Karen Bennett and the Swingers Club make Reason TV

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Southeast Nashville Conservatives Breakfast Saturday, February 21

Shoney's (Antioch), Bell Road @ Cane Ridge Road, (I-24E, Bell Road Exit)

Breakfast (dutch treat ) 8:30 - 9:00 am, Program:  9:00 - 10 amGuest Speakers, Metro Council at Large Candidates for August, 2015 Election, Karen Bennett and Ken Jakes

Candidates for Mayor, Vice Mayor and Council are invited and will be recognized.

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Councilmembers Anthony Davis, Karen Bennett and Bill Pridemore say no to Charter replacements for two failing schools

After so many years of being a failing school, the State of Tennessee can take over a failing school and administer it. These lowest performing schools subject to takeover by the State are schools performing in the bottom of the 5% of schools in the state. They become part of a state-wide school district called the Achievement School District. The ambitions objective of the ASD is to move the bottom 5% of schools in Tennessee to the top 25% by 2018.  After being taken over by the State, the schools are given to charter operators to operate and manage.

In this letter that Council members Anthony Davis, Karen Bennett and Bill Pridemore sent to the State superintendent of the Achievement School District asking that the state not take over the subject schools, they state that a Lead Charter School has been placed on a Metro Schools "watch list"  and that the schools not be taken over by the ASD and not turned over to Lead.

The Nashville Scene reports that they asked Dr. Cloverstone to explain and verify that a Lead Academy school was on a Metro "watch list" and they got this reply:

The standards for charter schools are quite a bit higher than those the state applies through its Priority Schools status.

We automatically notify any charter schools that fall below satisfactory even for one year so that we are on record with concerns should a downward trend develop, but you are correct: the school’s 3-year status is still Satisfactory, and until that falls below Satisfactory, we will not take any further corrective action.

So much for the "watch list" complaint.  I know change is always difficult, even when it is change for the best, but it appears to me that what is best for these failing schools is to turn them over to Lead or some other charter and watch them improve.

This spring Lead Academy graduated its first High School class and every student was accepted to a four-year college. This are students who most likely would have been pregnant or dropouts or in reform school had they not been in Lead Academy. Few of those who did graduate would have been accepted to a four-year university.  Lead creates an expectation of excellence and expects their students to work hard. They create a different school culture. I know some parents do not want to do the hard work associated with having a child in a demanding environment. Some parents think mediocre is good enough. Somebody has to be in the bottom 5%, I assume they reason. Community leaders should not pander to those who think a bad school is good enough for their child.

Below is the letter:

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Southeast Nashville Conservatives' Breakfast Saturday, July 19

From Robert Duvall:

Southeast Nashville Conservatives' Breakfast 

Saturday, July 19 

Shoney's (Antioch) Bell Rd @ Cane Ridge Road, (I-24E Bell Road Exit) 

Breakfast/Social: 8:30 - 9:00 am, Program/Speakers: 9:00 - 10:00 am 

"Big John Smith", candidate for 5th Congressional District was scheduled for June's meeting. Due to his government vehicle catching fire, he was not able to make the meeting. "Big John" will be in the house on July 19 to speak.

Plus Guest Speakers 

 Mark Winslow & Karen Bennett 

Current elected officers of State Executive Committee ("SEC") for State Senate District 19 (which includes a major portion of South/Southeast Nashville &Antioch.) Both are running for reelection in August. Knowledgeable, accessible, objective, and active SEC members are vital to the fair and progressive operation and growth of the Republican Party. Mark and Karen have been invaluable and instrumental in our conservative growth in South/Southeast/Antioch. Please attend on July 19th and hear all the reasons (I already know) as to why both Mark and Karen deserve your support and vote on August 7th. Bring your State Senate District 19 friends and neighbors.

State Executive Committee 
The Tennessee Republican Party State Executive Committee operates as the governing body for the state party. They establish rules and measures that best promote the success of the Republican Party and the broadening of its base. The SEC serves as the TNGOP's state primary board and also establishes policy to guide and direct County Republican Parties. Each member serves as a representative of the TNGOP in their home district (one man and one woman are elected from each State Senate district) and helps to organize and promote Republican activism at the local level.

Hosted by Robert Duvall and Pat Carl.
August and September Meetings we will focus on State Constitutional Amendments 1 (abortion) and 2 (how Supreme Court and Appellate Judges are appointed/elected)

My Comment: Mark Winslow is a controversial member of the SEC who in the past has sued the

Mark Winslow

State Party. For more on the controversies surrounding Mark Winslow, follow this link. The most recent controversy involving Mark Winslow was his support for a Democrat candidate for judge who is seeking the same seat as Republican Marian Fodyce. To me, it certainly seems inappropriate for a member of the Republican State Executive Committee to be campaigning for a Democrat. 

Recently Karen Bennett, who is also a member of the Metro Council,  disappointed me when she abstained, instead of voting "no," on a bill that extended metro benefits to the domestic partner of same-sex

Karen Bennett

couples.  The measure is estimated to cost between $400,000 and $900,000 a year.  While the cost was reason enough to oppose the measure, in my view a more compelling reason is that we should not be normalizing what is a perverted life style.  We should not treat as if married, two homosexuals who live together. (link)

I will be unable to attend this meeting, but if one is attending they may want to ask Mark Winslow why he campaigned for a Democrat and ask Karen Bennett why she abstained on the same sex benefit bill. 

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How the Council voted on same-sex Metro benefits & who simply did not vote.

On July 3rd the Metro Council passed a bill on second reading that would extend metro benefits to the domestic partner of same-sex couples.  The measure is estimated to cost between $400,000 and $900,000 a year.  While the cost is reason enough to oppose the measure, in my view a more compelling reason is that we should not be normalizing what is a perverted life style.  We should not treat as if married, two homosexuals who live together.  If we wanted to say that any two people who share a household and have financial entanglement could be treated the same as a married couple, then I would have less problem with the bill.  I am sure that among Metro's employees, there is a son caring for his elderly mother who lives with him, or there is a mother carrying for her disabled son who lives wither her, or there are two "old maids" who share expenses but do not share sex. If we want to extend this service to people who may be dependent on each other, why is it contingent that they have a sexual relationship?

The vote to approve the bill was 25 in favor, 6 opposed, and 3 voting to abstain.

 BILL NO. BL2014-779

An ordinance amending Title 3 of the Metropolitan Code to provide domestic partner benefits for Metropolitan Government employees. The bill was approved by the Budget and Finance Committee and Personnel-Public Information-Human Resources-Housing Committees. Mr. Westerholm moved to pass the bill on second reading, which motion was seconded and adopted by a the following roll call vote: “Ayes” Barry, Steine, Garrett, Tygard, Matthews, Harrison, Hunt, Banks, Scott Davis, Westerholm, Anthony Davis, Stanley, Moore, Allen, Gilmore, Baker, Evans, Holleman, McGuire, Harmon, Johnson, Potts, Bedne, Todd, Mitchell (25); “Noes” Pridemore, Pardue, Glover, Stites, Claiborne, Dominy (6); “Abstaining” Bennett, Blalock, Dowell (3).

Bill Pridemore
voted NO

Doug Pardue
voted NO

I am extremely proud of those six who voted "No" and want to put a picture with the face.  I am especially proud of the stand and comments made by Josh Sites.

Josh Stites
voted NO

Steve Glover
voted NO

Phil Clairborne
voted NO

Duane Dominy
voted NO

Three Council members voted to abstain. I do not understand a vote to abstain.  I think on controversial issues one should get off the fence and state how they stand.  Sometimes one votes to abstain when they have a conflict of interest. If a council member works for a company that is seeking a zone change, then a vote to abstain is appropriate, or if one has some other conflict of interest. On a bill like these there is no logic to a vote to abstain. Of the three abstentions  Karen Bennett and Davette Blalock who are both Republicans are very disappointing. I am not familiar enough with Jacobia Dowell to know how she would have voted, had she voted. I emailed Karen Bennett and Davette Blalock to give them a chance to tell me why they abstained, but I did not hear from either of them.

 Here are the pictures of those who chose to not take a stand and voted to abstain. 

Jacobia Dowell
Abstained

Karen Bennett
Abstained

Davette Blalock
Abstained

Twenty-five of the Council members voted "yes."  Many of them are obviously liberals and I am not surprised. Some of them I don't know well enough to have guessed how they would have voted. Some of them however disappoint me in how they voted. Maybe my evaluation of them was wrong, but these are the Councilman who disappointment. I am especially disappointing in Charlie Tygerd, and Carter Todd both of whom are Republicans.  

Here are the "yes" votes that either surprised me or disappointed me.

Charlie Tygard
voted YES

Emily Evans
voted YES

Carter Todd
voted YES

Tim Garrett
voted YES

There is one vacancy in the Council and Council Member Edith Langster was absent for the whole meeting. Other Council Member who did not vote at all and were present at least for part of the meeting were Jerry Maynard, Tony Tenpenny, Sheri Weiner and Robert Duvall. I do not know if Mr. Maynard was present for this vote or not. This vote was near the end of agenda and the meeting was almost five hours long, so he may have not been present and had a legitimate reason.  I did speak to Councilman Tenpenny, Sheri Weiner, and Robert Duvall. They all had left the meeting early with very legitimate reason. Council member Sheri Weiner had a health issue and Councilman Robert Duvall and Councilman Tony Tenpenny had family emergencies. I won't go into details but they all did what they needed to do by leaving early. All three told me that had they been there they would have been "no" votes and that they will continue to oppose this effort.

As disappointing as I am in those who I expected to be "no's" who voted yes and those who abstained, I am disappointed in the Christian community and those who advocate traditional values. The Social Conservatives were AWOL on this issue. Had the three who abstained voted "no" and the two of the four disappointing "yes's" voted "no" and Weiner, Tenpenny and Duvall been present, the vote would have been to 23 to 14. If there would have been a campaign from advocates of traditional values to stop this, I believe five more votes could have been switched and it could have been killed. An outpouring of opposition could still stop this between now and June 17th.

If anyone, I mentioned in this blog post would like to explain your vote or your abstention, please feel free to leave a comment, or email me and I will post your explanation.

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Correction: Mark Winslow survives challenge. Will remain on ballot as TNGOP Executive Committee candidate

This is a corrected version of this report. Previously, I had stated that the Democrat candidate being supported by Mark Winslow did not have a Republican opponent in that race. In fact, she does. Rod

In addition to Matt Collins who failed to survive a challenge to his candidacy to run for a seat on the Tennessee Republican Party's executive committee, there were 20 other Republicans who were challenged, most of them for seats on the Executive Committee but some for other positions. Among those challenged were Mark Winslow and Karen Bennett. Both Winslow and Bennett are current members of the Executive Committee representing district 19.

Tony Roberts

Both Winslow and Bennett were challenged for supporting Melissa Blackburn, a Democrat running for General Session Judge, Division II. Blackburn has three Democrat opponents. The Democrat candidate will be selected in the Democratic Primary of May 6th and will face the Republican candidate in the August election.  The Republican seeking that seat is Marian Fordyce.

The challenges to Winslow and Bennett were brought by Tony Roberts and Melissa Gay. Tony Roberts is the Second Vice Chair of the Davidson County Republican Party. He is also one of founders of  Conservative  Groups of Middle Tennessee, an organization designed to bring together right-of-center activist, Republicans, and Libertarians for mutual cooperation and networking. Tony also is chair of GOP Minority Coalition of Tennessee, which does outreach to minority groups and immigrants.

I caught up with Tony at an event last week and asked him about his challenge of the candidacy of Winslow and Bennett. He told me that the party bylaws say a member of the Executive Committee cannot endorse a Democrat and he says if they do, he does not think they should be allowed to hold a seat on the Executive Committee.

I think it inappropriate for a member of the Executive Committee to be endorsing a Democrat in a Democrat primary even if there is no Republican running for that seat.  To vote for the candidate they endorse, one would have to vote in the Democrat primary. You do not build the Republican Party if Republicans vote in the Democrat Primary.  In this case it is even worse however, because there is a Republican candidate for that seat.  Marian Fordyce is running as a Republican and will be on the ballot unopposed on May 6, and will then face the Democrat who wins the Democrat primary in August.

It is my understanding the Mellisa Blackburn is the wife of one the attorneys who represented Mark Winslow in his legal action against Chuck Fleishman and the State Republican Party. Also, if what I have been told his correct, Mark Winslow is not simply supporting someone who happens to be a Democrat out of friendship, but has a paid position in her campaign. This is an outrage and should not be tolerated.

TNGOP Chairman Chris Devaney's explanation of why Winslow and Bennett were not removed is that he ran out of time to do so. While admitting they violated party bylaws, he said he was not comfortable making the decision himself, which the rules says is his responsibility.  Rather than making that decision alone he wanted the input of the Executive Committee and he says there was not time to convene the committee. This is lame. By not removing them, he made the decision not to remove them. The decision was his and there is no evading that he made a decision. If the Chairman should not have that authority to remove or not remove a person from the ballot, then the procedure needs to be changed. Until it is changed, by not removing someone who is challenged, the Chairman is making a decision to keep them on the ballot.

Mark Winslow

Mark Winslow has long been active in Republican Party politics. He was the former Chief of Staff of the Tennessee Republican Party.  When Chris Devaney took over as Chair of the Party, he wanted to select his own chief of staff and he terminated Winslow and awarded him severance pay of $12,504. This latter became an issue in a campaign between Robin Smith and Chuck Fleishman who were primary opponents seeking the 3rd congressional seat nomination. Fleishman used this payment of Winslow's severance as an attack on Smith's management of the Party. This ended up with Winslow suing the state party. To read more about this issue go here, here, and here.

Each district must have a male and female member on the Executive Committee of the Party.  Karen Bennett is the female representing the same district as Mark Winslow. Karen Bennett is also a member of the Metro Council.

Karen Bennett

The number of challenges this year to people seeking a spot on the ballot to run for a seat on the Executive Committee is underrepresented. Some election cycles there are no challenges.  The number of challenges and who were being challenged went national. Scottie Huges, the news director and chief journalist for the Tea Party News Network wrote about it and reported it as a fight between establishment republicans and the Tea Party. (link)

I cannot find a statement as to the result of the 21 challenges. One could compare the list of those who were challenged to those who are on the ballot but even it a name was on the first list and not the second list, one would not know if the person was ousted or voluntarily withdrew.  Other than Matt Collins, I do not know who was removed.


Here is the Tennessean's coverage of the issue: As GOP dominates, ballot challenges get weird.

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The unanimous Council support for EPA CO2 regulation.

Below is the text of the resolution putting the Council on record supporting the EPA's regulation of CO2 and putting the Council on record agreeing that global warming is a scientific fact.  Out of our forty member council there is not a single global warming skeptic in the Council. I am surprised. 

 
This resolution passed unanimously. Unanimously! That means the "good" councilmen voted for it. That means Robert Duvall voted for it and Duane Dominy voted for it, and Josh Stites, and Karen Bennett, and Tony Tennpenny and Charlie Tygard and a handful of others, who I thought were conservative. Davette Blalock who I think of as one of the "good" councilmen  is even one of the sponsors.


Not a single one of them disagreed with this bill.  Please read it and see if you agree with it. I myself tend to believe global warming is a reality and I tend to believe the activity of mankind is a contributing factor.  However, I do not support this resolution. I do not want to give this much power to unelected bureaucrats.

CO2 is the stuff we exhale when we breath. When congress passed the Clean Air Act, they never intended to give the EPA power to regulate CO2. 

With this new power, EPA can rule by fiat. They can dictate the mileage standard for new cars. They can impose Carbon Pollution Standard for New Power Plants, they can prohibit the construction of new industrial facilities.  The ability of EPA to regulate greenhouse gases gives the EPA control of most of the U.S economy, should they chose to exercise it.  To learn more of what the EPA may regulate, visit the EPA's own website. 

One did not even have to argue the merits of the issue  to vote against it, one could simply ask to be recorded as voting "no." Even if one wants the EPA to regulate CO2 one could oppose this bill because it is not a matter that a city council should express an opinion on.  If we are going to have a local body express an opinion on this matter why not, the Federal Reserves inflating the money supply $40 billion a month?  Why not the Benghazi policy failure and cover up?  Why not the looming fiscal cliff.  There are no end to national issues the Council could opine about if they want to start debating national issues. 

I am going to forward this post to the "good" council members.  If any of them want to explain their vote, I will post it.

If you see your council member, you may want to ask him why he voted for this resolution. 

RESOLUTION NO. RS2012-478

A resolution supporting the reducing of greenhouse gas pollution under the Environmental Protection Agency Clean Air Act.

WHEREAS, the scientific community, most notably NASA, NOAA, and the IPCC support the following findings; and

WHEREAS, the decade from 2000 to 2010 was the warmest on record, and 2005 and 2010 tied for the hottest years on record; and

WHEREAS, the current level of CO2 in the atmosphere is approximately 392 parts per million (ppm); and

WHEREAS, one of the world’s leading climate scientists, Dr. James Hansen, stated in 2008: “If humanity wishes to preserve a planet similar to that on which civilization developed and to which life on Earth is adapted, paleoclimate evidence and climate change suggest that CO2 will need to be reduced from its current 392 ppm to at most 350 ppm”; and

WHEREAS, the Environmental Protection Agency determined that current and future greenhouse gas concentrations endanger public health, and according to the Global Humanitarian Forum climate change is already responsible every year for some 300,000 deaths, 325 million people seriously affected, and economic losses worldwide of $125 billion; and

WHEREAS, extreme weather events, most notably heat waves and precipitation extremes, are striking with increased frequency, with deadly consequences for people and wildlife; in the United States in 2011 alone, a record 14 weather and climate disasters occurred, including droughts, heat waves, and floods, that cost at least $1 billion each in damages and loss of human lives; and

WHEREAS, climate change is affecting food security by negatively impacting the growth and yields of important crops, and droughts, floods and changes in snowpack are altering water supplies; and

WHEREAS, scientists have concluded that by 2100 as many as one in ten species may be on the verge of extinction due to climate change; and

WHEREAS, the world’s land-based ice is rapidly melting, threatening water supplies in many regions and raising sea levels, and Arctic summer sea ice extent has decreased to about half what it was several decades ago, with an accompanying drastic reduction in sea-ice thickness and volume, which is severely jeopardizing ice-dependent animals; and

WHEREAS, sea level is rising faster along the U.S. East Coast than it has for at least 2,000 years, is accelerating in pace, and could rise by one to two meters in this century, threatening millions of Americans with severe flooding; and

WHEREAS, for four decades, the Clean Air Act has protected the air we breathe through a proven, comprehensive, successful system of pollution control that saves lives and creates economic benefits exceeding its costs by many times; and

WHEREAS, with the Clean Air Act, air quality in this country has improved significantly since 1970, despite major growth both in our economy and industrial production; and

WHEREAS, between 1970 and 1990, the six main pollutants covered by the Clean Air Act — particulate matter and ground-level ozone (both of which contribute to smog and asthma), carbon monoxide, lead, sulfur and nitrogen oxides (the pollutants that cause acid rain) — were reduced by between 47 percent and 93 percent, and airborne lead was virtually eliminated; and

WHEREAS, the Clean Air Act has produced economic benefits valued at $2 trillion or 30 times the cost of regulation; and

WHEREAS, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Massachusetts vs. EPA (2007) that greenhouse gases are “air pollutants” as defined by the Clean Air Act and the Environmental Protection Agency has the authority to regulate them; and

WHEREAS, The City of Nashville prides itself on being a leader in the fight against climate change and for clean air and, by creating the Mayor’s Office of Environment and Sustainability, has shown its ability to be a green leader in the Southeast; and

WHEREAS, The City of Nashville strives to meet the goals set out by the Green Ribbon
Committee’s 2009 Summary Report, which addresses environmental and livability issues in Nashville.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT OF NASHVILLE AND DAVIDSON COUNTY:

Section 1. That the Metropolitan County Council hereby goes on record as supporting the reduction of greenhouse gas pollution under the Environmental Protection Agency Clean Air Act.

Section 2. The Council further goes on record as noting that climate change is not an abstract problem for the future or one that will only affect far-distant places, but rather climate change is happening now, we are contributing to it, and the longer we wait to act, the more we lose and the more difficult the problem will be to solve.

Section 3. We, the Metropolitan County Council, on behalf of the residents of Nashville, do hereby urge the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Lisa P. Jackson, and President Barack Obama to move swiftly to fully employ and enforce the Clean Air Act to do our part to reduce carbon in our atmosphere to no more than 350 parts per million.

Section 4. The Metropolitan Clerk is directed to send a copy a copy of this Resolution to Lisa P. Jackson of the Environmental Protection Agency and to President Barack Obama.

Section 5. This Resolution shall take effect from and after its adoption, the welfare of The Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County requiring it.

Sponsored by: Jason Holleman, Erica Gilmore, Brady Banks, Burkley Allen, ,Lonnell Matthews, Sean McGuire, Bo Mitchell, Davette Blalock

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
Referred to:	Health, Hospitals and Social Services Committee
Introduced:	November 13, 2012
Adopted:	November 13, 2012
Approved:	November 14, 2012

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What Happened at the Jan. 17th 2012 Council Meeting

 ORDINANCE NO. BL2011-49 sponsored by Council Member Blalock is the ordinance that would repeal Metro's limousine price fixing provision in the Metro code. The bill was deferred indefinitely. The action on the bill occurred in committee. To read all about it, click here and here.

ORDINANCE NO. BL2011-82 which would allow the city to take over incomplete infrastructure and complete it in those cases where developers have failed to do so, passed unanimously without discussion. There are about 13 subdivisions where the streets or drainage was never completed and the developer went bankrupt or abandoned the project. People who bought in those subdivisions are enduring unfinished streets with manholes covers extending above the level of the road and other inconveniencies and hazards.

This is what happened accord to the Council staff analysis:

A 2009 Office of Financial Accountability monitoring report regarding the performance bond process identified a number of failures by the planning department to adequately monitor and administer the bonds. Specifically, the report noted the failure of the department to follow its own policies and procedures resulted in expired letters of credit and a backlog of 248 breached performance agreements exposing the Metropolitan Government to potential liability of $6.2 million. The monitoring report made a number of recommendations to prevent future occurrences, which have now been implemented by the planning department.

I am disappointed that no Council Member expressed outage about this and demanded to know who screwed up and got assurance that this could not happen again.  This was a good opportunity for someone to show leadership.

ORDINANCE NO. BL2011-83 which would allow the extension of water mains to homeowners with wells at the city’s expense was deferred one meeting. (see 18:30)  The bill was deferred and rereferred to budget and Finance at the recommendation of the B & F Committee. Extending water mains in these circumstances has always been a responsibility of the homeowner wanting Metro water.

The Backyard Chicken bill: Video coverage starts at 28:20 and does not end until 1:14:34. For a modern Council, this is a long debate. The bill was approved by the Planning Commission, disapproved by the Health, Hospitals and Social Services and disapproved by the Planning, Zoning and Historical Committees. Council Member Bennett moved the bill. After lengthy discussion, with several members taking to the floor to speak on the issue, the Council passed the bill after Council Member Robert Duvall successfully exempted from the bill council districts 12, 20, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, and 33.

Robert Duvall’s bill exempting the various district received the following 18 “Ayes” votes: Matthews, Hunt, Jernigan, Glover, Tenpenny, Moore, Allen, Baker, Langster, Harmon, Dominy, Johnson, Potts, Bedne, Dowell, Duvall, Todd, Mitchell. 

The following 17 members voted “no”: Tygard, Maynard, Harrison, Banks, Scott Davis, Westerholm, Anthony Davis, Bennett, Pridemore, Pardue, Stites, Stanley, Weiner, Evans, Holleman, McGuire, and Blalock.

These 3 members abstained: Barry, Steine, and Gilmore.

The final vote on the bill was as follows: “Ayes” Barry, Steine, Maynard, Matthews, Harrison, Hunt, Banks, Scott Davis, Westerholm, Anthony Davis, Bennett, Pridemore, Pardue, Stites, Allen, Gilmore, Langster, Evans, Holleman, McGuire, Todd (21); “Noes” Tygard, Jernigan, Glover, Stanley, Tenpenny, Baker, Weiner, Harmon, Blalock, Dominy, Johnson, Potts, Dowell, Duvall, Mitchell (15); “Abstaining” Moore, Bedne (2).

BILL NO. BL2011-58 is the Lifepoint bribe bill  that exempts Lifepoint from real and personal property taxes for the next 15 years as an inducement to get that company to move from Cool Springs in Williamson County to a Davidson County location four miles away. (See 1:15:20) Councilman Stites took to the floor auguring that this action would set a president that would not serve us well. He argues that deals such as this are cut behind closed doors with no transparent criteria as to who gets such deals and who does not. Stites may be a Councilman to watch and someone who could emerge as a leader in the Council.  I think if I had been in the Council, I would have had to vote “no.”

The bill passes with the following vote: “Ayes” Barry, Steine, Tygard, Maynard, Matthews, Harrison, Hunt, Banks, Scott Davis, Westerholm, Anthony Davis, Bennett, Pridemore, Pardue, Jernigan, Glover, Moore, Allen, Gilmore, Baker, Langster, Weiner, McGuire, Harmon, Blalock, Johnson, Potts, Bedne, Dowell, Todd, Mitchell (31); “Noes” Stites, Stanley, Tenpenny, Dominy, Duvall (5).

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What to look for at the January 3rd Council meeting. An update.

Signs and Chickens and not much else

This is a Council Meeting devoted to bills on public hearings and unless there is a zoning issue in your neighborhood that you care about, this council meeting will be even more boring than most council meetings. There are only two issues that will generate any general interest.

BILL NO. BL2011-30 will prohibit the conversion of nonconforming static billboards to tri-face billboards. This may sail though with no public comment but some neighborhood activist will be very much in favor of this bill and some sign industry people would be expected to oppose it.

The Backyard Chicken Bill (BL2011-47) sponsored by Karen Bennett establishes regulations and standards pertaining to the keeping of chickens. Currently, it is illegal to keep chickens in the city, this would permit that. Those wanting to keep Chickens would have to pay an annual $25 fee, could have no more than six hens and no roosters. At one time there was a lot of opposition to this bill, so I don't know if there will be a lot of comment or not but their could be.

There are also many people who strongly support this bill. There is even an organization with a Facebook page called Urban Chicken Advocates of Nashville (UCAN) which is pushing for passage of the bill.  I monitor several neighborhood websites and there has not been a lot of chatter about this recently. I am all in favor. I might raise chickens myself if this passes.

Update: Thanks to the Metro Council Member who informed me that currently the rule is that it is illegal to have chickens in the city if you have less than 5 acres. 
  

Another update: Charlotte Park Neighborhood Association opposes the backyard chicken bill. Posted in the Nashville Neighbors Google Group, Charlotte Park Neighborhood leaders Wallace and Janice Lampley post a letter sent to all Metro Council members urging them to vote against the Chicken bill.

We just think this is a bad idea, and will only cause many problems for neighbors and our Codes Department and Health Department, in dealing with all the complaints that will be coming in, if this is approved. As we've said before, Codes Department works hard, and so does our Health Department in trying to keep up with all the complaints in Davidson County, and this is just something that doesn't need to be added to their heavy complaints schedules already, and neighbors don't need to have to start dealing with something else in their neighborhood that has been a problem already in ours.

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What to look for in the Metro Council Nov. 1

Neighborhood Zoning Issues, Billboards and maybe Chickens 

Tuesday night's council meeting is for bills on public hearing. Other than that, the only thing on the agenda are bills on first reading and resolutions, so unless you have a hot zoning issue in your neighborhood, public hearing nights can be real boring. With the current economy, there is less building and so there is not a lot of request for major zone changes for large tracks, so public hearings are not as lengthy as when we are experiencing a lot of growth and development. There are three bills dealing with billboard that may be of of general interest however.

BILL NO. BL2011-25.  This bill will change from RS15 to SP zoning a portion of property located at 3810 Kings Lane, to permit a digital reader board sign. This property is Temple Church.  SP refers to a new type of base zoning district in which design standards are established for that specific development and are written into the zone change ordinance. The purpose of this bill is to allow an LED sign where one would not otherwise be permitted. There has been a lot of controversy about LED signs and where they can be placed. Frankly, I have not kept up with all the nuances of this issue and don't care that much about it but I suspect some serious opposition to the bill. Neighborhood activist will fear this bill sets a president. A lot of neighborhood groups have become concerned about these bright signs on school or church properties in residential neighborhoods.  I understand that the Planning Commission today voted unanimously to disapprove the bill which means on third reading it will have to have a 2/3 majority to pass.

BILL NO. BL2011-29. This bill also deals with digital billboard or LED signs and essentially says that an existing non-conforming static billboard cannot be converted into a digital bill board. Since most billboards in Nashville are now non-conforming this bill would basically have the effect of prohibiting any new digital billboards in the city. I expect a lot of leaders of neighborhood groups will speak in favor of it and some sign companies will speak against it. 

BILL NO. BL2011-30. This is also a billboard bill prohibiting the conversion of nonconforming billboards to tri-face billboards Tri-face billboards consist of triangular louvers that automatically rotate to allow three different sign messages to be shown on the same sign. Expect the same groups as speak on the above bill to speak on this one.

BILL NO. BL2011-47. This bill sponsored by Karen Bennett is on first reading and almost always bills pass unanimously on first reading unless someone objects. This bill may prove controversial however when it reaches second reading.  This bill would allow one to raise a limited number chickens in ones backyard in the city.  Now chickens are prohibited in the city. To keep chickens one would have to pay a fee and no roosters allowed. I am in favor. Let people raise chickens. I don't see the harm. There are some people however who are adamantly opposed. On second reading, expect some jokes about hens and roosters and you may hear some "cluck, cluck, cluck" in the background as Council Lady Bennett argues her bill.

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Highlight of the October 18th Metro Council meeting

A Muslim led prayer, Election of Speaker Pro Tem, Fairgrounds, and Storm water.


A cleric from the Islamic Center of Nashville offered the invocation as a guest of Councilman Ronnie Steine. I certainly don't have a problem with that but given the anti-Muslim sentiment in this community, I am sure some are upset. I am pleased but surprised I have heard no one sounding and alarm about "creeping Sharia."

Karen Bennett of District 8, a Republican member of the Metro Council, lost an election to the position of President Pro Tem of the Council to Erica Gilmore by one vote. The vote was Bennett 17 votes; Gilmore 18. Five members were present but did not vote. One of the members not voting who I would have assumed would have been a vote for Bennett had he voted, was Robert Duvall.  A non-voting member who I would have assumed would have been a vote for Gilmore was Bo Mitchell. Those voting for Bennett were Bennett: Garrett, Tygard, Harrison, Anthony Davis, Bennett, Pridemore, Pardue, Glover, Stites, Claiborne, Tenpenny, Baker, Langster, Weiner, Blalock, Dominy, and Todd. Those voting for Gilmore were Gilmore: Steine, Maynard, Matthews, Hunt, Banks, Westerholm, Stanley, Moore, Allen, Gilmore, Evans, Holleman, McGuire, Harmon, Johnson, Potts, Bedne, and Dowell.

President Pro Tem  is not a terrible important position but how members voted can give you some idea of who is aligned with who on the Metro Council. The position of Pro Tem is mainly symbolic. The Pro Tem conducts the council meeting in the absence of the Vice Mayor. To see the speeches view the above video starting at 2:28. If any councilmember who did not vote wants to explain their vote or why they did not vote, I welcome their explanation and will post it.

Steve Glover, nominated by Tim Garrett, was one of two members appointed to the audit committee. A good choice.

Mark Rogers, a well known Republican activist, was reappointed to the Historical Commission. I was unaware he served in that position. Congratulation Mark Rogers. Citizens who serve on the various boards and commissions do so without pay and little recognition. They are to be commended for their willingness to serve.

Robert Duvall spoke out on several issue clarifying metro's legal and financial obligations asking probing and clarifying questions. As an example, see 19:37 in the video. Even if a bill does pass unanimously in the Budget and Finance Committee, I am still glad that issues are raised and clarified on the Council floor. Robert Duvall is a real asset to the Council and one who takes his job very seriously.

A resolution which appropriated funds to buy a dishwasher and other equipment for Corinthian Baptist Church was recommended for a two meeting deferral 12-0 by Budget and Finance and by Health, Hospitals and Social Services. I think this resolution should be defeated. Public funds should not be used to remodel the kitchen of a church.

Fairgrounds. A bill on second reading that would have required the Board of Fair Commissioners to solicit proposals for the partial development of the fairgrounds as a theme park was withdrawn. To see the sponsors comments see 35:16.

Storm Water. Following Committee recommendations, Councilman Bruce Stanley moved to defer a bill on second reading that would require quarterly storm water reports to be submitted to the Metropolitan Council instead of big annual reports. He explains the logic behind this bill. He wants more transparency in Metro's storm water program and wants reporting that will be more helpful to Metro Council in providing oversight. His comments (starting at 42:30) are worth viewing. He convinced me that what he is attempted to do needs doing. I am glad to see someone has a passion for seeing that money being spend on storm water projects is being spent wisely.This is my first impression of Councilman Stanley and I am impressed.

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What did you think about the election?

People want to keep the Fairgrounds. The Fairgrounds won by 71%. That is an overwhelming response. Some tried to argue that we should not clutter the Charter with mundane issues. People were not swayed by that argument. Emily Evans laid that argument to rest in a recent column where she explained that the fairgrounds is already addressed in the Charter and the Charter already establishes the rules governing the fairgrounds. Therefore, it is appropriate to modify the rules governing the fairgrounds by amending the Charter. Most people were probably not exposed to Evans argument, but they just knew it was wrong to take such an important part of our community and identity and destroy it to create another soulless office park, or whatever the mayor had plans to build there. The win for the fairgrounds was major repudiation of the Mayor's leadership.

Being a Republican is not the Kiss of Death. There was a time in Nashville, when no one running for public office would dare admit to being a Republican. The Civil War was a long time ago and few people are still holding a grudge because the Union Army occupied Nashville once upon a time. Times have changed. Republican supported candidates and self-identified Republican candidates did very well. Two of the races I were most involved in were that of Robert Duvall and Duane Dominy, both strongly identified as Republicans. Duane last year ran for a State House seat as a Republican.  Also, Karen Bennett, who is on the Executive Committee of the Tennessee Republican Party won in her district. Other candidates identified as Republicans such as Charlie Tygert, Sheri Weiner , Josh Stites and Dave Patterson, either won their seat or made it into a run-off. 

The power of incumbency is hard to overcome. Look at the five at-large races.  Every one of the incumbents was reelected!  I did not expect that. I honestly expected Megan Barry and Tim Garrett to win without a runoff and I thought we would then have a run-off for the other three seats. In addition to the other incumbents, Ronnie Stein, Jerry Maynard, and Charlie Tygard, I thought Eric Crafton and Ken Jakes, would make the run-off and maybe Vivian Wilhoite or Renard Francois. I was really pulling for Eric Crafton and Ken Jakes. Eric came in, in sixth place but yet there were over 4,000 votes separating him and the fifth place winner.  With 18 candidates in the at-large race, it is amazing that all five incumbents could meet the 10% threshold and win without a runoff. If you look at the other races, most of the races where an incumbent was challenged, the incumbents won. Only in district 16 where Tony Tenpenny eked out a victory over Anna Page and district 30 where Jim Hodge barely lost to challenger Jason Potts did incumbents lose reelection bids.

The Mayor’s opposition may help one's election efforts. Look at Robert Duvall, Duane Dominy and Jason Holleman. In these three races the mayor went the extra mile to help the challenger. He sent out mailers touting the accomplishment in those districts, picturing himself with the challenger and attempted to give credit for the accomplishments to the challenger. I think this backfired big time. In the case of Duane Dominy, the Mayor attempted to give credit for a 4-way stop sign getting installed at a dangerous intersection to Dominy's opponent. Channel 4 called his hand on it and told the truth saying that Dominy's opponent was at none of the Traffic and Parking Commission meetings advocating for the stop sign and Dominy was there doing so. They showed constitutes thanking Duane for his effort in getting the stop sign installed and expressing unhappiness with the Mayor's effort to distort the facts. Dominy got face-time on TV making his case. Dominy's appearance as the lead story on the evening news gave him much more exposure than the Mayor's mailing gave Dominy's opponent. It is hard to estimate the value of being the lead story on the evening news. 

The same thing happened in Robert Duvall's district where the Mayor tried to give credit for the Antioch fire hall to Duvall's opponent. Maybe the best think that can happen to boost one's reelection is have the Mayor's opposition.

I am glad Jerry Graves lost. I am glad he was clobbered, not that I liked the incumbent, but I disliked Jerry Graves.

I am glad Holleman won and glad he won handily.  Lodge had the Mayor, the former Governor and lots of people from out of state and people with big name and big money behind her campaign. This was a race between two liberal democrats but Jason Holleman dared disagree with the Mayor on some issues and the Mayor came after him with a vengeance. Also, the more traditional faction of the Democratic Party was supporting Holleman and the Jeff Yarbro progressives were lined up behind Holleman. I am delighted Holleman won.  
 
The Mayor has been weakened. The mayor had some wins and some losses, but he did not get a rubber stamp council. He will probably not be able to destroy the fairgrounds. If, in the future, he runs for Governor or Senator, he will be running with less of an aura of invincibility.

Constituent Service may be the most important factor in getting elected to Council. I heard a very conservative Republican lady say she was voting for an incumbent who is a Democrat and voting against the Republican challenger, because the incumbent was responsive when she had complaints and he always returned her phone calls promptly. I still think, more important than a candidates position on taxes, or the fairgrounds, or the convention center, or one's political identity, is the record of constituent service or how a voter thinks a candidate will provide constituent service.

Zoning matters are important. On zoning matters, people want someone who will listen to the wishes of the community and hold lots of community meetings and work to find solutions to community objections to zoning proposals. Voters want someone who will fill the potholes and get 4-way stop signs at dangerous intersections and show up to commensurate when the neighborhood is flooded and pitch in cleaning up after the flood. They want someone who will answer his phone and return a phone call the same day he is called. Nothing beats being approachable, responsive, working hard and providing constituent service.

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Who wants to keep YOUR Fairgrounds

From The Davidson County Republican Party

SAVE THE NASHVILLE FAIRGROUNDS

The following list includes candidates for Metro Council who have promised to support the preservation of OUR Nashville Fairgrounds. Please note that this list does not necessarily constitute an overall endorsement by the DCRP of each candidate. This list is in regard to this single, yet quite important issue. Get to know YOUR candidates and remember, early voting ends July 30 and Election Day August 4!

VOTE FOR RATIFICATION!!

District 1	Charles "Chuck" Hoosier
District 4	David Patterson
District 5	Scott Davis
District8	Karen Bennett
District 11	William Guthoerl
District13	Josh Stites
District14	Robert J. Budesa
District15	Phil Claiborne
District16	Tony Tenpenny
District19	Bob Ries
District20	Mary Carolyn Roberts
District22	Sheri Weiner
District23	Emily Evans
District25	James Michael Kaminski
District27	Davette Dennison Blalock
District28	Duane A. Dominy
District29	Isaac Okoreeh-Baah
District30	Jim Hodge
District33	Robert Duvall
District34	Carter Todd
District35	Tonya G Jones
At Large	Eric Crafton
At Large	Ken Jakes
At Large	Charlie Tygard

See our website for a video on the history of our Fairgrounds

www.Davidsoncountygop.org

JOIN OUR PARTY!
DAVIDSONCOUNTYGOP.ORG/PARTY

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