family: I am married to Larry Wilhoite, a Nashville native. We have two young adult sons, Pherius and Lelan and a dog named Bella.
Why are you running for this office?
I am running for re-election as the Assessor of Property to build on the legacy that I have initiated since elected in 2016. Over the last eight (8) years, I have built a proactive approach to community engagement on fair and equitable valuation. I want to continue the legacy of work of providing fair and equitable valuation to the property owners of Nashville & Davidson County, promoting an amazing, diverse, professional, and credentialed staff who are committed to our mission, and to continue to give energetically, informative leadership to property owners and the residents of Davidson County, Tennessee. It is my pleasure to serve.
To learn more about me and my journey, please visit my website at KeepVivian.com. You can also find me on Facebook and Instagram as Vivian Wilhoite. Or Twitter X @vivian4service. Of course feel free to email me at vivianwilhoite@icloud.com
What makes you qualified to hold this office and better qualified than your opponent(s)?
What makes me, Vivian Wilhoite, qualified to hold the position of Assessor of Property and better qualified than my opponent is my sixteen years of experience, eight years as a Real Estate Appraiser with the Tennessee Public Service Commission appraising the for-profit gas, water, electric and telephone utilities for ad valorem tax purposes, and eight years as the Assessor of Property appraising Metropolitan Nashville & Davidson County, the now 276,000 residential and commercial properties and 36,000 personal accounts for ad valorem tax purposes. I was qualified when I ran for Assessor of Property in 2016. I am more qualified to hold the position of Assessor of Property today after serving as the Assessor of Property successfully leading and completing two Reappraisals in 2017 and 2021 with my professional, experienced, and credentialed staff. For these reasons and more, I am better qualified than my opponent, and ask you for your vote and support for re-election. Experience matters.
Additionally I, Vivian Wilhoite, am better qualified than my opponent because of my leadership to form an amazingly diverse staff of professional and credentialed employees who continue to be committed to the mission of fair and equitable valuation, transparency, and continuing outreach presentations beyond the 250 presentations conducted in the community. These presentations in the reappraisal and non-reappraisal years empower the public on critical information about the Reappraisal process, their right to appeal, and the availability of the Tax Freeze, Tax Relief, and Tax Deferral programs that the Office of the Trustee administers, and the Tax Assistance program that Metro Social Services administers to benefits property owners. Experience matters.
If you are elected (or re-elected), what are your top 2 to 3 priorities for your new (or next) term in office?
I have already started the plan for the next term in office. I have top priorities for property owners and top priorities for my staff. I inherited an aging office, so I began the plan of building a new administration since elected in 2016. While the pandemic slowed the process, we continued to accomplish my top priorities of providing fair and equitable valuation, transparency of the process and educating property owners about the reappraisal process, their right to appeal, and to increase the knowledge of property owners' awareness of exemptions decided by the State Board of Equalization. I will continue to build on the achievements and successes of these priorities, working with the mayor, metro council and our governing body of the Tennessee General Assembly and the Department of Property Assessments of the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury.
In the next term my amazing staff and I will successfully implement the Computer Assistance Mass Appraisal System (CAMA) that will benefit Davidson County citizens. I will continue the plan of supporting my amazing staff’s professional development and continue the work to ensure that my staff is competitively paid at every level.
What are you hearing most from voters about what they want you to accomplish, if elected?
Honestly, voters have provided positive feedback in our proactive efforts to increase the understanding of the reappraisal process and their right to appeal. In my many opportunities of educating property owners, and meeting them where they are, voters are primarily interested in valuation and the process. Which is why we conduct frequent outreach presentations in the reappraisal and non-reappraisal years. We want property owners and potential property owners empowered. The more than 250 presentations and growing is our way of providing transparency of the process and giving opportunity for the public to ask questions for better understanding and increased trust of our work. A home or business may be one of the biggest investments in one’s lifetime, the Assessor of Property and staff play a critical and crucial role in determining values for ad valorem purposes. We will continue the proactive approach implemented of educating the public about the Reappraisal process and a property owner's right to appeal their property values because it is key to fulfilling the interest of property owners and gives transparency about process to fair and equitable valuation.
What is your proudest achievement in your personal or public life?
My proudest achievement in my public life is when I started immediately after being elected in 2016 in serving others with my outreach education program to proactively educate Davidson County property owners and potential property owners about the Reappraisal process and the appeals process. This is our effort, which is imperative that we communicate with property owners about the process, and to be transparent about the process.
Since then, I continue to proactively provide outreach not only in the Reappraisal years, but also in the non-reappraisal years, expanding the topics to a Property Owner's Right to Appeal, Exemption Workshops for Churches and Not-for-Profit organizations collaborating with the State Board of Equalization, and initiating a program of property valuation educational outreach efforts in the Metro Nashville Public Schools and private schools as a civic lesson, helping students to learn about ownership of property, whether they are in a home, apartment or aspire to own a business.
Our proactive efforts were recognized by the International Association of Assessing Officers earning the recertification of the prestigious IAAO Certificate of Excellence in Assessment Administration.
A "fun" question: When visitors ask you, "What should I do in Nashville?" what are the top 2 or 3 things or places you recommend?
The top three answers that I would give are: One, visit the Jefferson Street Sound Museum and get a tour conducted by founder and curator Lorenzo Washington, to learn of the wealth of Jefferson Street music history. In addition to the blues, maybe you will find a CD of The Tennessee State University Grammy award winning music of The Aristocrat of Bands. Two, eat some Prince's Hot Chicken, and while you are there, you may get lucky to meet the owner, who is the sweetest, Mrs. Andre Prince Jeffries; and then three, walk off the jot chicken by walking around the Opryland Hotel. Try not to get lost!
Will you commit to being civil in how you present yourself and the way you interact with opponents and others? (Our definition of civility is being a good, active, honest and respectable citizen)
Yes
Call Opinion and Engagement Director David Plazas at (615) 259-8063, email him at dplazas@tennessean.com or find him on X (formerly Twitter) at @davidplazas.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville election: Vivian Wilhoite, Davidson County Property Assessor
