Special called Council meeting to advance Council downsizing and new districts tomorrow, March 22, 2023

From Raphaela Keohanem, March 212, 2023 - Please see below. Tomorrow night at 6:30 there will be a special council meeting re the downsizing of the council and how it should be done.

Below you will find my opinion but here is the resolution and the links to the amendments for your information.

RS2023-2062:A resolution directing the Metropolitan Planning Department to prepare a Council redistricting plan consisting of 17district councilmembers and 3 councilmembers at-large to comply with state law; requesting the Metropolitan Planning Commission to hold the necessary meeting(s) to approve the redistricting plan; and requesting the Vice Mayor to call any special Council meeting(s) that may be required to effectuate the redistricting plan. Sponsors: Johnston, VanReece, Vercher, Nash, Swope, Hagar and Druffel

Here is the link to the resolution and the amendments so you can read the amendments and the bill for yourself.

https://nashville.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=A&ID=1088511&GUID=B0A356B0-9E84-4E9A-B2E7-4118BDA45624

From previous email, linked in this email:

I am writing to let you know I SUPPORT RS2023-2062 as proposed not amended.  I think 17 council districts and 3 at large council members is exactly the right distribution. 

As time is of the essence, I urge you to approve this Resolution so we can have this done in time for the August election.  For once let’s all act together and make the best of the situation regardless of your “feelings”.  Embrace the change, change is good, and in this instance I agree change is good…..

I commend the State for their wisdom in bringing this body and others in the state to some reasonable size.   It never made sense to me that a city with under 1 million CITIZENS had a council the size of NYC with a population of 8 million CITIZENS! 

Thanks as always for your time and attention.

Rae

Raphaela Keohanem is a council watcher who regularly reports on the Council agenda and provides commentary. To request to be added to her mailing list, contact her at raekeo@aol.com.

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Who's Running for Mayor, who's not, and who's a maybe. (updated 3/12/2023)

by Rod Williams, March 11, 2023 - The race for Nashville mayor is getting more crowded as more people jump into the race. Also, it is getting clearer who the field of candidates may be as some people who were mentioned as potential candidates let it be known they are not running. Also, however, there are still some people waiting in the wings who may or may not jump in the race. Some of these are big names.  

There is one declared candidate who is a Republican and several potential Republican candidates on the sidelines. Is it possible that a Republican could be elected mayor of Nashville? I think so. The election for mayor is a non-partisan election and one does not run on party labels. A person who is perceived as capable and runs a good campaign, I think could win.  You may recall that David Fox running against Megan Barry won 45% of the vote. 

 A bombastic Trumpinista could probably not get elected but I think a moderate Republican could.   Nashville is predominately Democrat but some parts of the county, such as the more rural districts on the outer ring of the county and Donelson, often vote Republican. Also, some of the Democrats are old school Democrats and not progressives. Many woke progressives would never vote for a Republican but many other Democrat voters would, I think, vote for the person they perceive as best candidate regardless of party identification.  Also, some voters may decide it is time to stop poking the bear and elect someone as mayor who would stop picking fights with the State.

There is a bill pending in the State legislature that may abolish the run-off for the mayor's election.  If that passes, then certainly the chances for a Republican to be elected mayor of Nashville improves. With several Democrats in the race splitting the Democrat vote, a Republican could, I think, be elected. We should know the status of that bill next week.  If it passes, look for a big-name Republican to jump in the race. 

The filing deadline for the Aug. 3 election is on May 18.  Here is what we know at this point.

Who is running for Mayor:

Alice Rolli 

Alice Rolli

Alice Rolli served as an assistant commissioner of strategy for the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development under Haslam. She served as campaign manager for Sen. Lamar Alexander. She is president of growth at Possip, a Nashville-based software company that provides tools for schools to gather feedback from parents. She is a neighborhood activist, formerly serving on the Board of Edgehill Village Neighborhood Association. She led the effort to prevent development around Fort Negley in 2017. (link)

Natisha Brooks

Natisha Brooks

Natisha Brooks is a Republican and ran in the Republican fifth district congressional primary in August 2022. She is a former educator and has described herself as a "Christian conservative constitutionalist." She has said she will focus on increasing funding and resources for mental health initiatives and police. According to Ballopedia she attended Prarie View A&M University. As of 2020, she operated The Brooks Academy, a home-schooling institution. (more)

Fran Bush

Fran Bush

Fran Bush served on the School Board from 2018 through 2022 as District 6 board member and was a voice of reason and sanity. See, "Fran Bush, "Our district is falling apart and we are doing nothing."'  She was by far my favorite Board member during her tenure. After the State legislature made school board races partisan, Bush ran as an independent and lost badly to school board member Cheryl Mayes. For more see link, link, and link.

 

Jim Gingrich

Jim Gingrich 

Jim Gingrich was AllianceBernstein Chief Operating Officer and oversaw the asset management company's move to Nashville. He says affordable housing, poor infrastructure, underfunded schools, crime and increased traffic are the largest issues facing Nashville. See "Jim Gingrich, former AllianceBernstein COO, exploring campaign for mayor."  (Jim Gingrich for Nashville) (more)

Sharon Hurt

Sharon Hurt

Sharon Hurt has served as an at-large member of Nashville's council
since 2015. Hurt holds a bachelor's degree from Tennessee State University and an M.A. in nonprofit leadership from Belmont University. Hurt was president and CEO of Jefferson Street United Merchants Partnership (JUMP) for 23 years before retiring last fall. See Sharon for Nashville and more

Freddie O'Connell 

Freddie O'Connell is council member for District 19 which is the downtown area and city's most populous and fastest-growing district. I seldom agree with him about anything, but O'Connell works hard and knows the issues. 

Freddie O'Connell 

According to Ballotpedia: "He received a bachelor's degree from Brown University. His professional experience includes working as a software developer at Rustici Software. Other experience includes serving as president of the Salemtown Neighbors Neighborhood Association, board member of the Nashville MTA and member of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee. He was a co-host of a public affairs radio program from 2005 to 2010." See Freddie O'Connell, mayor Nashville, and more

Matt Wiltshire

Matt Wiltshire

Matt Wiltshire served as economic development director under three different mayors and served as a public-private partnership coordinator for the Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency. At MDHA, his work included coordination with Nashville's Barnes Housing Trust Fund and assistance with the redevelopment and expansion of six low-income housing sites.

See Matt Wiltshire for Mayor and more. 

Jeff Yarbro

Jeff Yarbro

Jeff Yarbro has served as a Democratic state Senator representing parts of Nashville since 2014, and previously served as Senate minority leader.  He works as an attorney at Bass, Berry & Sims law firm. See Jeff Yarbro for Mayor. 

These are not yet in but may jump in:

Beth Harwell

Tara Scarlett

Beth Harwell is well known in Nashville, formerly representing a part of this city in the state legislature. She "is a member of the board of directors of the Tennessee Valley Authority and the former Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives. She served as State Representative for Nashville and is a former chair of the Tennessee Republican Party. First elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives in 1988, Harwell served as a Republican Minority Whip and Commerce Committee chair before being elected to the Speakership. She is the first woman to serve as Tennessee's Speaker of the House. In 2017, she announced her candidacy for governor of Tennessee in the 2018 election. (link)" If the law is changed to avoid a runoff, she is likely to run.

Tara Scarlett CEO of Scarlett  Foundation. She is a Republican. She is the daughter of Joe Scarlett former Tractor Supply Company President and Chairman. Link

Vivian Wilhoite Assesor of property who served 8 years in the Metro Council at one time said she was considering running for Mayor but has not said much about it recently.

Odessa Kelly

Odessa Kelly is a vocal high profile progressive activist who had previously expressed interest in running for Mayor.  In 2020 she was mentioned as a progressive challenger to Representative Jim Cooper before Cooper was districted out of office. She did run as the Democrat against Mark Green in the 7th Congressional District. If she runs, I do not think she could win, but she would be the favorite candidate of the younger and more radical elements of the electorate. She would probably take away votes from other progressives like Freddie O'Connell and open a lane for a Republican or more moderate Democrat. 

Heidi Campbell

Bob Mendes is an at-large member of the Metro Council having served as chair of the Budget and Finance Committee and the East Bank Stadium Committee. 

Bob Freeman is a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives, representing District 56 and the son of Bill Freeman. 

Heidi Campbell former mayor of Oak Hill, is a member of the Tennessee State Senate, representing District 20. In 2022 she unsuccessfully ran for Tennessee's 5th Congressional District. Campbell has a B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College and an M.B.A. from Vanderbilt University. Her career experience includes working as an executive in the music industry and owning a business.

People who were once considered candidates but are not running.

Mayor John Cooper

Bill Freeman, former candidate for mayor and other offices, big contributor to Democrat candidates, former partner of Freeman-Webb and publisher of the Nashville Sence and other publications is not running. Apparently, he has some health issues taking him out of the race. 

Former disgraced Mayor Megan Barry.

David Fox, former candidate for mayor who ran against Megan Barry and did well getting 45% of the vote in a runoff. He is a Republican.

Carol Swain, author, former Vanderbilt professor, national conservative pundit. She ran against cooper in 2020. 

Steve Smith, Broadway business owner, who early took out ads against Cooper. (link)

Hal Cato, Thistle Farms CEO was mentioned as a candidate early on. I don't know if he is still a potential candidate or not. 

Quincy McKnight who was a Republican candidate for Tennessee's 5th Congressional district before withdrawing in 2022 and saying he would run for mayor has moved to Florida so will not be a candidate. Thank goodness. 

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Tennessee has not banned drag shows.

by Rod Williams, March 13, 2023 -Tennessee has not banned drag shows. As Senator Jack Johnson said of bill, "This legislation is commonsense and overwhelmingly supported by Tennesseans. We are not banning drag shows or pride festivals, we are simply banning sexually explicit entertainment in front of kids."

As Senator Johnson said of his bill, if a man want to dress up like Dolly Parton and lib synch, he still can. 

This is no different than having movie rating system that restrict by age who may view a movie. 

Below is a video of Senator Johnson explaining the bill and below that a copy of the bill.

,m

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In Fiscal Year 2023, we’ve borrowed $4.8 billion per day

by Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget -In Fiscal Year 2023, we’ve borrowed $4.8 billion per day for a total of $723 billion thus far. Both the Congressional Budget Office and the White House estimate that this will at least double over the remaining seven months of the fiscal year. That is a truly stunning amount given that we are far from the worst days of the pandemic or any other national emergency.

The President’s budget released yesterday proposed $3 trillion of deficit reduction – we will need a lot more than that to get our fiscal situation under control. It’s time to stop pretending this is normal and start taking action on ensuring the debt doesn’t grow out of control.

We now await the House and Senate Budget Committees to release their budgets. These plans should be presented, debated, and reconciled in a timely manner to enact a budget deal that improves our situation. We’ve offered a way forward for stabilizing our debt and addressing record-high inflation. We urge lawmakers to meet this moment.

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It's official: Gov. Lee signs bill cutting Nashville council in half just months before election

 It's official: Gov. Lee signs bill cutting Nashville council in half just months before election

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Change Your Partners

Stayhome Ann Mind-Your-Own-Business Peace-At-Any-Price was dancing with Anit-Imperialist New Left Pacifist; now she is dancing with America First Nationalist.

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Beacon Center Young Professionals March Networking Event with American Conservation Coalition

 To Register follow this link. For more on American Conservation Coalition.

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201 Guns Stolen from Vehicles so far in 2023 in Nashville. Prevent your weapon from being used in a crime. Properly secure it.

This is not securing a gun in your vehicle.

 by Rod Williams, March 6, 2023 - According to a Metro Police press release today, so far this year, 201 guns have been stolen from vehicles in Nashville, 24 were taken from autos just last week. The total number of guns stolen this year in Davidson County is 257, which means that 78% of guns stolen so far in 2023 have been taken from automobiles.  

At the rate we are going, by the time the year ends, we will have had over 1200 guns stolen from vehicles, probably more. I don't have the data, but I think more guns are stolen from cars in good weather than bad.

If a kid takes a gun to school and shoots classmates or his teacher, the gun was probably a stolen gun, stolen from a law-abiding citizen.  If a 7-11 clerk and maybe a customer are shot by a thug in a robbery attempt, the gun used was probably a stolen gun, stolen from the car of a law-abiding citizens. 

So, what it is to be done.  First of all, law-abiding citizens need to stop arming thugs. Don't leave your gun in your car.  I think we need to do more than attempt to persuade law-abiding gun owners to be responsible gun owners, however.  We need a law making it a crime to not probably secure a gun. If one is going to have a gun in their car, I think there should be a requirement that the gun be secured in a gun safe, and the gun safe securely attached to the vehicle. 

Preventing Thefts of Firearms From Vehicles | Project ChildSafe from NSSF on Vimeo.

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New Titans lease has a 'first-class' clause that leads to a $1.829B city obligation. Metro not "off the hook."

By Jon Styf, The Center Square,  Mar 1, 2023 - A “first-class” condition requirement was at the forefront of Tennessee Titans Chief Executive Officer Burke Nihill claiming Metro Nashville would owe $1.839 billion in renovation costs at Nissan Stadium.

But a new lease agreement with the team for a new estimated $2.1 billion stadium, set to open in 2026, would also include a similar “first-class” requirement. The final documents were released publicly Wednesday before they are scheduled to receive a first reading at Tuesday’s Metro Nashville Council meeting.

The documents also define a 130-acre sales tax capture zone around the stadium, which is set to receive a record $1.26 billion in public funding for construction but will also receive ongoing tax funds that will both pay for Nashville Sports Authority bonds on construction but also will be used to pay to keep the new stadium in “first-class” condition.

The city must “maintain the Stadium as a safe, clean, attractive, and first-class facility reasonably comparable to the Comparable NFL Facilities (with due consideration given to the remaining term of this Lease (and to the remaining term of the lease of any Comparable NFL Facility, to the extent applicable) and to any unique market conditions (such as climate, surrounding landscape, local laws and regulations and any requirement to serve as the home venue for other professional, collegiate or amateur sports teams)) and in a manner that is consistent with requirements imposed by the NFL and Applicable Law.”

In the Titans’ first lease in Nashville, similar improvements were required to be paid the Metro Nashville government while the new lease has those payments coming from a tax fund, which is projected to collect $2.9 billion over the 30-year lease term, and backstopped by the Titans.

East Bank Stadium Committee Chair Bob Mendes noted that, during the stadium negotiation process, both the Titans and Metro Nashville Mayor’s Office claimed the Titans would pay for future stadium improvements and repairs and the new deal would take Metro “off the hook,” but that isn’t true.

“It is also important to mention that the spin job from May through October – the claim that the Titans will pay for future stadium improvements – is still largely viewed as true still today even though the administration and the team pivoted months ago to the 'backstop' talking point,” Mendes wrote. “The bottom line is that the stadium deal will rely on hundreds of millions of dollars of public tax dollars for future stadium improvements, with those public funds being administered by the team.”

The lease notes SoFi Stadium, home of the Los Angeles Rams and Chargers, will not be considered a comparable facility.

Instead, comparable facility is defined as a “premier, first-class, multipurpose sports stadiums incorporating, at the time of initial construction or material renovation, technological innovations, environmental sustainability considerations, and other best practices in design, construction, and ultimate operations, in which NFL teams regularly play their games and that are of comparable size and age, adjusted to reflect any material renovations, as the Stadium.”

The city also was required to draw a 130-acre zone adjacent to the stadium that will have 50% of its local and state sales taxes captured and put into the $2.9 billion fund.

That zone was drawn between Interstate 24 and the Cumberland River with Sylvan Street and Korean Veterans Boulevard as borders on one side and James Robertson Parkway and North 1st Street as borders on the other side. Current property owners in that zone include Howerton Associates, the Metro Sports Authority, 200 Main Partners, Pinnacle Woodland Street, 7-Eleven, Continental Inns, Crafco, Parkway Associates and TLC Properties.

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Nashville Black clergy group could file lawsuit against the state if Metro Council cut

Nashville Black clergy group could file lawsuit against the state if Metro Council cut 

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How Tennessee Students Perform on the ACT Compared to the Nation

Samuel Stebbins, 24/7 Wall St. via The Center Square Feb 16, 2023 - Roughly 1.3 million graduating high school students in 2022 - 36% of the total - sat down for the ACT exam. The ACT (formerly the American College Testing Program) assesses college readiness in English, math, science, and reading. Many colleges base admittance on a student's ACT test results.

In recent years, an alarming trend has emerged, as ACT scores have steadily declined. According to ACT, Inc., the national average composite score decreased from 20.3 in 2021 to 19.8 in 2022 - the lowest average since 1991.

In a blog on the ACT website, CEO Janet Godwin noted that only 22% of the students who took the test met all four ACT benchmarks, or the levels at which the organization deems students stand a greater chance of success in higher education. Meanwhile, 42% did not achieve any of the benchmarks.

While ACT scores have declined nationwide in recent years, there is considerable variation in average ACT scores from state to state. In Tennessee, the average composite ACT score in 2022 was 18.6 out of a possible 36, the eighth lowest among states.

Of the four test components that go into the overall composite score, students in Tennessee scored best in the reading section, with an average score of 19.0. Meanwhile, the test category with the lowest average score in the state was English, at 18.0 points out of 36.

All data in this story is from Scholaroo, a global scholarship database.

 

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Tennessee bill would prevent government spending on abortions

By Jon Styf, The Center Square, Mar 3, 2023 - A bill to prevent local governments from spending taxpayer funds on abortions or travel out of state to get abortions passed a Tennessee Senate committee this week and will soon head to the full Senate.

The bill comes after Tennessee’s law banning abortions went into effect following the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade. Last year, the Metro Nashville council proposed a $500,000 grant to assist women getting an abortion outside of Tennessee but then amended the bill to make it a grant to Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi.

Tennessee Conservative News reported the plan was changed after “concerns from the Metro Department of Law that it would threaten Title X funding.”

Senate Bill 600 was recommended for passage by a 7-2 vote along party lines of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Senate Sponsor Joey Hensley, R-Hohenwald, said the Tennessee Constitution allows the state to have authority over local governments as long as it does not violate a right guaranteed in the state’s constitution.

Hensley said the punishment for using those funds would be an audit finding for improper use of funds. “It is just improper usage of taxpayer funds to transport a pregnant woman across state lines for an abortion,” Hensley said.

Sen. London Lamar, D-Memphis, asked a series of questions on whether this would impact funding for county hospitals that perform life-saving abortions or nonprofits that assist in abortions for those who are a victim of rape.

Hensley said that the rule applies to local governments, not hospitals.

“Abortion is illegal in this state,” Hensley said. “So, if they are doing something illegal, they should not be using taxpayer funds.”

Lamar asked Hensley if he believed hospitals should perform life-saving abortions.

“I believe hospitals should do what they can do to save lives,” Hensley responded.

A companion bill, House Bill 90, is scheduled to be heard Wednesday by the House Cities & Counties Subcommittee.

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