Congratulations to Robert Duvall for winning the Scene Poll

The Nashville Scene has come out with their "People and Places Reader's poll, Best of Nashville 2012" issue. Along with  categories "BEST THING THAT'S CHANGED IN NASHVILLE IN THE LAST YEAR," which the Scene poll participants said was Nordstrom, (a place I have only been in once and a place I can't afford to shop) and BEST PET WALKER/SITTER' which the Scene poll participants said was Beth Joslin (whoever that is and if I had pet to walk I would walk it myself) is the categories "BEST METRO COUNCIL MEMBER" and "BEST METRO COUNCIL MEMBER YOU'D LIKE TO SEE GONE."

The results are not surprising really. I have in my mind a profile of the readers of the Scene and can predict their opinions. Well, not all of their readers of course. I read it myself, but I read a broad spectrum of stuff. I mostly read the Scene for the listings of art openings, and music performances and to see what good liberals are thinking.

My image of the average Scene reader is a higher than average income, white, pony-tailed, Birkenstock-wearing, latte-grande-sipping, avant-garde-art-loving, pretentious and condescending liberal. He has a dog but pays someone else to walk it. He is someone who sends his children to the best private schools but opposes charter schools and school vouchers. He is an avowed environmentalist and advocates cap and trade, yet has a big carbon foot-print due to owning a big house, a big dog and frequent trips by plane. He thinks society should do more for the downtrodden, but other than buying an occasional newspaper from the homeless guy, never gives anything to charity except when he contributes to WPLN and gets his free WPLN tote bag which he always carries with him to go grocery shopping at Whole Foods.

I have no idea how many people voted in the Scene's poll. They don't tell you. I didn't. I imagine few casual reader like me voted in it but mostly loyal readers who fit the profile I have imagined. Anyway, here are the results: 

BEST METRO COUNCIL MEMBER 

• Megan Barry 
• Jason Holleman 
• Peter Westerholm 

BEST METRO COUNCIL MEMBER YOU'D LIKE TO SEE GONE 

• Robert Duvall 
• Tony Tenpenny 
• Eric Crafton 

If I would have voted in this poll some of the names could have stayed the same, just switch the categories.

You can see that the voters in the Scene poll have opinions but they are not very informed opinions. Eric has been out of the Council for some time now. Despite being gone already, the voters of the Scene poll list Eric as one they would like to see gone.

Upon learning of being the number one "Best Metro Council Member you'd like to see gone" by voters in the Scene poll, Robert Duvall posted the following on his facebook page.

 I don’t read the Nashville Scene. So I didn’t know, until a fellow Councilmember called me today, that I have been named the “Best Councilmember You’d Like to See Gone.” 

 I had a bit of laugh at that for this reason. When you stand up for the people of your district and go against the wishes of the Belmont Boulevard crowd, you don’t win many points with Nashville’s elite politicians or media.

The wishes and well being of the people in my district come first. Always have. Always will. When the numbers don’t add up on huge new projects, no matter how shinny and exciting they may be, I will ask how we intend to pay for it without adding to the burden of the taxpayers. When my constituents ask me to oppose a property tax increase in a down economy, I will oppose it. When the opinion of my district is different than politicians and media, well, sorry guys. My district wins.

That is how I have conducted myself as a Councilman. It hasn’t won me friends among the cocktail crowd. But they don’t matter. What matters are good jobs and new opportunities for OUR part of Nashville. I have fought for that on the council and will fight for that in the State House. 

I congratulate Robert Duvall on his distinction on being disliked by the Scene poll participants. Sometimes you can know a person by the enemies they make.  

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Steve Dickerson working hard

After working all night at the ER.
Steve went straight to the polls and is still working at 6pm.

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Update: What the Council did on Tuesday, October 16th.

Here is the video of the Council meeting from Tuesday, October 16th.  It is less than an hour long.  Below are the highlights.


Nominations are accepted to fill a seat on the Health and Educational Facilities Board. Council member McGuire nominates Walker Batts and CM Todd nominates Susan Kenny.

At 3:47 Council Tygard takes off his sports coat and puts on a Predators sweat shirt to make a presentation honoring the coach of the Predators.

The election of the Juvenile court judge starts at 8:33 in the video. The selected candidate will replace Betty Adams Green, a longtime juvenile court judge who announced her retirement in August. Each of the nominees is given five minutes which includes introductory speeches by a supporter, testimonials and comments by the candidate. The nominees are Shelia Calloway, who had received the most recommendations in a survey of 560 members of the Nashville Bar Association; Sofia Crawford, who currently serves as a Judicial Court magistrate; and Carlton Lewis, who had the support of former Juvenile court judge Richard Jenkins.

The vote was by machine vote and the vote total is Galloway 9, Crawford 18, and Lewis 11, necessitating a run-off. The final run-off vote was Crawford 25 and Lewis 13. Here is how they voted.

Voting for Crawford:

Barry, Steine, Garrett, Tygard, Banks, Bennett, Pridemore, Jernigan, Glover, Stites, Stanley, Claiborne, Tenpenny, Allen, Baker, Weiner, Evans, Holleman, McGuire, Harmon, Blalock, Dominy, Potts, Bedne, Todd (25); 

Voting for Lewis:

Maynard, Matthews, Harrison, Hunt, Scott Davis, Westerholm, Anthony Davis, Moore, Gilmore, Langster, Johnson, Dowell, Mitchell (13). 

The President declared that Sophia B. Crawford was elected Juvenile Court Judge for a term expiring August 2014.

I observe that except for Bo Mitchell, almost all of the votes for Lewis, who happens to be African- American,  were from the African-American members of the council. I don't know that race had anything to do with the vote, I am simply making an observation.

Positions like this can be hard fought. Whoever the Council selects to fill the vacancy is almost guaranteed to be reelected by the public and most likely has a job for life. Various factions line up behind this or that candidate and councilmen may be lobbied heavily by supporters and constituents for the various candidates. I suspect that people thought Calloway was the favored candidate. I really do not what was going on behind the scene to give the vote to Crawford. If anyone can shed some light on this contest please post a comment. This election process ends at 26:25 in the video.

All resolutions on the consent agenda passed.  Bills on the consent agenda pass as a group without discussion.  All resolutions were on the consent agenda.

ORDINANCE NO. BL2012-241 by Councilman Dwayne Dominy on second reading which would require the annual contract for services between Metro and the Chamber of Commerce for the Partnership 2020 economic development program be approved by resolution of the council, was deferred two meetings and rereferred to the Budget and Finance Committee.

Partnership 2020 is a public-private partnership developed by the chamber whose purpose is to recruit new businesses to the Nashville area. Metro’s appropriation for this program in recent years has been $300,000 a year. While the program serves a ten county area, Metro funds a greater share of the program than the other nine counties combined. Many feel that Metro funds the program, yet the bulk of new relocations to the Nashville area go to surrounding counties. This is a good bill that needs to pass.

Health care for ex-councilmen. The council passed by a vote of 19-17 on second reading, a proposal that would end Metro’s policy of offering former two-term council members subsidized health care in the city’s health care plan. The bill was supported unanimously in committee yet opposed on the floor, but no one spoke in opposition. The machine vote was as follows:

 “Ayes” Barry, Steine, Garrett, Tygard, Matthews, Harrison, Hunt, Banks, Jernigan, Stites, Claiborne, Allen, Weiner, McGuire, Harmon, Blalock, Dowell, Todd, Mitchell (19); 

“Noes” Maynard, Scott Davis, Westerholm, Anthony Davis, Bennett, Pridemore, Stanley, Tenpenny, Moore, Gilmore, Baker, Evans, Holleman, Dominy, Johnson, Potts, Bedne (17); “Abstaining” Langster (1).

This bill will be voted on on third reading at the council’s next meeting, on Nov. 13.  I, as a former council member, have benefited from this program but think it should be ended. At one time, there was little turn over in the Council so there were few former council members. With term limits there is greater turn over and more former council members. This is an expensive benefit. Also, the salary of a council member is considerably greater than it was in the past when this benefit was made available and health care is more costly.

The council gave final approval to a Green Hills rezoning ordinance that will permit a new office building in the Burton Hills office park. A large crowd turned out two weeks earlier at a public hearing, many expressing concern about the traffic impact of the development. The council approves the proposal with no discussion.

The Council approves expanding the locations where one may have a micro brewery.

Councilman Standley had on the agenda two memorializing resolutions proposing that it be “a top priority” “the replacement of the entire fleet of public buses powered by diesel combustion engines with hybrid-electric buses." In my view, no bus should be replaced until it has outlived its useful life. These two ordinances were deferred until the second meeting in November.

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Early Voting Information

Location Addresses
Belle Meade City Hall  4705 Harding Pike
Bellevue Community Center 656 Colice Jeanne Road
Bordeaux Library  4000 Clarksville Pike
Coleman Park Community Center  384Thompson Lane
Crossings Event Center   5380 Hickory Hollow Parkway
Davidson County Election Commission  800 2nd Avenue South, 1st Floor
Edmondson Pike Library  5501 Edmondson Pike
Friendship Baptist Church  1109 32nd Avenue North
Goodlettsville City Hall  105 South Main Street
Green Hills Library  3701 Benham Avenue
Hermitage Library  3700 James Kay Lane
Madison Library 610 Gallatin Pike South

                Schedule
  Day / Date               Open      Close
Wednesday, October 17     8:00AM     4:30PM
Thursday, October 18        8:00AM     7:00PM
Friday, October 19             8:00AM     4:30PM
Saturday, October 20        8:00AM     4:30PM
Monday, October 22           8:00AM     4:30PM
Tuesday, October 23          8:00AM     7:00PM
Wednesday, October 24     8:00AM     4:30PM
Thursday, October 25        8:00AM      7:00PM
Friday, October 26             8:00AM     4:30PM
Saturday, October 27         8:00AM     4:30PM
Monday, October 29           8:00AM     4:30PM
Tuesday, October 30          8:00AM     7:00PM
Wednesday, October 31      8:00AM     4:30PM
Thursday, November 01      8:00AM     4:30PM

Please note that the above is the early voting schedule for Republicans and independents. Early voting for Democrats begins November 2. Check back for schedule and locations.

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POLL WATCHING SEMINAR..

From Nashville GOP

SATURDAY OCTOBER 20, 2012

10:00 AM (approx 1hr)

no obligation

Romney Ryan Storefront

4108 Hillsboro Rd (next to McDonalds)

 

Early Voting and Election Day Opportunities

Please RSVP to: Sabrina Orr @  brilaw@bellsouth.net

If interested but not able to attend this Saturday pls respond and we will have another workshop before the election

 

Kathleen Starnes

ChairmanDavidson Co Republican Party

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The Tennessean endorses Romney!

I was pleasantly shocked this morning to open the Tennessean and see an endorsement for Romney.  It was a weak endorsement, but an endorsement none the less. I had assumed the Tennessean was so predictably knee-jerk liberal that an endorsement for Obama's reelection was a given. I'm glad I was wrong. In appreciation for the Tennessean endorsing Romney, I am going to go a whole day without saying anything bad about the Tennessean.

Below are excerpts from their endorsement.

.....few elections have been so critical to the country. In 2012, the United States faces crippling debt; seemingly endless military conflicts and terror threats; an aging population; and sweeping workforce and geopolitical changes that threaten to turn our society upside down.

 And while Mr. Obama may have reassured a lot of people about the response to the Libyan consulate attack in Tuesday’s debate, there is too much dissension in his own administration about the right approach to terrorism.

The next president must be the one with the best chance to get the crushing, $16 trillion national debt under control, coupled with the more immediate need of enabling a vibrant job market.
It is because the economy is paramount that The Tennessean endorses Gov. Mitt Romney for president.

Mr. Romney has the business experience that gives him better understanding of the needs of real job creators.

To read the full text of the endorsement follow this link.

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Still No Action From Phillip North Even After Senate Aide Is Fired For Political Work On State Time

NASHVILLE, TN. TNGOP – On Tuesday, an aide to Senator Ophelia Ford (D-Memphis) was fired after a TNReport story exposed the aide was doing political work on state time for Democrat State Senate candidate Phillip North. The aide was drawing a $30,468 annual salary from taxpayers while also being paid by the North campaign to serve as its field director.

According the news report, “Over the past three months, Hummel had apparently been conducting political activities during state business hours on his state-issued computer, according to phone records, Facebook postings and documents reviewed by TNReport.”

“The state government has taken swift actions to address this situation, but we have yet to see even so much as a response from Phillip North,” said Tennessee Republican Party Executive Director Adam Nickas.

“North owes every Tennessee taxpayer an explanation as to why he would allow a campaign staffer to do political work while being paid by taxpayers and using government property. Mr. North also needs to immediately repay taxpayers for the bill they’ve been stuck with to subsidize his campaign. He has broken the trust of the citizens of Nashville and shown utter disregard for basic ethics. I would think that since he is a lawyer, he would have understood the severity of this situation a little better.”

To read the latest news report, click HERE. 

Comment: I could not agree more.  

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Community Meeting: Fairgrounds consultants will discuss draft report

Wednesday, November 7, 6-7:30 pm

Sonny West Conference Center in the Howard Office Building, 700 Second Avenue South

 

 

Consultants on Phase 1 of the Fairgrounds Master Plan will present highlights of their preliminary report at a public meeting November 7.  Phase 1, the “Fair and Events Analysis,” addresses potential fairgrounds and event uses for the Fairgrounds property.

 

The second and final phase of the study will determine the highest and best scenario for mixed-use redevelopment of the site, and compare that with the analysis presented in Phase 1 to generate a “Recommended Master Plan.”

 

The Fairgrounds Master Plan Study is being done at the Metro Council’s direction, and the Council will make the final decision on the Fairgrounds site’s future.  Details of the study so far and community comments from previous meetings are on the Planning Department’s Fairgrounds Master Plan Study webpage.

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Debate moderator Candy Crowley: Romney was right in main Libya argument, but ...

Debate moderator Candy Crowley admitted that Romney was right to address the president’s response to the attacks on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, but he “picked the wrong world.”
 
Crowley explained that she re-read Obama’s Rose Garden speech transcript before the debate, noting that the president referred to “acts of terror.”

Romney insisted that the President refused to call the attacks an “act of terror” which Obama countered with the transcript of his Rose Garden speech.

But Crowley admitted that she also agreed with Romney during the debate, when he said that the Obama administration spent two weeks telling Americans the attacks were about “a tape and this riot outside the Benghazi consulate, which there wasn’t.”

“He was right in the main, I just think he picked the wrong word,” Crowley concluded. (Read more).

My Comment: I am glad she is sitting the record straight but after the fact it does little good. The debate moderator should not interject herself in the debate and and challenge the accuracy of a statement made by a debate participant.  See the below piece from the Wall Street Journal to see the context of what the President said in the Rose Garden.

Replay: Obama’s Rose Garden Remarks on Libya

The Wall Street Journal, Oct.17, 2012

In Tuesday’s debate, President Barack Obama for the first time accepted responsibility for the security lapses that contributed to the death of the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans on Sept. 11 in Benghazi, Libya. He sought to turn the issue against Mr. Romney, accusing him of playing politics with a national-security crisis.
 
Mr. Obama said he called the Benghazi attack “an act of terror” during a statement in the Rose Garden the day after it occurred, challenging Republican accusations that the administration had been misleading when it described the attack as a demonstration sparked by an anti-Muslim video.

“I want to make sure we get that for the record, because it took the president 14 days before he called the attack in Benghazi an act of terror,” Mr. Romney said.
“Get the transcript,” the president replied.

Mr. Obama did make reference to the fact that “No acts of terror will ever shake the resolve of this great nation,” but his comments that day also appeared to reference the video, when he said, “We reject all efforts to denigrate the religious beliefs of others.” The administration changed its description of the attack, eventually describing it as a terror attack linked to al Qaeda sympathizers. Read more and see video here.

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Last night's Presidential debate

I again enjoyed the Presidential debate at  the debate watch party at the Republican storefront office in Green Hills. Louella and I and about 50 other people  had Pizza and wine and politics before watching the debate on two big screen TVs.

Obama obviously did much better than he did in his first debate, but Romney stood his ground and challenged the President on his misrepresentations and failed policies.   I thought Romney hit Obama hard on his record, including his broken promise to pass comprehensive immigration reform,  the increase in the number of people on food stamps, the drop in household income, the increase in health insurance premiums, the number of people out of work including those no longer counted as unemployed because they have given up seeking employment and Obama's blocking of the Keystone pipeline.

From my perspective, Romney won. However, it was a close called match, not a knock-out punch, and I am sure partisan Democrats could think Obama won. I doubt the debate moved the poll numbers much. If Romney is gaining momentum, I don't think this debate slowed it.

I was very disappointed in the performance of moderator Candy Crowley.  At one point she totally abandoned any objectivity and sided with Obama when he claimed he had been been calling the murder of our ambassador in Libya a terrorist attack from the beginning. Everyone knows that initially the administration claimed the event in Libya was a demonstration over a YouTube video that got out of hand. Candy Crowley should never again moderate a debate.

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Update: What is on the Council Agenda for October 16th.

Not much that is controversial. Partnership 2020 issue. Expanding Nano breweries.  Council should use caution before making replacing of good buses a priority. 

You can get your own copy of the Metro council meeting agenda at this link:Metro Council Agenda. From the agenda you can link to the analysis. Council meetings can be really, really boring if you don't know what the Council is voting on. With an agenda and analysis, they are just really boring.

I read the analysis and agenda for you so you don't have to. There is not much that is controversial on this agenda and I expect it will be a short meeting.  

All of the eleven resolutions on the agenda are on the consent agenda which means they passed the committees to which they were assigned unanimously and are deemed non-controversial and will be considered all together and pass by a single vote, unless someone pulls them off of the consent agenda.

Have you ever attended the big band dances in Centennial Park? Louella and I used to attend and for a couple of seasons we attended faithfully.  They are a lot of fun. Have you ever wondered how those free performances were financed? $5,900 comes from the state arts commission to the Metropolitan board of parks and recreation to supplement the Big Band dance program. Metro matches that grant with a $5,900 subsidy. Accepting this grant is one of the bills on the consent agenda. 

All bills normally pass on first reading without discussion.  One bill on first reading which will probably not be controversial but which is worth watching is BILL NO. BL2012-281. The effect of this bill is to bring the scandal-ridden Transportation Licencing Board under the authority of the Public Works department. The TLC will no longer be an independent agency and their employees will be employees of the public works department.  This was a recommendation of the consultants who studied the department.  You may recall that TLC inspectors were caught harassing drivers and impersonating police officers among other offenses.

ORDINANCE NO. BL2012-241 by Councilman Dwayne Dominy on second reading is a good bill that deserves to pass. It  requires the annual contract for services between Metro and the Chamber of Commerce for the Partnership 2020 economic development program be approved by resolution of the council. Partnership 2020 is a public-private partnership developed by the chamber whose purpose is to recruit new businesses to the Nashville area. Metro’s appropriation for this program in recent years has been $300,000 a year. While the program serves a ten county area, Metro funds a greater share of the program than the other nine counties combined.  Many feel that Metro funds the program, yet the bulk of new relocations to the Nashville area go to surrounding counties.

This ordinance would require the grant contract with the chamber to be approved by the council by resolution receiving 21 affirmative votes. The contract would have to be approved by resolution annually before any funds are disbursed to the chamber.

BILL NO. BL2012-249 on third and final reading is a good bill that should not prove controversial. It passed second reading without opposition. It would permit "nano breweries" in mixed use and commercial areas. Now, microbreweries are permitted only in the downtown area or in industrial zoned areas if out side of downtown.  Now one could not open a craft brewery establishment in 12th South or Five points, or Hillsboro Village or any of the other growing sections of town that might be good location for such establishments. It this passes, they could.

Caution! Caution! Councilman Standley is proposing two memorializing resolutions urging the school system and the MTA to make "a top priority program the replacement of the entire fleet of public buses powered by diesel combustion engines with hybrid-electric buses."  Wait a minute. That is pretty ambitions and pretty strongly worded. In my view, no bus should be replaced until it has outlived its useful life. If however we were under a court order to clean up our air or we would have to halt construction, then that may be a reason for such a move, but as far as I know that is not the case. If this does not make economic sense we shouldn't do it.  I hope these resolutions get serious discussion in committee. While a memorialize resolution simply expresses the will of the council and does not carry the force of law, I do not think the council should go on record with such a resolution. There are a lot of public needs. Is replacing serviceable buses with hybrid buses more important than other needs?

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Ben Claybaker fundraiser Tuesday Oct. 23rd

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