Planning Commission hearing on Inclusionary Zoning.

This is an eight-hour meeting. I don't think anyone wants to watch the full meeting. The discussion of the inclusionary zoning starts at time-stamp 36:40 and ends at 3:45:20. To summarize the comments, developers don't like it because it goes too far and advocates of affordable housing don't like because it does not go far enough. No one speaks in favor of the proposal. For access to the Planning Commission agenda and staff reports, follow this link. To see the Planning Commission staff report on the proposed inculusionary zoning text see page 5 through page 41.

At time stamp 42:50 the staff begins the explanation of the incusionary zoning  proposal and completes this explanation at 1:02:30. One thing interesting in this proposal is that the set aside affordable units must be similar in size and number of bedrooms to the non set-aside units. So if the units in a condo sale for $500,000 dollars and the bedrooms are very spacious, the units set aside as "affordable" must also be at least 80% as spacious. I have a question: If the non-set-aside units include concierge service, a gym, a spa, a pool, dog-walking service and fresh cut flowers every day, do the set-aside units also get these services and amenities?  If there is a hefty condo fee for the non-set aside units, do the set-aside units have to pay the same fee? Is that monthly condo fee included in calculating affordability?  I don't know.

Following the staff explanation, the chairman ask for those who wish to speak in favor of the proposal to come forward. No one does. No one supports the proposal. Opponents are then permitted to speak. Proponents of affordable housing express displeasure saying they want a mandatory program. I am surprised that more people did not speak. NOAH and VOICE representatives spoke but no mainstream housing advocates spoke. No one speaks in opposition from a pro-free-market position. The only developer who speaks is former Metro Councilman Roy Dale.

Following the pubic hearing, the members of the Commission discuss the proposal. There is some interesting discussion. One thing is very clear; without a large Metro subsidy this proposal will simply not work. Those unit build to be affordable for someone at 100% of area median income (AMI) would require more subsidy than those built to be affordable for someone at 80% AMI and so on. Also, this proposal would not address the very low income or the needs of the homeless. This proposal does not and cannot impose rent control, due to state legislation that prevents a city from imposing rent control. This proposal would not incentivize affordable housing in areas that already have adequate affordable housing. To get developers to seek the density or height bonuses proposed in this plan, it takes away established bonuses. This proposal is a "voluntary" inclusionary program but designed to force a developer to seek the bonuses (see time stamp 3:02:00). This is a very complex proposal and while I have a general understanding of what is proposed, I do not fully understand all of the details of the setback, parking, and height bonuses of the proposal. It would take some study to digest all of what is proposed. The proposal does nothing to preserve existing affordable housing stock nor to encourage greater housing density throughout the county. The commission votes unanimously to recommend that the Metro Council disapprove the proposed voluntary inclusionary zoning policy.

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Who's afraid of Smart Growth? Nashville needs to grow smart.

Nashville from the Shelby Street pedestrian bridge.

Nashville has scored high on lots of list in recent years. Nashville scores high as a great place to live, a great place to work,  a great place to eat, a city of the arts, and a place to visit. I love this city and would not want to live any where else and I love to see it get the recognition I think it deserves.

Recently Nashville scored dismally low in a ranking of cities with few problems associated with urban sprawl.  In Smart Growth for America's  ranking of cities, out of 221 cities ranked, Nashville ranked 217.  In this ranking, "Nashville" is the the Nashville-Davidson/Murfreesboro/Franklin, TN Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA).  Those MSAs ranking worse than Nashville are Prescott, AZ, Clarksville, TN-KY, Atlanta/Sandy Springs/Marietta, GA, and Hickory/Lenoir/Morganton, NC.

Other Tennessee cities, except Clarksville at 219, did better than Nashville, but none ranked high.  Memphis TN-MS-AK ranked 196, Knoxville ranked 199, Chattanooga TN-GA ranked 207, and Kingsport/Bristol TN/Bristol VA ranked 212.

Following the release of the report, The Tennessean editorialized Time for Nashville to grow smart. I agree.

What is meant by "smart growth"?  Smart Growth America defines it like this:

Smart growth means building urban, suburban and rural communities with housing and transportation choices near jobs, shops and schools. This approach supports local economies and protects the environment.

At the heart of the American dream is the simple hope that each of us can choose to live in a neighborhood that is beautiful, safe, affordable and easy to get around. Smart growth does just that. Smart growth creates healthy communities with strong local businesses. Smart growth creates neighborhoods with schools and shops nearby and low-cost ways to get around for all our citizens. Smart growth creates jobs that pay well and reinforces the foundations of our economy. Americans want to make their neighborhoods great, and smart growth strategies help make that dream a reality.

Traffic calming on 12th Ave South. Agenda 21?

Unfortunately, in some circles "smart growth" is suspect. It is seen as government directing development, curtailing property rights, and restricting choice. These assumptions are just not true. Smart Growth is no more an infringement on property rights than is suburban sprawl growth.  In some ways Smart Growth is less restrictive of property rights.

Unfortunately, a couple years ago, led by the John Birch Society and spread by people like Alex
Jones of Infowars, and Jesse Ventura and to a lesser extend by Glen Beck, some people bought into a grand conspiracy theory that almost everything from bicycle rental programs, to sidewalk expansion programs, to traffic roundabouts, to energy conservation, to almost any innovation in planning and zoning was part of a UN directed plot to transfer wealth from rich to poor countries, to force us all to give up our cars and live in tiny apartments. This was know as "Agenda 21."  The ultimate goal of this grand plot, according to the JBS, was to kill 97 percent of the world's population and that was to be accomplished by poisoning them with aspartame and fluoride. I know it sounds preposterous, but that was the theory. (To read more about the anti- Agenda 21 movement see my previous post on the topic.)

This weird conspiracy sprang up, grew rapidly, then seemed to disappear as about as rapidly.

Nashville has been going through a process called NashvilleNext which is a program of planing for Nashville's next 25 years of growth. I have attended most of the public meeting and expected to see anti-Agenda 21 activist at the meeting denouncing "sustainable development," "walkability," "consensus," "smart growth," "new urbanism," "visioning," and all kinds of other things the JBS had told them were code words for implementing of this grand plot. No anti-Agenda 21 activist participated in the NashvilleNext planning process or if they did they did not dissent.

Many reasonable liberal, moderate, conservative and apolitical people however are suspect of "smart growth," not ever having been infected by the JBS conspiracy theory.  Among liberals, Smart Growth is seen as "gentrification" which will increase the price of housing and push out poor people.  Some are suspicion that Smart Growth is something the government would force to happen and it would reduce property rights.  Also I think there is a general tendency to suspect all change, even change for the better. People are more comfortable with something they already understand than something new.

Contrary to what many contend, Smart Growth zoning is actually less destructive of property right than is single-use zoning. Single-use zoning limits the right of a land owners to choose how he wants to develop his land and requires government permission every time an owner wants to change his land use from one category of use to another. There are now under development two apartment complexes on 8th Ave South that are permitted under current zoning but under previous zoning they would have been prohibited because the zoning for major traffic corridors was commercial and apartment residential was prohibited. Those owners have more property rights under the new code than the old. Another way one has greater property rights under Smart Growth zoning rather than traditional land-sue zoning is because there is less restriction on density and area ratio requirements and parking requirements. Another way property rights are strengthened under Smart Growth is that their is less inclination to take land by imminent domain for the purpose of widening roadways.

Cars are backed up at rush hour along Harding Place and 
Nolensville Pike, the busiest intersection in Nashville.

Different people have different preferences in where they life. I myself do not want to drive an hour to work each day. The way I see it, two hours sitting in the car a day is two hours of time that is not my own. I might as well be working. I live seven minutes from my job and I have for twenty-five years at two different locations. I usually come home for lunch. I love it.  I am also less than two blocks away from a Subway shop, a coffee shop, a Dollar General, three convenience markets and a Burger King. And while, due to my circumstances, I can't get out much anymore to enjoy it, I am a block away from a great music venue. I can walk to the restaurants on 12th Ave South or Hillsboro village and am about three miles from downtown.

If something starts at 6PM, I can wait until 6 to decide if I want to go and still not be very late. I like living like this. However, for those who want to live in the suburbs or the country and sit in traffic jams, you would still have that option. Smart Growth would not require you to change but would encourage more density and infill and new development patterns in the foot print already taken up by the metropolitan area. Smart growth recognizes that building more lanes of interstate simply results in more traffic and more sprawl.

Urban sprawl did not just happen. It is not just a function of consumer preference.  Our current pattern of interstate highways and  sparsely populated single family homes in cul-de-sac suburbs was as much a product of government planning as is Smart Growth. One thing that made urban sprawl possible and did as much as anything else to contribute to it was the interstate highway system. Our current pattern of urban sprawl is not somehow "natural."  Up until about the 1950;s  most people lived in cities or small towns. Certainly there was a market for suburban homes but government policy of road construction, sewer expansion, and infrastructure expansion  made it possible.

It was also government policy that led to people being required to drive long distances to go the the grocery store or to work and to the depopulation of urban cores. For most of the past century, American land use regulation required distinct separate land uses. Industrial was clearly separate from retail and retail was clearly separate from residential which was separate from rural or agricultural land. That was considered the enlighten view at the time and was motivated for sanitation reasons among other reasons. There is certainly nothing natural about this type development. In the early part of the previous century and the centuries before that, many people lived in back of or atop their place of business. The strict separation of land uses was a government policy, not a natural development pattern. For many years residential development was actually prohibited in the city core.

It was also a government policy that made cities auto friendly at the expense of being "walkable." Government build wide streets and often made no provisions for pedestrians or other forms of transportation. They sped up the traffic and made walking unpleasant. Zoning codes also imposed a certain number of parking spaces for a business based on the use. Certain types of retail had to have x number of parking spaces per x hundred square feet of retail space, restaurants had to have one parking space per x number of patron seating capacity, and so on and so forth. This changed the character of cities and pushed new development further out from the urban core and resulted in leap frogging over smaller plots in order to meet parking requirements. This destroyed walkability. The development of large shopping malls and non-connected businesses, each with ample parking was a result of codes, not something that just happened.

Another government policy that destroyed  and emptied much of the urban core was Urban Renewal. Along with Urban Renewal was the abuse of eminent domain.  Broad swaths of neighborhoods were destroyed. We still see vacant acreage south of Vanderbilt University that was taken by the city sometime in the 60's and transferred to Vanderbilt. Sulphur Dell was cleared, destroying a residential and business community and it set vacant as surface parking for years as much of it remains, although farmers market, the bicentennial mall and the planned return of baseball to the area are finally revitalizing the area. Urban renewal not only destroyed business and residential neighborhoods but destroyed the street grid pattern in those areas that is important to walkability, connectivity,  and is important to vehicle movement without overloading major thoroughfares.

The Interstate thorough North Nashville split a community and
destroyed much of it. North Nashville never recovered.
Pictured is I-40 pedestrian bridge near Hadley Park.
 

Also, the building of interstates not only contributed to urban sprawl by opening up more distant tracks of land to development but it destroyed much of the city. If you drive on I-40 West on the north side of town, you are flying over or zipping through an African American part of town that was torn in two. Jefferson Street was once a booming Black business section and never recovered from the impact of the interstate that tore the community apart.

It is hard if not impossible to undo some of the mistakes of the past but I believe Nashville is moving in the right direction. Our putting the arena, the main library, the convention center, the stadium and most government offices downtown created a vitality and concentration of downtown visitors.  Without government encouragement and use of tools such as tax increment financing, the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Schermerhorn Symphony Center likely would have located outside of the downtown area. Some advocated putting some of these facilities in the suburbs with easy interstate access. In my view, we put them where they ought to be.

We also made downtown a destination and desirable for residents and visitors by developing riverfront park and maintaining the Shelby Street bridge as a pedestrian bridge and removing the city surface parking and building a park in front to the court house and many other things.  Also, unlike some cities that build new airports up to 40 or 50 miles out of town, we kept our airport where it was, close to downtown, making it more convenient for visitors and locals who fly in and out and reducing traffic congestion by having much shorter trips from the airport to downtown. Recently, I think the city made the right decision when the city denied the proposed May Town development. That massive planned development would have created in essence a second downtown. 

In 2010 the city adopted a form-based code  downtown.  This is essentially a relaxation or abandonment of strict land use forms and set back requirements and floor-area ratios and minimum parking requirements and instead focuses more on the  form and scale  of development. Now virtually all uses except heavy industrial and some auto related businesses are permitted downtown.

Sometimes  the city has tried to go too far, as in trying to turn Main Street and Gallatin Road into a urban street  with mandated buildings-to-the-sidewalk requirements (link). Planing can guild development patterns and influence what is build but mandating new urbanism can fail if the plan gets too far ahead of the market. Prohibiting parking in front of a building may be as bad as requiring setbacks and parking ratios. Good planning does not ignore market realities. Good planning cannot make development happen, but poor planning can inhibit development.

One reason to support Smart Growth is that urban sprawl is expensive. A study by Smart Growth America compare three developments in Nashville: Bradford Hills, Lenox Village, and The Gulch. The study found that:

On a per acre basis, The Gulch and Lenox Village developments are both estimated to

have a significantly larger positive impact on the General Fund than Bradford Hills. On average, The Gulch development is expected to have a net positive impact of $116,000 per acre and Lenox Village is expected to have a net positive impact of $780 per acre, compared to $100 per acre for Bradford Hills. The Gulch’s greater positive impact reflects the fact that while new development in the downtown is more expensive to serve on a per-acre basis than Bradford Hills or even Lenox Village, these expenditures are outweighed by the higher per-acre revenues associated with the much higher density development.

Not only does urban sprawl create a less healthy community and reduce quality of life, it is considerably a less efficient means of development. We simply can't afford to continue an unending tread of urban sprawl development.  One must be pragmatic and use common sense in all things however. Even too much of a good thing can be bad. In some places there have been, in my view, a too strict a prohibition on suburban growth and areas have been declared "green belts" and no new development permitted. In addition to that being a morally and constitutionally suspect "taking" of property without compensation, that can lead to a shortage of affordable housing. A shortage of places to expand can drive up prices. While I do oppose absolute prohibitions on development, I do think it appropriate for communities to make the developers of new outlying subdivisions pay more of the cost of infrastructure improvements and it is appropriate to make developers pay for new interstate exchanges and for local and state government to refuse to widen roads to accommodate the new growth.

In my view, infill development should be encouraged, sprawl discouraged, but new suburban growth should not be prohibited. A rarely used tool to discourage new subdivisions growth and urban sprawl is for government to purchase "development rights" from landowners willing to sell. I think that is a reasonable approach to curtailing sprawl and does not involve "taking" but just like declaring areas green belts, it can lead to a shortage of potential areas to expand.  It should be used but used sparingly.

To encourage less urban sprawl, one thing we must have is mass transit. While I have been a critic of the proposed $175 million Five Points to St. Thomas Hospital AMP Bus Rapid Transit system, I nevertheless think it is time for Nashville to embrace mass transit. I simply think the AMP is the wrong project on the wrong route. Mass Transit is not cheap, but neither is urban sprawl. I have had the good fortune and motivation to travel extensively. Cities that I enjoyed visiting most, cities that I would want to visit again,  are real communities build on a human scale and they are walkable and they have good mass transit. 

It is time to embrace Smart Growth or New Urbanism or what ever term you want to use, that develops for people rather than automobiles.

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Common Core Based On UN Education Program and Agenda 21

by Rod Williams, Aug. 3, 2013 - Common Core Based On UN Education Program and Agenda 21. You know "Agenda 21?" That is the plan to take away our property rights and golf courses and then kill 96% of the worlds population by poisoning us all with aspartame and fluoride. We have to have Common Core so we can be dumbed down enough to be willing to embrace the global warming theory so we will support Agenda 21. This is no accident. It is all part of the big plan that was put together by the "insiders." You, know the "insiders?" The insiders include those people in the Council on Foreign Relations and the Trilateral commission and the Club of Rome who are ushering in the New World Order. Yea, George W. Bush is part of it.  He talked about the New World Order. The insiders have been at it a long, long time. Who are the people behind these insider organizations and just who are the "insiders?" Well the Rockefellers were big insiders for a long time, but they are pretty much dead or retired. The Bilderburgs are still major insiders. And, of course Henry Kissinger. William F. Buckley was one. I know he was a conservative leader. But he was an insider also.  He was a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and The Bilderburg group and he was a Knights of Malta member. Oh, and a lot of insiders are Jewish bankers. You have to watch those Jewish bankers. I don't know when the insiders first gained power but I think if started about 1776 with the Illuminati. They were responsible for the French Revolution, you know. Ever since then, the insiders have been pulling the strings. They engineered the American Civil War. I forget why, but they were pulling the stings. Also, they allowed Hitler to come to power. And Communism was not its own conspiracy but was part of the insider conspiracy. I know some of this doesn't make sense, but just ask the John Birch Society.  They have it all figured out. When they explain it, it makes sense. If you doubt the John Birch Society, listen to Alex Jones. He knows. Oh, and on a good day, Glen Beck will scratch the tip of the ice berg. There are a lot of people who know. Jessie Ventura sometimes exposes part of it. It is hard to figure it all out, however.  I tell you, these insiders are slick. They are still trying to build that NAFTA superhighway, I think. I don't know for sure, but I think they are still doing that.  They need the NAFTA superhighway so they can drive us in caravans to the FEMA concentration camps. Oh, and somewhere in all of this, I think the Masons are involved. Anyway just know that Common Core is part of the Agenda 21 and..........

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Are we implementing Agenda 21 with NashvilleNext?

by Rod Williams, July 26, 2013 - Why are all those fine citizens who are concerned about Agenda 21 not taking part in the NashvilleNext planning process?

Actually I do not think zoning and planning is part of a diabolical plot to take away private property rights and golf courses and  kill 96% of the worlds population by poisoning them with aspartame and fluoride, but some people do.  A lot of conservative grassroots activist bought into the Anti-Agenda 21 hysteria. Our State legislature passed a resolution condemning Agenda 21. Now, here we are with a major planning event going on in Nashville, and none of the people who attended all of those John Birch Society training sessions on Agenda 21 are taking part. Why? Where are they?
  

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Common Core and the Muslim Brotherhood

I reposted an expose a couple week ago that tied Common Core to Agenda 21.  You know Agenda 21?  That is the conspricacy to kill 96% of the worlds population by posioning them with aspertame and floride. Everything from shady sidewalks to bike share programs to roundabouts to art in public  places is part of Agenda 21 according to many Agenda 21 critics. (I have posted extensively about Agenda 21, you can read it hear.)

At the time I reposted the expose that tied Agenda 21 to Common core I said, "I knew the tinfoil hat brigade would tie Common Core to Agenda 21. I just knew it!  I'm still waiting to see the connection to Sharia Law, the NAFTA superhighway, Chem trails, the Bilderbergs, the Trilateral Commission, the Council on Foreign Relations, Aspartame, Fluoride, and the Federal Reserve. If you dig deep enough and really believe it, you can find the connections."

Well, I didn't have to wait long.  Common Core has been tied to the Muslim Brotherhood!  A website called Tennesee Fully Exposed has posted Episode 27: “Common ‘Muslim Brotherhood’ Core Curriculum.” This post features an audio interview with Cathy Hinners who is the founder of the Daily Roll Call and she explains how "Common Core in Tennessee is being pushed by Muslim Brotherhood organizations and why."

As soon as I find the connections to the Bilderbergs, the Trilateral Commission, the Council on Foreign Relations, and chem trails, I will post it.

 

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Kookogey not to seek second term as Willliamson Couty GOP chair

Williamson County GOP Chairman Kevin Kookogey has announced he will not seek a second term according to a story in today's Tennessean. While I do not have first hand knowledge of what is going on in the Williamson County Republican Party, I have heard comments that he has greatly damaged the party, that some contributors were withholding funds and that many Republicans were embarrassed by Kookogey.

Kookogey is either a fringe kook or is a patriot advancing real conservative values according to whom you talk to. He has advanced an anti-Muslim, anti-Agenda 21 agenda.  He has advocated purging the party of insufficiently conservative members and has been critical of Gov. Haslam and other elected Republicans.

The anti-agenda 21 movement is based on a weird theory that the United Nations plans to kill 96% of the worlds population by poisoning them with aspartame and fluoride, although to be fair, most opponents of Agenda 21 probably are not aware of that part of the theory.  In its milder form, the anti-Agenda 21 movement believes that Agenda 21 is a United Nations plan to take away American sovereignty, redistribute wealth and take away property rights in the name of environmentalism.

Across the nation anti-Agenda 21 activist have opposed everything from traffic calming, to reintroducing wolfs into the wild, to sidewalks, smart meters, and almost all forms of planning and mass transit as being part of agenda 21. This anti-agenda 21 movement originated with the John Birch Society and was spread by people like Alex Jones and Glenn Beck. Anti-agenda hysteria has worked its way into the Republican Party with the National GOP adopting an Anti-Agenda 21 party platform plank. The national GOP party platform plank however is short and vague. The Williamson County Republican Party has adopted a strongly worded Anti-Agenda 21 resolution that you can read at this link.  

Anti-Islam activism included taking out a full page ad against Gov. Haslam over his administration's hiring of a qualified Muslim, Samar Ali,  to work in the Department of Economic and CommunityDevelopment.   The Williamson County party has also hosted an event for controversial Dutch anti-Muslim politician Geert Wilders.

Engaging in actions such as the above is not normally a function of a Party chair.  Many see the roll of the Party chair to raise money, elect Republicans to office and increase Party ranks. I am sure many will be glad to see Kookogey go. If anyone has insight into what has happened with the Williamson Country Republican Party under the leadership of Keven Kookogey, I would welcome hearing from you. 

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The official launch of NashvilleNext, 10 am Saturday, February 16

The official launch of NashvilleNext, the process which will lead to an integrated plan for Nashville's future, is set for 10 am Saturday, February 16, at the main library at 6th and Church.

NashvilleNext will guide the actions and decisions which will contribute to our community's prosperity and wellbeing for the next 25 years, and it'll be shaped by the needs, ideas, and input of people who care about Nashville.

 Learn more about it - and sign up to participate - on the NashvilleNext webpage.

Is NashvilleNext part of Agenda 21? A prominent female conservative lobbyist commented on her facebook page, "Agenda 21 is alive and well" and linked to an article about NashvilleNext. She thinks it is. 

Conservative activist Wes Hartline, who I am sure does not want to abolish pubic property and force us all to live in shoebox houses in the city and take away American sovereignty and put us under the authority of the United Nations, is on the NashvilleNext committee in some official capacity to promote citizen participation in the NashvilleNext planning process. 

While I doubt NashvilleNext is some diabolical plot, there is good planning and there is bad planning. One reasons cities became empty shells is a result of bad planning that decreed that people could not live in the central business district. It was planning that strictly separated commercial areas from residential areas. Nashville, as have most cities, has had planning for a very long time.We had planning before Rio.

If you care about the future of Nashville, come to the kick off event and join the effort to plan the future.All points of view, even those who don't think we should do planning, should be heard.

To learn more about it, see NashvilleNext.

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Chris Christie fends off right wing nuts

Wall Street Journal

An obscure Christie administration regional planning document called the State Strategic Plan has fueled opposition among a faction of the state's staunchest conservatives who said the proposal usurps property rights. 
.....

Some called it part of "Agenda 21," a nonbinding U.N. resolution from 1992 that encourages conservation and strategic planning. The resolution has become a flash point for tea-party groups across the country, and the Republican Party added language against Agenda 21 to its convention platform....(Christie Fends Off Right)

My Comment: I have not provided recent updates but the Anti-Agenda 21, John Birch Society  led campaign continues. All across America, at city council meetings and at meetings of county governing bodies and at planning commissions, people are denouncing codes and planning and zoning and wide shady sidewalks and bike lanes  and small apartments and traffic roundabouts and mass transit and numerous other things as part of a vast conspiracy to take away our property rights and enslave us. The nuttiest of the nutty content all of these things they don't like are part of a vast conspiracy to kill 97% of the world's population by poisoning them with aspartame and fluoride. (To read more on this strange topic follow this link.)

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Two Cheers for 9-12 Project

by Gene Wisdom

Gene Wisdom

It was with mixed feelings that I read through Lee Douglas’s email posted here which also appeared in my Inbox.And it was with somewhat less mixed feelings that I read Rod’s response to it. 

First of all, Lee’s motivations and those of the 9-12 group are nothing to instill fear in the minds of liberty-lovers.  Their concern is to protect our freedom from expansive government as well as some threats to our nation’s survival.  I disagree with some of their legislative priorities, such as the so-called Sheriff’s Bill in Tennessee, which as I understand would require federal law enforcement to notify a local sheriff before they perform a raid or execute a warrant.  

 As a Constitutionalist conservative I believe that it is in violation of the supremacy clause of the Constitution as well as the principle of federalism.  In my brief email discussion last year with its chief sponsor, state Senator Stacy Campfield, when I raised these issues he said that it is supported by Printz v. United States, a Supreme Court decision.  I read that decision and see no basis there for this bill.  That decision is regarding unfunded mandates, in that case commanding state and local law enforcement officers to conduct background checks on prospective handgun purchasers.  When I mentioned this out along with several other passages from the Court’s decision in that case Sen. Campfield chose not to respond further.

I also disagree with 9-12’s focus on Agenda 21, an opposition which is rooted in the fever swamps of the John Birch Society.  My knowledge of that issue is admittedly sparse so I’ll defer to Rod, who has taken a close look at it.  I’ll certainly agree that Lee’s group is more familiar with it than I but the roots in JBS conspiracy “thought” is unmistakeable.

Those differences aside, 9-12 is grounded in a view of limited government inspired by the Founding Fathers.  While I disagree with them on some of the legislative direction they take from that foundation it is clearly rooted in principles we should all recognize as conservative—smaller government, distrust of internationalist institutions, lower taxes and government spending.

I guess my point of departure, besides the specific legislative issues above, is the vitriol with which they label those who disagree or “fall short” of their own devotion.  The Republican Party as “those loyal to King George”?  The “treasonous votes and behavior” of “rogue officials”?  Rogue?  That’s no big deal—lots of folks in politics wear it as a badge of honor such as the sweetheart of some of those in the Tea Party, Sarah Palin, who said she was Going Rogue.  But “treasonous”?  That is a highly defamatory term if there is not some serious evidence behind it.  At least the Founders gave us a long list of “injuries and usurpations” by the King. 

On one point of disagreement with my friend Rod, I do believe that 9-12 is correct in its concerns about Muslim influences within state government—and national.  Although I have not educated myself about the specifics of the individual noted in 9-12’s full page ad in The Tennesseean (seen at this link: http://www.912projecttennessee.com/Sharia_Law_in_TN/), I am well aware of the threat posed by Muslims within our country and their devotion to imposing Sharia law.  That awareness is largely due to 9-12 (and ACT for America)-sponsored local events featuring well-informed speakers, including a former Muslim cleric.  It is a danger about which I wish Rod would seek to become better informed through a variety of excellent conservative—and non-fevered—sources.  Rod’s ignorance about it, however, is not due to a lesser love for this country (he served our country in the Army in Vietnam--toward which this peacetime Navy man renders a smart salute and deep thanks) or an unconcern over its security.

9-12 is also to be applauded for its conservative orientation on social issues though I confess ignorance as to the extent of its direct involvement on them.  Rod and I disagree, I believe, on whether social conservatives should be welcome within the Republican Party.  Or maybe Rod believes they should just keep quiet.  I will detail more on my position in a separate essay here and perhaps Rod will engage me in debate on this, here on his blog. 

Regarding Kevin Kookogey’s role in the intra-GOP controversy I have no specific knowledge other than having met Mr. Kookogey at a local Heritage Foundation event.  I found him to be a soft-spoken very well informed conservative.  One to whom a Republican Party looking for strong roots in its conservative base should listen.

My hope is that 9-12’ers don’t, as Lee’s email suggests, define “moderate” necessarily as “unprincipled”.  The equation is sometimes well-placed, as in the case of our two U.S. Senators.  Sen. Corker’s national reputation as a bargainer and a dealer far surpasses any regard for him as a leader of principle.  A choice, seeking conservative principles, between him and a Jim Demint (Republican Senator from South Carolina and founder of the Senate Conservatives Fund) would find Mr. Corker back in business as a home builder in Chattanooga. There are others who I consider “moderately conservative” such as Rod, however, who, while he may not peg out as a 100 on a conservative index, is grounded in good common sense with conservative instincts and principles.  Such moderation in my view calls for education and persuasion, not reproach (that means I’m gonna keep working on you, Rod).      

It is my hope that 9-12 will welcome debate within its ranks.  I understand it is not a discussion forum such as (shameless plug here) a group I belong to, Conservative Fusion (www.meetup/ConservativeFusion) but is rather an activist group focused on an agenda as such groups are.  I hope that there is room, however, for principled, thoughtful debate that doesn’t define someone as “outside” for holding a position contrary to its program.  Both sides should listen. 

Lee, meet Rod.  Rod, meet Lee.    

Gene Wisdom is an Alabama native but has lived in the Nashville area since 2007. He, his wife Vicki, and their dog Savannah live near Nolensville.  Gene is a conservative activist and leads the Conservative Fusion Book Club. 

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Ron Harwell to challenge Chris Devaney for Chairman of the Republican Party

"I am going to run for Chris Devaney’s seat as Chairman of the Republican Party," said Ron Harwell today in an email exchange with members of the 9-12 group. "I ran for the Chairman of the TN GOP in 2010 and lost," he says. "I plan to run again in December of 2012. I can use all the help I can get. The votes for Chairman are done by the State Executive Committee. Please talk to any SEC Members you know about helping me get elected."

Ron Harwell is a member of the local 9-12 group and former Republican primary candidate for the U. S. Congress. In 2010 Harwell came in fourth in a five-man race for the Republican nomination for Tennessee 4th Congressional District. Scott DesJarlais won that seat garnering 27,812 votes to Ron Howell's 9,237 votes.

There is a rebellion taking place in the Republican Party led by anti-Agenda 21 conspiracy theorist, those fearful that the State of Tennessee is in danger of falling under Sharia law, and by gun rights advocates who think gun owners should be allowed to carry guns anywhere even if private property owners do not want guns on their property.

While these three fringe movements make up the bulk of the disgruntled Republican, others have a general sense that the party fails to represent conservative values and that many in the leadership of the Republican party are almost indistinguishable from Democrats and are RINO's, which is an acronym of "Republican in Name Only."

I would not accept that this disgruntled faction of the Party is more conservative than establishment or mainstream Republicans. I do not think embracing weird conspiracy theories is a conservative position, nor is distorting the meaning of the second amendment, nor saying that Muslim are not covered by the First Amendment. Real conservatives are rational and they support the Constitution. This faction however often claims to be the real conservatives in the party and the mainstream press will often refer to them as the more "conservative Republicans."

This faction is currently challenging Debra Maggart in her reelection and they recently took out a full-page $5000 ad in the Tennessean lambasting Governor Haslam because his administration hired a highly qualified native Tennessee attorney, who happens to be Muslim, for a post in the Department of Economic and Community Development.

This fringe faction of the Party is planning to take over more county parties and run more candidates for the State Executive Committee and take over the Executive Committee and elect one of their own to the post of Party chairman.

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Gail Kerr on the "hate-filled" GOP fringe

Gail Kerr in today's Tennessean exposes the right wing fringe that has gained influence in the Republican Party. Since access to the Tennessean on-line is now restricted to subscribers, (or at lease I think access is now restricted) you may not be able to see the article.

Below is an excerpt from the article Hate-filled GOP fringe bullies its own:

... a small segment of the nuttiest members of the GOP, controlled by the tea party and the National Rifle Association, is hellbent on revenge against GOP leaders who don’t share its narrow agenda. It is an agenda based on hate.

They hate gays. They hate Muslims. They hate the United Nations. They hate anyone who reasonably believes business owners’ property rights trump free-wheeling gun rights. And, apparently, they hate the idea of Tennessee growing jobs. Because if you saw this sort of bigotry spewing out of a state, why would you want to locate your new plant there?

She reports how Bill Haslam has become a target of this fringe and that ten county Republican Parties have passed resolutions condemning Haslam for the hiring of a Muslim women to an important post in his administration.

I agree with much of Gail's concern. I agree with her when she says this fringe is the "nuttiest members of the GOP."  We have some real loonies in the Party and some of them have gained positions of influence. There are primarily three different issue that motivate this fringe: Agenda 21, Islam and Sharia law,  and gun rights. The three issues have created three different fringe factions but there is some overlap.

The Agenda 21 people can range from those who have a mild concern to real kooks. Agenda 21 is a 20 year old UN study that encourages sustainability. Those who are fearful of Agenda 21 believe it is a plan to take away private property rights, take away our cars and drastically change the American way of life. The more extreme of the anti-Agenda 21 people believe it is a plot to kill 96% of the world’s population by poisoning them with aspartame and fluoride. Anti-Agenda 21 people see elements of the plot in everything from mass transit to planning and zoning, to reintroduction of Wolves into the wild, to traffic roundabouts to bikeways, greenways, traffic calming and wide shady sidewalks. The John Birch Society is the group behind the anti-Agenda 21 campaign. The John Birch Society was denounced by William F. Buckley and Barry Goldwater in the early 70’s and was pretty much driven from the Party and had almost disappeared but with the advent of the tea party movement has made a comeback.

The people in the anti-Muslim or anti-Sharia movement believe the Quaran and Sunna must be taken literally and they believe that all Muslims are called upon to lie and deceive and make war on all non-Muslims. They do not consider Islam a religion but consider it a political ideology and many believe the First Amendment should not apply to Muslims. They do not believe that one can be a Muslim and be a loyal American. They think all Muslims are potential terrorist and Mosques are terrorist training centers. Looking at what is happening in Europe and the threat of radical Islam throughout the world, I understand their concern and think we should be vigilant. However, not all of Islam is monolithic, immigrant Muslim will assimilate and moderate and of course Muslims are covered under the First Amendment.

The gun rights people are mad because the guns is parking lots bill did not pass. Obviously the second Amendment is a protection against government and not a protection against your employer. The Second Amendment does not mandate that you be allowed to carry your gun onto the property of another without that person's permission, but that is the position the gun rights activist take. How one can adopt such a distorted view of a basic constitutional right, I do not understand.

I think all of these factions have the potential to be dangerous and I think they are all wrong. I agree they are “bullying” in their tactics, especially the gun nuts who are seeking to make an example out of Debra Maggart. Political activism and expressing a political opinion or petitioning the government is not in itself "bullying"however.

I do not agree with Kerr and I do not think the people who make up these faction are “hate-filled.” They are misguided and their logic is faulty but in general they are good people. I fear some of the anti-Sharia hysteria could attract the haters who may decide to commit vigilante justice upon perceived terrorist-in-waiting, but the people I know in the anti-Sharia movement are not themselves bad people.

Gail Kerr in her article also mentions an anti-gay element to this fringe movement. I have not seen that. Many conservatives look upon homosexuality at a deviancy and most support traditional marriage, but I do not hear anyone spending a lot of time or energy or placing much focus on the issue of homosexuality.

Kerr also implies this fringe movement to be racist when she says that they hate anyone who looks differently and when she quotes someone who says, “Forty years ago, these same people would be as upset if the governor hired a black person.” I can tell you with certainty, this fringe movement is not racist. I think we are over racism in America. A local leader of the anti-Sharia movement is a well-know local radio personality who happens to be African-American. The tea party and the Republican Party are well integrated and I see no vestige of racism in either. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, former presidential candidate Herman Cain. and Florida Representative Allen West are prominent African Americans deeply admired by many who consider themselves part of the tea party. It is simply wrong and maybe even evidence of being "hate-filled" to call the tea party or this fringe we are speaking about "racist."

I also know Kerr to be wrong when she says this fringe is "controlled by the tea party."  The tea party is not a party or an organization. There is no membership or structure to the tea party. There are numerous tea party organizations, but no "Tea Party."  The tea party can't control anything. You can't join and you can't be kicked out. People self identify as part of the tea party. It is a movement, not an entity. 

While I am concerned about the radical fringe that has gained prominence in the Republican Party, one thing to keep in mind is that it is a fringe. The tea party brought a lot of new people into the Party, most motivated by opposition to Obamacare, run away deficit spending and an expanding role of government. Most members who think of themselves as part of the tea party never became full time activist. They attended a few rallies, expressed their displeasure and waited for the next opportunity to vote. They may have given money to a candidate or went door to door for a candidate, but most never became part of this fringe I have described.

Also to keep this in perspective, the Occupy movement was much nuttier than the nuttiest of the tea party. All kinds of kooks tied themselves to the Occupy movement including Nazis, Communist, anarchist and every permutation of leftist wacko nut job and conspiracy theorist. The Democrats were blessed in that the Occupy movement did not hang around long enough to gain prominence in the Democratic Party. It was a flash in the pan that disappeared.

Another factor to consider in order to keep this in perspective is that a small group who believe anything could take over either one of the major parties at the county level. In some counties, people have to be begged to take the available seats on the County Executive Committee. In some counties, a voting bloc of a dozen could take over the Party. Because a certain County party passes a resolution does not mean that, that resolution is reflective of the way Republicans think in that county.

Despite being embarrassed by the Kerr article and despite thinking she got much of it wrong, I am not disappointed to see her article published. I have been wondering how much longer what has been happening in the Republican Party could just be ignored. The grownups and sane people need to retake the Party. Good Republicans need to run for position in the county Parties. The bullies need to be stood up to, as is happening when Republican leaders rally around Debra Maggart. The John Birch Society led conspiracy theorist need to be stood up do as they were when Governor Haslam refused to sign that silly resolution concerning Agenda 21.

I hope the fringe has seen their best day and are now in retreat. I hope the John Birch Society, with their tin foil hats firmly in place, will go back to meeting in secret. I think the Republican Party will be Ok. I think sanity will prevail. At least, I hope so.

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County Republican Parties taken over by right wing fringe condemn Haslam

Apparently several county Republican parties across the State have been taken over by elements of the right wing fringe. I really hate to publicly criticize other Republicans at a time we ought to be focused on denying Obama a second term. I would much rather just ignore our differences.  However, when the right wing fringe takes over County parties and passes resolutions condemning a great Republican governor who has reformed education, enacted tort reform, cut government waste, and cut taxes, they cannot be ignored. It is time for mainstream Republicans to take the party back from the radical fringe. 

Below is the Tennessean article on this topic: 

 County GOP chapters circulate resolutions condemning Haslam

The Williamson County Republican Party, the Stewart County Republican Party, the Carroll County Republican Party and perhaps several others have adopted resolutions critical of Haslam. Stewart and Carroll County call for the State Executive Committee to take “appropriate action against the administration of Governor Bill Haslam.” 

While the Haslam position on guns in parking lots and his refusal to sign a joint house resolution condemning Agenda 21,  a United Nations report on sustainability which the legislature condemned as an "insidious" communist plot, has irritated the extreme right, the thing that has really made the right wing  kooks go off the deep end is that the Department of Economic and Community Development hired a well-qualified, Tennessee native, who happens to be a Muslim, to head its international trade office.

For a related story see this post:

Regarding Samar Ali: The Haslam administration has already answered the 912ers.

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Thankfully, no anti-Agenda 21 activism here, yet.

by Rod Williams, July 9, 2012 - Last Tuesday the Metro Council approved two resolutions authorize the issuance of "qualified energy conservation bonds in an amount not to exceed $10,000,000 to make energy saving retrofits and improvements to the Bridgestone Arena. These bonds take advantage of the federal Qualified Energy Conservation Bonds (QECB) program, which was expanded as part of the federal stimulus plan. Under the QECB program, the federal government pays 70% of the interest on the bonds in the form of a direct credit to the local government as long as the bonds are issued for energy efficiency capital projects in public buildings." (link)

These resolutions passed on a consent agenda without discussion. These are the kinds of bills that when they go before the Council get little scrutiny. Reading the agenda and analysis and being generally well informed, I still do not know if these resolution were a good move for the city or not. I am fairly well educated and stay informed, but I cannot become an expert on everything and neither can members of the Council. Yet bills like this must pass the Council.  This is where individual Council members must defer to experts.

If I had been on the Council, and not a member of the Budget &Finance Committee, I would defer to that committee's recommendation. If on the B&F, I would try to understand the resolutions but would defer to the judgment of the administration and the City's finance department and city consultants. Unless something raised a red flag, I would go along. That is what usually happens.  Metro is on a pretty sound financial footing, so deferring to the experts has worked out pretty well.

I do worry however about a continuing increase in debt obligations of the city. The city has gambled on the convention center being self supporting and to increase revenue to the city from the convention business. I hope the gamble pays off. I also worry about the pension obligations of the city. The Council needs to be cautious about expanding the debt obligations of the city and I would wish the Council would reform the defined pension system to a matched contribution, employee invested, employee owned, retirement system. I hope the Council while deferring to the experts on issues like the QECB bond issue, pays close attention to the overall fiscal health of our government.

QECB is a program that offers a federal government incentive for local governments to go green. According to a Department of Energy description of the program this funding mechanism can be used to fund qualified energy conservation projects. What is that?

The definition of "qualified energy conservation projects" is fairly broad and contains elements relating to energy efficiency capital expenditures in public buildings; green community programs (including loans and grants to implement such programs); renewable energy production; various research and development applications; mass commuting facilities that reduce energy consumption; several types of energy related demonstration projects; and public energy efficiency education campaigns (see 26 USC § 54D for additional details). Renewable energy facilities that are eligible for CREBs are also eligible for QECBs.

This is the kind of program that across the county is being denounced as part of Agenda 21. Here is some news from Houston:

It's just after 10:30 a.m. inside the cavernous Houston City Council chambers when CouncilMember Helena Brown, who has held office for only four months, scrunches her small, cherubic features into a scowl and requests the right to speak. The matter before the council involves the construction of a $26-million maintenance facility. Ordinarily, this sort of item would whisk through the city council amid a chorus of yes votes and self-congratulation. But this isn't an ordinary gathering at City Hall, and Helena Brown isn't an ordinary council member.

"Let us see what this is all about," Brown reads from a prepared statement, voice soft and nasally. "This is a company that wants to take advantage of a $30 billion initiative that our president has approved to rebuild schools and outdated buildings, according to Agenda 21."

In city after city, things that used to be routine are being denounced as part of Agenda 21. Planning studies, bike lanes, high density housing zoning, membership is planning organizations and multi-county planning commissions are being denounced and in some cases the anti-Agenda 21 advocates are being successful in killing what used to be routine government actions. 

In Georgia, there is a proposed 1-cent state sales tax to fund a new highway and bike lanes in metro Atlanta. One may oppose that tax for many reasons, but the Chairman of the Cobb County Commission is denouncing it as an agenda 21 proposal. 

It is also happening here in Tennessee. In Sevier County where I was raised and still have family, county residents are accusing a group called Our Smokies, Our Future, of  being part of  the Agenda 21 plot. Our Smokies, Our Future appears to nothing more than an organization concerned with things like water quality and meeting the needs of a growing county, and preserving the natural beauty of the county that adjoins the Smoky Mountains. 

People who have been "educated" by the John Birch Society and their fellow travelers to be aware of Agenda 21 look for anything with the certain words used in the description, words such as: "Smart Growth, Wildlands Project, Resilient Cities, Regional Visioning Projects, STAR, Sustainable Communities, Green Jobs, Green Building Codes, “Going Green,” Alternative Energy, Local Visioning, Facilitators, Regional Planning, Historic Preservation, Conservation Easements, Development Rights, Sustainable Farming, Comprehensive Planning, Growth Management, Consensus." (link)

Facilitators? Historic preservation? Consensus? Yes, I am afraid it is true.

If any government program or piece of legislation contains these words, they oppose it believing that these are code words for taking away our property rights, depopulating the rural areas and suburbs, forcing everyone into compact cities, taking away our cars, and maybe even killing off 96% of the worlds population. 

Despite a strong Anti-agenda presence and several anti-Agenda 12 training session occurring in Davidson and  Williamson County, and despite our State legislature passing a resolution giving a green light to the anti-Agenda 21 hysteria, the anti-Agenda 21 political activism has not yet reached our area. 

During the recent Council budget hearings, none of the opponents of a tax increase argued against funding the Planning Commission because it was part of Agenda 21 or argued against sidewalks and bike paths as being part of Agenda 21 or argued against Nashville's participation in the regional planning commission. The Metro Planning Department can still hold neighborhood planning session without being bombarded with anti-agenda 21 rhetoric and denunciations. 

Thankfully we do not have anyone like Helena Brown in the Metro Council wasting time on a phantom threat. Thankfully we do not have citizen activist disrupting the normal operation of governing. Governing, being fiscally responsible, and making informed difficult decisions about complex funding mechanisms can be hard enough without mucking up the water with nonsense.

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Agenda 21: When Common Sense Becomes Conspiracy

By Cory Allen Heidelberger, South Dakota Magazine, Jun 27, 2012

Do you recycle your milk jugs and compost your kitchen scraps? Do you support using conservation easements to protect wetlands, shelterbelts, and the ongoing productivity of South Dakota farmland?

If so, you're a Marxist dupe.

At least, that's what one might read in a resolution passed by the South Dakota Republican Party last weekend.(read more)

by Rod Williams, Jan. 28, 2012 - I have mixed feeling about this. On the one hand I am pleased to see other Republicans come out against Agenda 21; I was really embarrassed when it was only Tennessee Republicans that were bat shit crazy. On the other hand however, I hate to see this craziness sweep  the county. I am saddened to see the Party I love dance to the tune of the John Birch Society puppet masters. I always knew there was a nutty fringe in the Party, but now the nutty fringe is becoming the mainstream.

I don't remember the Red Scare but I know about it. There really were communist spies in important positions of influence. The Ronsenbergs really did betray their county and so did Alger Hiss and there were many many more. However the legitimate hunt for Communist also lead to a hysteria and many innocent people had their lives destroyed by being falsely accused of being Communist, or "security risk," or "fellow travelers" or "Communist sympathizers." To not be accused themselves of being a Communist sympathizer, people joined in denouncing others. 

This Agenda 21 hysteria is also reminiscent of the flying saucer scare of the late 40's and early 50's when thousands of people were seeing unidentified flying objects and sightings made front page headlines. Many otherwise intelligent people thought an alien invasion was imminent.

Now, otherwise reasonable people are denouncing shady wide sidewalks and traffic roundabouts as a step along the slippery slope to the gulag. There seems to be a competition to see who can spot and denounce elements of Agenda 21. Lord help us.

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Asheville's John Boyle: Agenda 21 is the stuff of paranoid

by Rod Williams, July 27, 2012 - An editorial appearing today's Asheville Citizens Times, Agenda 21 is the Stuff of Paranoid Delusions, exposes some of the paranoia and silliness associatied with the John Birch Society led anti-Agenda 21 campaign. I am glad to see someone exposing the radial fringe and having a little fun in the process.

It is unfortunate that the Republican Party has allowed the JBS to become the puppet master and they dance to their tune. This Agenda 21 stuff makes me embarrassed to say I am a Republican at times. It certainly makes me embarrassed to say I am part of the Tea Party movement. How did the Republican Party become the party of the nut-case fringe instead of the party of responsible adults?

To read the full article, click here. Below are some excepts.

I’m battening down the hatches on my third of an acre as we speak.

Hey, the threat is real. Just recently, according to news release from the City of Asheville’s Office of Sustainability, “sustainability directors from 22 cities across four southeastern states met in Asheville on June 14 and 15 to share notes and strategies for creating greener and environmentally sound organizations. The Southeast Sustainability Directors Network kicked off its first conference with a series of workshops and sessions designed to spotlight energy and waste reduction techniques that work across southern cities.”

Aha! Allow me to translate that fancy leftist prose: “They’re spotlighting ways to steal your land!”

I bet all these sustainability warriors flew here in black helicopters and are secret members of the Tri-Lateral Commission.

And then:

The Agenda 21 paranoia has even touched quasi-governmental agencies not even in the sustainability business, groups such as the nefarious Southwestern Commission, a regional agency that offers planning support for the mountains’ seven westernmost counties and is funded by those counties. Tea Party folks and members of the 9/12 Project, another conservative group, have asked Cherokee County commissioners to stop funding the commission because of fears it’s promoting Agenda 21 mandates.

 Another excerpt:

 In all seriousness, Gibson said his organization gets no funding or directives from the UN.

“It’s just patently untrue,” Gibson said. “I won’t use the word ‘preposterous,’ but it’s just not true. It’s false. We were created by local governments to be servants of local governments.”
Gibson said he’s fairly conservative, but he’s skeptical of Agenda 21 theorists because he hasn’t seen any empirical evidence — numbers-based facts — that the UN or any other international organization is trying to take land or make sweeping mandates.

and this:

When it comes to Agenda 21, the paranoia and conspiracy theorists just muddy the waters on sustainability, which basically is an effort to develop responsibly while maintaining the world’s beauty, which we’ve got plenty of here in the mountains.

“As a friend said to me, ‘if not sustainability, do you want unsustainability?’ If not ‘smart growth,’ do you want the opposite?” Gibson said.

Clearly, he’s a commie. (read more)

This anti Agenda 21 campaign has turned into something of a witch hunt. There is almost a competition to see who can spot Agenda 21 in action.  Anything, someone does not like is being labeled part of Agenda 21 including traffic roundabouts, wide shady sidewalks, traffic calming, bike lanes, annexation, green ways, high rise residential developments, and mass transit. It is ridiculous. I am embarrassed that our Republican dominated state legislature joined the silliness by passing a meaningless Anti-Agenda 21 Joint House Resolution. I am proud of Governor Bill Haslam for not signing it.

To read more about Agenda 21, follow this link: Agenda 21.

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Update: What Happened at the June 5th Council Meeting: budget passes on 2nd reading.

 06/05/12 Council Meeting

This is the council meeting of June 5th. This meeting includes the lengthy public hearing on the budget which is on second reading. This meeting is over five hours long! Below are the highlights.

• When the council adjourns, it adjourns to June 12, 2012 at 6pm for consideration of the capitol improvement meeting and any other matter the vice mayor may deem appropriate. 
• Reappointment of Mr. Brian Winfrey to the troubled Transportation Licensing commission is deferred. Why? I don't know. 
• The first bill on public hearing is the capital improvement's budget. This appropriates no money. It is a planning document and establishes priority for proposed capital improvemeents. This hearing starts at 8:43 and ends at 15:26. The principal of Stratford speaks in favor of improvement of that school. The capital improvements budget is approved and rereferred to the Budget and Finance Committee.
• The vice mayor explains that if a majority of the council votes against the operating budget or abstains the Mayors budget automatically goes into effect.
• Proponents of the Mayor's proposed operating budget starts at 15:55. One after the other people plead for approval of the budget. Proponents plead for a yes vote because they advocate for headstart, for all services, for better schools, for paramedics, for the arts, for a summer writing program, lots of advocates for public transportation, and to get a pay raise.   Many are metro employees. Lots of policemen and lots of teachers speak.  Below are some of the more interesting examples of testimony of those in favor of the budget.
• Robert Weaver, the head of the Fraternal Order of Police.(21:25)
• David Peters, a business man with Universal Robotics. He is with the Chamber's report card project. (22:30)
• Doug ? with the Auto Diesel College. Pro mass transit. Students have no cars. Pro public safety.
• Bert Matthews, chairman of the Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. He gives the address of the chamber but not his address. Should he have been allowed to speak? Favors mass transit and support of the Chamber.
• Ginger Cook, president of the Realtors. Again, she give the address of the organization but not her address. Is she a Nashvillian?
• Jane, Ellis, Chair of the Nashville arts.(1:22:28)
• Steven Entre representing the Greater Nashville Hospitality industry. (1:45:10)
• Eric Cole, a former council member. (1:51:00)   

• The opponent of the tax increase start speaking at 1:54:10)
• Burce McNealage (?). Watch this one. He is a real estate investor buying lots of slum property and turning them into nice places to live. This is a person who has been active in the anti tax movement.  
• Ken Jakes, citizen activist and former candidate for Metro Council. (1:57:30) He argues we do not need a department of internal audit. Very good. He argues against the arts. Is that art, he ask after giving a couple examples of bad art.
• Bob Ries, candidate for Congress. We should be expanding the tax base, not the tax rate.  (2:11:53)
• Daniel Lewis, Chairman of the Davidson County Libertarian Party. Taxation is theft! China, a communist country, is privatizing transportation. Many functions of government could be privatized. (2:17:43)
• Dan Davis, a Metro School teacher and the Vice Chair of the Davidson County Republican Party. Great job! Watch this one. The city's liabilities exceed it's assets. (2:21:27)
• Lonnie Spivak, a former candidate for Congress and a leader of the tea party in Nashville. He addresses how much more we spend on education than surrounding counties. Where are the teachers. Too many chiefs, not enough Indians. (2:29:34)
• Ken Marrero, blogger at Blue Collar Muse and local tea party leader. Great passionate speech. "I am not an ATM."  (3:00:47)
• Connie Hunter, former school board member. (3:05:36
• Ed Zeigler. Ed is humorous. Good plea against the increase.(3:24:32)

The public hearing ends at 3:29:20, The budget passes on a voice vote and is referred back to the Budget and Finance committee. Also, the tax levy is passed and referred back to committee.


In other Council action: 


There is a public hearing on a Granny White Pike area zoning bill (BILL NO. BL2012-151) that would interest no one but those in the vicinity. It last an hour. I pity the folks who came to speak on this zoning bill who had to sit through the public hearing on the budget. I think the Council needs to change their rules so public hearing on zoning bills do not occur on the same night as public hearing on the budget. The bill was approved on second meeting and Councilman Todd said he would defer it one meeting on third reading.


A bunch of bills are appropriately passed on the consent agenda, (281, 282, 283, 284, 285, 286, 287, 288, 289, 290, 291, 292, 293, 295, 297, 298, 299).

Several bills, such as bills to adopt an employee pay plan and bills that would issue bonds are deferred to follow the outcome of the budget.  

Three proposed charter amendments (278 and 278 and 298) are deferred indefinitely.  


original post 6/5/2012

Outside the Council Chamber about 6:30 PM

I just finished watching the Council hearing on the budget. It passed unanimously on a voice vote, as it should have. Had the combined majority either abstained or voted "no" the mayor's budget would have become law. The council had to pass this budget tonight. That is the way the charter requires it. The budget is now passed on second reading and referred back to the budget committee. It is amendable on third reading.

I arrived at the council chamber about 5:15 but by the time I got there the chamber was already full and about 200 people were on the mezzanine unable to get in the chamber. I had my remarks prepared and fully intended to speak. However, I had my wife Louella and her caregiver and our friend Sue with me. Louella has Alzheimer's and we had not had dinner and Louella got antsy. The pros got to speak first. By 7PM there was a very long line of "pros" waiting to speak and I knew it would be a very long, long time before I would get to speak and I had to leave.  I did get a chance to speak to my Council member and a couple others I know and I urged them to oppose the Mayors budget. I went home and watched the rest of the hearing on channel 3. The budget hearing was not over until about 10PM.

The people who spoke, for the most part, made intelligent and thoughtful remarks. Most of the "pros" were Metro employees who wanted the promised 4% salary increase or those who benefit from doing business with Metro or whose industry benefits from more Metro spending.  However, some of the "pros" were people who genuinely think Nashville needs more funding to move forward, especially people who believe we need more funding for schools. I disagree with them, but respectfully disagree. I think they are simply wrong; not bad people.

I was very impressed by the quality of comments from our side of the issue. I know many of these people and I was impressed. Connie Hunter, former school board member; Ken Marrero, blogger at Blue Collar Muse, tea party leader and a Davidson County Republican Executive Committee member; Ken Jakes, citizen activist and former candidate for Metro Council; Bob Ries, a candidate for the 5th Congressional District; Lonnie Spivak, former candidate for the 5th Congressional district and tea party leader; Ed Zeagler, a former member of the Davidson County Republican Party Executive Committee who's remarks were not only good but humorous; Daniel Lewis, Chairman of the Davidson County Libertarian Party; Dan Davis, Vice Chair of the Davidson County Republican Party; and others. I am proud of these people. I am not only proud of these people, but pleased that so many citizens cared enough to come out and miss a meal and stay late to be heard.

Now, it is up to the Council. I hope the Council will develop an alternative to the Mayors budget which does not increase taxes. Realistically, I expect some tax increase. The challenge of the opponents is to craft an alternative to the Mayor's budget. While I hope that the alternative is a no tax increase budget, to get a majority will probably require some compromise which is greater than no increase but less than the mayor's requested 13% increase. Unfortunately, the charter gives an edge to proponents.

As soon as the video of the meeting is available I will post it and provide notations to what I see as the best comments, so you can see the best parts and skip the rest. Stay tuned for updates.  

Here are my prepared remarks that I did not get to give: 

 My name is Rod Williams of 758 Roycroft Pl, Nashville. As a former member of this body I appreciate the difficult task you face.  I know the challenges you face in passing a no tax increase budget but I urge you do to so. 

Of the proposed 13% tax hike, 44% is slated to go to schools.  The largest part of that additional money for schools is a proposed increase in the starting salary for teachers, raising that starting salary to $40,00.  We are told starting salaries for teachers are too low in Davidson County. We are told that without raising the starting salary, we will lose teachers to other school districts.

I do not believe this. The facts do not support that argument.  

Thirty-nine of 133 districts do pay a higher starting salary. That means 93 of 133 school districts pay a lower starting salary.

For those that pay a higher starting salary, how much more do they pay? The one immediately above Nashville in starting salary pays $119 more per year. That is $2.23 more per per week.  Of the next seven, they pay less than $500 dollars a year more. Not much difference.

Where are the better paying districts? Only one, Murfressboro City schools, is in this vicinity. Those paying more include Memphis and Sevier County and Maryville City and other districts which are over 200 miles away. Several others including Bristol city, Johnson City and Kingsport are more than 300 miles away. Those are not our competitors.

There are a lot of reasons people choose to live and work where that do.  I do not believe we are losing talented educators to other districts.  If we are, it is not due to starting salaries of our teachers.

We are always told a tax increase is "for the children." I am not buying it. Please do not pass the mayor's budget.  Thank you.

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