Mayor Names Directors of Finance and Law
Appoints Riebeling and Cain
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Oct. 31, 2007) -Mayor Karl Dean made another large step in establishing his administration today, making permanent appointments for directors of both the Finance and Law departments.
Richard Riebeling, director of finance. Riebeling has spent the past 12 years in public finance. Currently, he is vice president of public finance at Fifth Third Securities Inc. and vice president at Morgan Keegan & Co. Inc. before that. Prior to joining Morgan Keegan, he served as commissioner of the Department of Economic and Community Development for the State of Tennessee.
Riebeling also spent nine years as a partner in law firm Stokes & Bartholomew, now Adams and Reese Stokes Bartholomew, practicing in public finance. During his tenure at Stokes, the firm acted as bond counsel for the city and Riebeling worked on a complete bond refinancing for the Bredesen administration.
Before receiving his law degree from Vanderbilt University in 1983, Riebeling worked as an assistant in the Mayor’s Office for five years during the Fulton administration and three years as a newspaper reporter, leaving the Nashville Banner in 1978.
“Rich has a resume that is unmatched in Nashville,” Dean said. “He has a complete understanding of public finance from both the private sector and from working in government. I also believe he understands my priorities and will work to balance those with all of the other financial needs in our city.”
Sue Cain, director of law. Cain currently serves as interim director of law and has served as deputy director since 1994, working directly under Dean for the seven years he served as law director. During Cain’s tenure, the law department implemented a computerized tracking system for all of their cases and contracts, which shows the status of particular projects at any time.
Prior to working for Metro Government, Cain worked in both the public and private sectors for nearly 20 years. She worked in private practice with law firm Dale Thompson Jackson Rosenberg and Williams, and separately with law firm Howell and Fisher.
Cain also spent a number of years working for the State of Tennessee. She served as executive director for the Tennessee Sentencing Commission for seven years, where she oversaw the first complete revision of the state’s criminal code since its inception and the development of sentencing guidelines for the state. Immediately prior, Cain served as chief judicial planner for the Tennessee Supreme Court. While in law school, she worked as a law clerk for the Tennessee Energy Authority and the Tennessee General Assembly Legislative Legal Services.
“I trust Sue. Not only does she have a complete understanding of the law, I know from experience everything she does is in the best interest of her client and in this case, her client is the city of Nashville and all of its taxpayers,” Dean said.
Both the finance director and law director appointments must be approved by the Metro Council. Dean will submit a letter of appointment to the Metro Clerk’s Office to be considered at the next council meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 6.
For media inquiries contact:
Bonna Johnson
615-862-6461
bonna.johnson@nashville.gov