The Tennesssean had an article this morning reporting on the results of an examination of the tax return of all of the mayoral candidates. All of the candidates voluntarily released their income tax returns. All except Howard Gentry are married and filed joint returns, so the income is for both husband and wife except for Gentry. Here is the adjusted gross income for each of the candidates ranked from most income to least:
Bill Feeman: $2,412,451
Linda Eskind Rebrovick: $963,883
David Fox: $643,254
Charles Robert Bone: $255,282
Megan Barry: $243,144
Jeremy Kane: $227,596
Howard Gentry: $130,522
Bill Freeman make a lot of money and all of them make a lot more than the average person. I don't really think that is important and is not one of the criteria that would influence me in determining for whom I vote. However I do like knowing, just in a nosy sort of curious way, not that I think it is an important fact. To read the full Tennessean article follow this link.
Last night was the night of the big mayoral debate at Belmont University sponsored by The Tennessean and WSMV-TV Channel 4. Unfortunately I was unable to watch the debate. It was live-streamed but I was otherwise occupied. Fortunately, it is achieved on YouTube. Here it is.
The format of this debate is such that not each candidate gets to answer each question but any candidate can give a quick rebuttal to what another candidate says. With seven candidates in the race, there is no way to have a real debate unless it lasted hours and hours then no one would watch it, so this is probably about as good of a format as one could have. Also, since most of the candidates are saying the same thing, there is no point to hearing seven candidates say the same thing but just saying it a little differently. Here are some highlights:
Transit and the AMP: Megan Barry says she would chase federal dollars to get transit funding and that sidewalks would go some where. Bone did not say anything much different and said we need a local transit plan and a regional transit plan. David Fox said we must find ways to have the private sector meet some of our transit needs.
The Education Gap between the good schools and the bad schools. David Freeman Howard Gentry get asked this question and neither one answer it. Freeman says the Mayor cannot do much about our schools except be a cheerleader and he says our teachers are not getting a fair shake by all the criticism of our public schools. Gentry doesn't say anything of importance either. Kane, Fox, Bone and Barry give a rebuttal but one can't say much in one minuet. Fox says the mayor can be very important in influencing school policy. Megan Barry calls for universal pre-K which confirms why I think she is the worst choice for Mayor. Young children from two-parent middle class or privileged families who have parents that read to their children, give them experiences and engage them, do not need pre-K while kids living in the projects may benefit. Why make pre-K universal rather than focus on where it may actually do some good?
The move of the jail and police headquarters to Antioch and Jefferson St.. Kane and Rebrovick are asked how they would have handled this. Kane says we should start from the neighborhood up and not impose things on neighborhoods. Rebrovick gives a lame answer not addressing the question.
How much would you invest and how would you pay for mass transit:Fox says he cannot come up with a dollar amount and say lets spend that amount. He says we need to come up with a plan, see what we need, what we can afford and sequence that. He again says he would seek private sector partners. I like his answer. Gentry gives a lame answer and says he would seek regional funding. Kane says, "whatever it takes." Rebrovick offers a rebuttal and says we need to use smart technology.
I am discontinuing my question-by-question report. You can watch the debate for yourself. To save time you can watch it in double time and not lose content, if you know how to do that. Here are some highlights and impression:
Megan Barry says she would put more money into the office of neighborhoods and gives an endorsement of NashvilleNext.
Howard Gentry in addressing the proposed $100 Million flood wall ask a question I have wondered about. He says the water diverted from flooding downtown by the wall has to go somewhere else and he would want to know who would be negatively impacted by protecting downtown from a flood. He says the flood wall needs more study.
Freeman says he is frustrated that the first he knew of the flood wall proposal was when he read it in the newspaper. He says there needs to be discussion and debate before something like this happens.
Freeman says we need to pay our police, fireman and city workers more, especially the police.
Gentry says what happened in Baltimore could happen in Nashville and we need to address inequality.
Are we investing too much too quickly and should the public be concerned? No, says Gentry; Kane says we must invest in education and transit but does not answer the question; Bone says keep the momentum going and quotes the Bible as he often does; and Barry says we need to take the growth all of the way to the county line.
Megan says everybody should have transit to get them wherever they want to go.
Fox is the only candidate who expresses concern about our city's debt obligations.
All of the candidates are personable and seem like friendly, likable people. Charles bone is quick on his feet with zingers and is quick to quote the Bible. Just judging the candidates on performance as a campaign speaker, I think Bone is probably the best one to play the role of a mayoral candidate. Freeman seems like the closest to a good ole boy, backslapping politician and someone you might want to have a beer with.
Fox makes fewer bold and visionary statements and is a little less charismatic than some of the other candidates. When asked to name a song that would make a statement about their campaign, Fox could not come up with anything. I am not sure I could either on the spur of the moment, but anything would have been better than just passing on the question. It is a shame that debate moderators ask such stupid questions. These forums should be about who can best manage the city and what political values a candidate subscribes to rather than questions of the "boxer or briefs" category. Fox seems the most thoughtful and cautious of the candidates but in a day of massive attention deficit disorder where campaigns more closely resemble a Miss America Beauty contest, Fox's thoughtfulness and intellect may not be an advantage.
Having watched this debate and several others forums and having read the position papers of the candidates and visited the websites of the candidates and knowing something of their record, I have come to the conclusion that Megan Barry would be the least desirable of the candidates to have as mayor, and David Fox would be the best. The other candidates are kind of lumped together somewhere between.
Fox seems the candidate most concerned that we may be overextending our indebtedness, the most open to seeking private sector solutions to problems, and the only candidate to express respect for private property rights and concern about the abuse of eminent domain. For sometime my support for Fox has been growing but I have been reluctant to reach a conclusion that he was the candidate I would vote for until I knew more about all of the candidates. I met one-on-one with Fox recently and talked with him for a little over an hour and am convinced that he is the best candidate and is absolutely genuine and has deeply held believes about the proper function of government and how the city should be managed. He would not be the mayor that would offer shiny new projects as much as a mayor who would protect our bond rating, use common sense to solve problems, and repair our crumbling infrastructure.
To read the Tennessean report on the debate, if you can get behind their pay wall, follow this link and another Tennessean report at this link. To see The WSMV Chanel 4 report follow this link.
1ST TUESDAY members, friends and guests...
WHAT AN EXCITING TIME IN POLITICS IN NASHVILLE !!!
Hope you're ready... cause an avalanche of political ads are about to appear on your TV, blast out from your radio and invade your mail box & computer screens !!
[ some will make you wonder if they're talking about us ! ]
BUT..... nothing coming to you via the airwaves can possibly approach meeting top-tier candidates for Mayor in person, sizing them up and asking the questions that REALLY matter to you !!!
On Tuesday, May 5th we welcome Mr. Bone and Mr. Kane to 1ST TUESDAY.
Both
Charles Robert Bone
men had compelling personal stories when I met with each of them last week.
Both men have supporters who are 1ST TUESDAY members and friends.
They see unique futures for our city... different problems...and certainly have different plans to for spending the Nashville's roughly $1,900,000,000 budget !!
Here's what could be your last chance to get up close and to size these 2 candidates up in what will be an interesting and complex environment ! SO...what do want to ask them?
Jeremy Kane
AS "usual"... we will meet at WALLER Law [511 Union St - where parking under the building is just $5 if you let them know you've been at our event]. Doors OPEN at 11AM. Lunch at 11:30 an is still $20 for Members/ $25 for Guests who secure their seats via the 1ST TUESDAY website [www.1sttuesdaynashville.com and click on"Join Us" ]
Program starts at Noon sharp and our noted Q&A session will end at
1:00PM.
Both candidates plan to remain awhile for those of you who wish to talk to them.
Hope to see you on Tuesday !
Thanks,
Tim Skow
Host of 1ST TUESDAY
PLEASE.... if you're coming...register for lunch as soon as possible. It certainly helps with ordering the correct quantities for lunch.
by Joey Garrison, The Tennessean, April 16, 2015 - Four Nashville mayoral candidates will have to refund money they prematurely raised for a runoff election they hope to compete in but one that won't necessarily take place.
The Davidson County Election Commission on Thursday issued a letter ..... Bill Freeman, Jeremy Kane, Charles Robert Bone and Megan Barry have each raised money for not only their race in August, but also a Sept. 10 runoff that would occur between the top two finishers if no candidate collects at least half the votes. (read more)
I have examined the financial reports of all of the mayoral candidates for the campaign finance report period that ended Jan. 15, 2015. That period started when they filed the form appointing a campaign treasurer so it may have been different for different candidates. Some candidates, in the case of Megan Barry and Charles Bone, filed a mid-year disclosure back in July 2014 and had funds on hand at the start of this reporting period. I have not examined those reports for the mid-year filing but have requested them from the election commission and will examine them when I get them.
The first quarter report for the period from Jan.16 though March 30th are due to be filed on April 10. As soon as they are filed and posted by the Election Commission to their website, I will be analyzing them and reported who is supporting which candidate. I think it can be instructive to know where the candidates are getting their money from. It gives you an idea who their friends are and to whom they may be beholding if they get elected and who it is that you know that believes enough in the candidate to financially contribute to the candidate. If someone I admire and respect contributes to a candidate that makes me think they may be worthy of my support.
By all accounts, this will be the most money ever spent on a mayor's race. The seven major candidates are all wealthy and can put mass amounts of money into their campaign. I am not sure how wealthy each are or how much they are willing to risk of their own money but lack of money should not hinder any of them from running a good campaign. Probably by August 7th, we will be sick of TV ads, mail pieces, radio ads and robo calls. But it won't end then unless one candidate gets more than 50% of the vote and with seven major candidates in the race, I don't think anyone will get 50%, so the campaigns will continue a while longer.
Money may not win this race. I assume Bill Freeman is the wealthiest of the candidates and is willing to spend million to win it, but more than an adequate amount of money to spend on the race may not be a big advantage. No one candidate is permitted to buy up all the available advertising spots on TV and freeze out his competitors. I am not exactly sure of the rules, but it is my understanding, that if one candidate has pre-bought most of the available TV spots and another candidate wants to buy a spot, then the candidate who had first purchased them, must release them back to the media outlet and they will be made available at the same price to the opponent.
Also, I don't think that once one has received four or five pieces of mail from a candidate that the sixth, seventh or eighths piece has much impact. I am not a campaign professional, but there must be diminishing returns to saturating the voters with your message.
Another factor that makes me think money will not necessarily win this race is that voter turnout will probably be low. It is amazing how few people care about local politics. Among people I know many of them just can't generate much interest in a local election although they may be passionate about national politics. They may want to complain about the quality of schools, or lack of sidewalks or high taxes but they don't care enough to vote in local elections. If this election coincided with a more high profile race such as a presidential election, then many people would vote for president and then vote for the mayoral candidate who had the most name recognition, but there is nothing to draw people to the polls this election unless they care about local government. Which, in a way, is a good thing. That means the people who do vote are more serious and are not going to be swayed by name recognition alone or a catchy slogan, but are more likely to carefully consider their choices. So, if a candidate has adequate money, more than adequate money may not be of that much help.
Below is the spread sheet of showing the money raised by each candidate. Fox leads the pack now, but that very well may change after the April 10th reports are released. To see what stood out when I examined their financial report, click on their name. If you would like to see the complete report of a candidate, follow this link.
I will also soon be reporting on the financial contributions to candidates for Vice Mayor, Council-at-large and council district races. I am in the process of reviewing them now. Stay tuned.
If you are a candidate for office, if you will send me your announcements or press releases or position paper on a topic of interest, I will most likely post it. If I post a candidate's press release I will note it as such and my posting of a press release of a candidate should not be construed as my endorsement. I will be making it clear which candidate I am endorsing. I do not generally post annoncememts of funrd raising events except for candiates I support.
A review of Charles Robert Bone's financial disclosure report for the period ending 1/15/2015 does not show much of interest.
He started the report period with $509,742 on hand, raised $250,224, spent $268,410, leaving $491,556 on hand.
He raised a lot of money from attorneys but being an attorney himself, that is not surprising. Attorney Dewey Brandstetter gave him $250. A lot of attorneys from the firm of Bone McAllester Norton contributed and several from the firm of Butler Snow, LLP.
One of his biggest contributors is Plumbers and Pipefitters which gave him $7500.
He got money from a handful of contributions from out of state including $1500 from Sarah Lowery of New York City, $700 from James Fox of Richardson Texas, $1500 from Webb Sowden of Dallas Texas and $1000 from Dustin Huffine of San Pedro CA.
Other interesting contributions are these: Ryman Hospitality PAC $1000, H.G. Hill Realty PAC $1500, and Ron Gobble, President of Gobbell Hays Partners, Inc. $1500.
I do not know many of the people contributing to his campaign, but others may. To view his campaign disclosure report, follow this link.
One thing interesting about the Bone disclosure is that all of his contributions were marked as contributions for the "primary election." There is no primary election. The August 7th election is a general election.
This mayoral forum which occurred on March 24th was organized and sponsored by the Nashville chapter of
the Urban Land Institute, a nonprofit research and education
organization dedicated to the responsible use of land and to creating
and sustaining thriving communities worldwide. To learn more about the Urban Land Institute follow the link.
All of the mayoral candidates except Kenneth Eaton took part in the forum. The candidates each answer five questions; questions about traffic and parking, affordable housing, regional multi-modal mass transit, infrastructure, and the roll of government in building a healthier community.
On most issues the candidates were indistinguishable. Fox scored a point with me when in his comment on affordable housing said, I am more of a "carrot" person rather than a "stick" person and I oppose mandatory requirements on developers making them do things. I could support incentives that entices developers to develop affordable housing by awarding them density bonuses for building affordable housing, he said. He went on to say, it is simplistic to look at affordable housing as simply a "supply" problem, saying it is also a "demand" problem. He said that by improving education, that will negate much of the problem by giving people the means to afford housing.
On the mass transit problem, Bill Freeman scored a point when he said the "AMP was a solution looking for a problem." He said the AMP was a colossal waste of time and that we must look for a regional solution.
Howard Gentry lost a point when he bragged about the Music City Star as a success. These are the facts about the Music City Star:
The
commuter
line
starts
30
miles
east
of
Nashville
in
Lebanon
and
runs
into
downtown.
When
it
launched
seven
years
ago,
proponents
promised
that
750
people
per
day
would
ride
the
train.
Yet,
an
average
of
less
than
550
riders
climb
aboard
daily.
And
those
riders
catch
a
break,
because
they
pay
just
15
percent
of
the
total
cost
to
run
the
train
round-‐trip
from
Wilson
County
into
downtown
and
back
once
per
day.
Ticket
fares
are
expected
to
rake
in
a
measly
$779,400
this
year,
a
fraction
of
the
train’s
$5.1
million
operating
budget.
Where
does
the
rest
of
the
money
come
from
to
cover
the
difference?
The
pockets
of
federal
and
local
taxpayers.
Nashville
taxpayers
alone
fork
over
some
$1.6
million
a
year
to
keep
the
train
on
time.The
Star
has
the
second
worst
ridership
in
the
nation. (link)
If Howard Gentry thinks The Star is model for solving our transportation problem, he does not need to be mayor.
Fox scored another point with me when he said the World War II culture of planning is what got us to this point to where we are. "It was a culture that separated everything we do; where we live, where we work and where we shop. It has maximized our need to get in the car and go everywhere." He said we need to encourage nodes of development where you live, work and shop in close areas. I think he is exactly right. What was considered the most enlighten progressive ideas of the time led us to the car-dependent urban sprawl culture of today. I could expound on this with examples but am pleased to see we have a candidate for mayor who recognizes it. Fox went on to say we need to "harness the private sector" in developing mass transit. Fox is looking more and more like my preferred candidate. I would like to see Nashville do something outside the box when it comes to mass transit. Fox appears the only candidate thinking outside the box. To see Fox's remarks about mass transit go to time stamp 49:25.
On the question of health, Jeremy Kane lost a point when he commended the role of Meharry-General hospital. In my view, just as we got out of the nursing home business, it is way past time to get out of the hospital business. For more on this issue follow this link. Bill Freeman scored a point when he said, "I have no idea on how to solve the obesity problem in Nashville." Sometimes saying you don't have a solution to a problem is the best answer. I am tired of politician claiming they can solve every problem.
I am not yet to the point to where I know who I will support for Mayor but the field is narrowing. Megan Barry was never in the running as far as I am concerned and I am ready to remove Howard Gentry from consideration. Fox gave several answers that pleased me in this forum and said nothing that disappointed me. Fox's star is rising but I am still listening.
On Sunday night I attended the Mayoral Forum at Christ Church Cathedral. Afterwards, someone asked me who I thought stood out and honestly I had to answer, "no one." All of the candidates gave good answers to questions. There were some that seemed a little more polished than others, some projected more personality than others, but no one stood head and shoulders above the rest.
Christ Church Cathedral filmed the event and posted the below video. About the first 7 minutes of the video is blank and then there is a prayer and introductory remarks and the sound is not working properly. Each candidate gets an opening statement and unfortunately the sound is not working for several of the candidates opening remarks, so if you join the video at time stamp 11:39 you are not missing anything.
The candidates were asked to address issues of poverty and homelessness and affordable housing and how the city can work with the faith community. That is the primary focus of this forum but some other issues are also addressed.
After the forum there was a reception in the fellowship hall. I got to speak to four of the candidates individually. One of the major concerns I have is what metro will do about its unfunded pension liability. If we don't do something to get it under control it may freeze out funding for everything else. If Nashville was to see a decline in our fortunes rather than continued growth, we could be forced to raise taxes even if we did not want to. I wanted to know how the candidate felt about this issue and if they agreed it was an important issue facing our city. I also wanted to know if they would be inclined to support a transition from a defined benefit plan to a defined contribution plan.
Currently, we have a defined benefit plan as do most cities but not very many companies. At one time most pension plans were defined benefit. A defined benefit plan says something to the effect that after x number of years being an employee, the employer will pay you x% of the salary you were making at retirement for the rest of your life.
A defined contribution plan says something like, the employer will contribute an amount equal to x% of your salary every year you are employed into a retirement fund. Often, above the first amount which the employee does not have to match, the employer may match another x% of the employee's salary if the employee wishes to contribute more to his retirement. Often the investment options are limited to a few options with varying degrees of risk and return.
Some employees will do better under a defined contribution plan than a defined benefit plan, but others will not do as well. For the city, it removes future liability. Transitioning to a defined contribution plan would not address our current $396 million unfunded pension liability but it would stop it from growing.
I asked my question of candidates David Fox, Jeremy Kane, Kenneth Eaton, and Charles Robert Bone. I was pleased with the answer from each candidate. Each said they would support a transition to a defined contribution plan. Each seemed knowledgeable of the issue. Now I can't recall which one it was, but one of the candidates volunteered we had to make changes in Metro's retiree health plan also. He said that liability also ran into the millions.
Even before I got my question out David Fox said, "I'm already there," and he expounded on the topic with enthusiasm. Jeremy Kane was also especially convincing. He relayed his experience as head of the Lead Academy charter school organization and said that Lead had already transitioned the non-certified personal (meaning people other than the teachers) to a defined contribution plan. He said at first there was resistance, but now the teachers are asking how they can get in the plan. Charles Bone who has served as legal counsel for Nashville's Convention Center said the convention center has already transitioned to a defined contribution plan and it was something the city had to do.
I don't believe any of them were just telling me what I wanted to hear and none of them gave weasel answers. I believe they were each telling me the truth. I am pleased. Unfortunately, I did not get to speak to the other candidates, so if a candidate would like to email an answer to the same question, I will be glad to post that candidates comment. If I failed to reflect any candidates position adequately, please feel free to set the record straight or if any candidate would like to expound on this issue, I will be glad to post your comments.
There are other issues I feel strongly about, such as education, and sidewalks, and metro's pro-gay and political correctness policies, overextending our bond commitments, mass transit and traffic, and managing growth, but I think there is no issue more important than our unfunded pension liability. We must address it and stop it from growing.
Today's Tennessean reports of squabble over campaign signs on the side of the garbage trucks of Gray Disposal. I have seen candidates signs on the side of Gray Disposal garbage truck in campaigns for years and just assumed Edwin Gray was a civic-minded citizen who was showing his support for his preferred candidate. I did not know the space was for rent.
According to the Tennessean some months ago Charles Robert Bone contracted with Edwin Gray and paid Gray $10,000 to let Bone have his signs on the side of Gray's trucks though the September election. Well, Bill Freeman gets in the race and goes to Gray and agrees to pay him three times what Bone had contracted to pay and persuades Gray to break his contract with Bone. Gray returned Bones money and will now display Freeman signs on his trucks.
Charles Robert Bone today announced that Little-Smith Strategies will play a key role in advising the campaign on general strategy, outreach, and targeting. Little-Smith
Strategies is a Nashville-based Democrat consulting firm and has served such clients as Judge Rachel Bell, District Attorney Glen Funk, former U.S. Senate candidate Harold Ford Jr. and
Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen. Veteran Democratic political strategist Kim Sasser Hayden is serving as manager of the campaign , The Ingram Group is serving the campaign as general consultants,
April Orange will handle fundraising and DVL will advise on
marketing.
As the author of A Disgruntled Republican I often post items which I think may be of interest to the conservative, Republican, libertarian or the greater community. Posting of a press release or an announcement of an event does not necessarily indicate an endorsement. Rod
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