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Thursday, July 27, 2023
Radical group Nashville Justice League endorses candidates. Please don't vote for any of these candidates. Please help defeat them.
by Rod Williams, July 27, 2023- Nashville Justice League is a radical progressive organization comprised of The Equity Alliance Fund (TEAF), the Central Labor Council of Nashville and Middle Tennessee, and TIRRC who have joined forces to, in their words, "fight for a more just and equitable Nashville and stand up for civil rights, workers' rights, and immigrant rights." They say that "systemic poverty and institutional racism" runs deep in our communities.
Anyone who received the endorsement of The Nashville Justice League needs to be defeated. If you have to opportunity to vote against any of the above candidates, please do so. Encourage others to do so.
To see my list of endorsed candidates, please see, My endorsements for the Mayoral and Council races.
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Who's endorsing who for Mayor. (update)
by Rod Williams, July 26, 2023- The Tennessean has updated an article, "Nashville mayoral race 2023: See who has endorsed the candidates." It provides a long list of who has secured which endorsements. The Nashville Scene has also published a similar piece. Below are some endorsements that I think are significant:
Former U.S. Congressman Jim Cooper on Wednesday endorsed state Sen. Jeff Yarbro
Davidson County Sheriff Daron Hall endorsed Matt Wiltshire
Wiltshire was earlier endorsed by the Nashville Fraternal Order of Police.
Wiltshire received the endorsement of several current and former members of the Metro Council, including Nancy VanReece, Robert Nash, John Rutherford, George Armistead, Phil Claiborne, Stewart Clifton, Jacobia Dowell, Jamie Isabel, Sean McGuire, Doug Pardue, Phil Ponder, Jason Potts, Bill Pridemore, Carter Todd, Charlie Tygard, and Chris Whitson.
TIRRC Votes, a nonprofit affiliated with the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition endorsed Freddie O'Connell on July 19.
David A. Fox, former school board chair and 2015 mayoral candidate, endorsed Alice Rolli.
District Attorney Glenn Funk endorsed Vivian Wilhoite, which in my view, is a firm reason not to vote for her.
State Rep. Jason Powell, a Nashville Democrat, endorsed mayoral candidate Freddie O’Connell.
Several state lawmakers have endorsed Heidi Campbell, including state Reps. Bo Mitchell, John Ray Clemmons, Bob Freeman and Gloria Johnson, and state Sen. Sara Kyle.
Former state Sen. Brenda Gilmore, Metro Trustee Erica Gilmore and Davidson County Clerk Brenda Wynn have endorsed At-Large Metro Councilmember Sharon Hurt’s campaign for mayor.
Sunrise Movement Nashville, "a local chapter of the Sunrise Movement, a youth-led climate justice organization working to stop the climate crisis and creating millions of good jobs through a Green New Deal" has endorsed Freddie O'Connell.
Bob Mendes, Metro Councilmember At-Large; Sean Parker, Metro Councilmember, District 5; Erin Evans, Metro Councilmember, District 12; Sandra Sepulveda, Metro Councilmember, District 30; Dave Rosenberg, Metro Councilmember, District 35; Russ Bradford, Metro Councilmember, District 13; and Jill Speering, former school board member has endorsed Freddie O'Connell.
Americans for Tax Reform has endorsed Alice Rollie.
Rod Williams, former Councilmember and publisher of The Disgruntled Republican has endorsed Alice Rollie.
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Wednesday, July 26, 2023
Nashville Covenant School parents push for new gun laws
By Jon Styf | The Center Square Jul 21, 2023 - Families from Nashville’s Covenant School have begun a pair of nonprofits and are pushing Tennessee for gun prevention laws such as expanded background checks, secure storage and red flag laws heading into August’s expected special session of the Tennessee Legislature.
A shooter killed three students and three employees at Covenant School earlier this year. Family members from the school started Covenant Families for a Brighter Tomorrow and the legislative advocacy nonprofit Covenant Families Action Fund.
“Gun owners even support background checks, safe storage, temporarily limiting access to firearms for folks who are a threat to themselves and others until they can get help,” said David Teague, a co-founder of the groups. “These are not controversial items. It’s the fact that they’re not on the books already is what’s controversial, while another Tennessee family loses a loved one every five and a half hours to gun violence.”
Gov. Bill Lee plans to call a special session on public safety beginning on Aug. 21 and has heard opposition to his proposal for a red flag law, which he called a temporary mental health order of protection.
The Tennessee Faith and Freedom Coalition, which recently met with Lee, spoke with Lee about the group’s opposition to the proposal. Sen. Ferrell Haile, R-Gallatin, and Tennessee House Republicans have spoken out against red flag laws as well.
The Covenant families said they have had dozens of meetings with Tennessee legislators and will continue to take the meetings to advocate for new laws.
"We are advocating for gun violence prevention solutions such as expanded background checks, secure storage and order of protection laws – a life-saving measure that could have prevented the tragedy at the Covenant School,” said Covenant parent Melissa Alexander. “As a native Tennessean and gun owner I think it’s important to emphasize responsible gun ownership, however, I also think it’s important to intervene when there are clear signs that something is wrong.”
Tennessee Rep. Justin Jones, D-Nashville, held a press conference on gun laws in the Cordell Hull Office Building near the Tennessee Capitol on Friday morning, joined by Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., and Metro Nashville Deputy Mayor Brenda Haywood.
“My colleagues chose to end the legislative session early but we will not allow justice to be denied any longer,” Jones said in a statement. “Rather than excuses we must act in the face of special interest-funded opposition, and on August 21st we urge the legislature to enact a policy that Tennesseans are demanding: Protect Kids Not Guns.”
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Radical group Black Nashville Votes endorses candidates. Please don't vote for these candidates. Please help defeat them.
by Rod Williams, July 26, 2023- The people listed above need to be defeated. Please vote against them. Please help their opponents.
Black Nashville Votes is an organization affiliated with the Nashville Black Assembly. They appear to actually be the same organization. They are quite radical. At a time when the State, spurred into action by the Covenant school shooting, is attempting to put a School Resource Officer in every school, Nashville Black Assembly calls for removing school resource offices from schools.
The group says it is grounded in four political pillars: Pan-Africanism, Economic Democracy, Black Queer Feminism, and Abolish the Prison Industrial Complex. Nashville Black Assembly is part of a larger group called Southern Movement Committee which wants to abolish all police and jails.
Jamel Campbell Gooch is active in Southern Movement Committee and is a Gideon’s Army organizer. Councilmember Ginny Welsch attempted to slash police funding by 42% and continues efforts to cut police funding. She also has a long list of other left-wing causes and affiliations. One thing all of these candidates appear to have in common is a desire to defund the police.
Angus Purdy list as one of his qualifications that he participated in the People’s Plaza occupation. You may have to think back to remember the Occupy Wall Streat movement when people camped out for weeks on Legislative Plaza. These candidates are a bunch of left-wing misfits. Please help defeat them.
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Monday, July 24, 2023
Endorsements of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition. Please don't vote for any of these candidates.
by Rod Williams, July 24, 2023- Below is the list of candidates endorsed by the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition. TIRRC opposes enforcement of immigration laws and advocates for illegal aliens. This is a list of people for whom one should not vote.
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The Southeast mayoral forum is worth watching.
by Rod Williams, June 24, 2023- The video above is of two forums that took place at Lakeshore Christian Church in Antioch on Saturday July 22. The mayoral forum is first beginning at the start of the video and ending at time stamp 1:22. Following the mayoral forum is a forum of the candidates for Council Member at-large.
This is one of the mayoral forums with the most substance of any I have seen. Others only allowed candidates 30 seconds or ten seconds to give an answer. Also, the questions asked at this forum are of more substance than others I have seen. However, most of the forum was taken up by an education question and we hear very little about the other issues of concern.
If you are going to watch the forum, but don't want to devote almost an hour and a half to do so, you can skip the intro portion and go right to the start of the forum at timestamp 14:24. Also, you can watch it at a faster speed. I watch at 1.5 speed but slow it down if someone is saying something of a little more substance. Also, knowing that Natasha Brooks, Fran Bush, and Stephanie Johnson are not serious contenders you may want to fast forward through their comments.
it is unfortunately that the no-chance also-ran candidates are included in the forum. There needs to be better criteria about whom to include. Anyone can get their name on the ballot by collecting 25 signatures. I wish it was much higher so people who just want to run a vanity campaign would not waste our time. Does anyone really believe Stephanie Johnson is a serious candidate? She and some of the others just muddy the field and take time away from the serious contenders. Alice Rolli who is in second place in the race for mayor according to a recent poll, did not participate in this forum.
In their opening remark many of the candidates state the same concerns or priorities that have been mentioned again and again, such as managing growth, improving public safety, improving education, transit and affordable housing. Candidates are short on "how" they would address these issues, but the issues are box-checked. In all fairness, the forum does not lend itself to a lot of "how" answers.
Here are some impressions of the candidates and the event. Why is everyone dressed so sloppily? I want a future Mayor who dresses the part. On the stage in addition to the mayoral candidates are the vice mayor candidates. Among the men, only Freddie O'Connell and Vice Mayor Shulman dress appropriately and among the women, only Natasha Brooks and Angie Dickerson dress up. Everyone else looks like they have been to Walmart and Stephanie Johnson looks like she has been working in her flower bed. Maybe I am out of touch, but I still think people should dress appropriate for the occasion and I think a mayoral candidate participating in a forum should dress up.
Sharon Hurt's main appeal is that she is Black and will advocate for the well-being of minority residence. She speaks of "economic equity" and says she will advance civil rights. She says Antioch is the new North Nashville.
Heidie Campbell panders to the anti-downtown sentiment and the long-term Nashvillians resentment of newcomers and she speaks a lot about "equity" and "inequity." Maybe sometimes she means "equal" and "unequal," but when I hear someone speak of "equity," I hear equal-outcomes-regardless-of-inputs. Equity means a rejection of meritocracy. She also says women, people of color, immigrants and LBGQT people are under attack in this state. She appears to be ready to be combative with the State. If you are an angry leftist, she is your candidate.
Freddie O'Connell makes a good impression. I know I disagree with him on most things, but when he speaks, he appears sincere, thoughtful, not angry, and he does not pander. If I were a low-information voter without a firm set of values, I would vote for Freddie O'Connell. Matt Wilshire makes the next best impression. Among the other candidates for mayor, all leave me unimpressed.
Both Council Member Angie Dickerson and Vice Mayor Jim Shulman are impressive and seem to be good candidates for the office of Vice Mayor. I am still undecided for whom I will vote in that contest.
All of the candidates raise their hand saying that at a minimum they would commit to have their cabinet reflect the racial composition of the city and all say that their appointments to boards and commissions would also reflect the racial make-up of the city. To me that disqualifies all of them. I don't believe in filling positions based on one's ethnicity or race. I believe in finding the best person for the job. There are also other questions focused on race. Maybe anticipating the questions and knowing she would not tell the audience what they wanted to hear was why Alice Rolli did not participate in this forum.
While Alice Rolli is not present, a position she had taken on the role of the school board was the subject of the question to which the forum devoted the most time. She had said that if the School Board was not accountable, she would absorb the power of the school board into the mayor's office. Candidates at this forum share their view on that statement, speak about the role of the school board, school funding, charter schools, and accountability of the school board. That discussion starts at timestamp 54:30. All disagree with Rolli, but some do say they would hold the school board accountable for the funds they receive.
The at-large forum follows, and I have not watched it as of yet.
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It the election for Mayor were today, Freddie O'Connell and Alice Rolli would make it to the runoff.
This poll was taken after Jim Gingrich dropped out of the race. The most important thing that jumps out at me is that with only a week before the election, 23% of likely voters are still undecided. What are they waiting for? When will they make a decision and which way will they break? No one has a lock on the race as of yet. The other candidates in this rice are polling about where I thought they would be at this time, except I thought Matt Wiltshire would be outpolling Jeff Yarbro.
The firm conducting the poll, GABO, only polled 500 people. I know that is not a lot of people, but if the sampling is a good sample, a small number of people polled can be representational. I know when people don't like the results of a poll, they question the methodology or the integrity of the firm doing the polling. Most of GABO's clients are liberal organizations, but that does not mean they are not professional and are not good at what they do. I am accepting the poll as accurate.
I hope Alice Rolli can remain in second place. A choice between Jeff Yarbro and Freddie O'Connell would not be much of a choice.
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Councilmember Ginny Welsch tells constituent, "Suck it, babe."
by Rod Williams, July 24, 2023- Council member Ginny Welsch is not only radical, but she also has trouble engaging in civil discourse, she quickly labels people as "Fascist" if they don't agree with her, and she is quick to drop the F-bomb. She is unprofessional, crude, rude, and has a potty mouth. She is not suited for service in the Metro Council. For more, see here, here, here, and here.
The above are screen shots from 16th District Nashville Facebook group.
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Sunday, July 23, 2023
Jason Aldean’s critics have clearly never been to a small town
The song lists a series of crimes — sucker-punching somebody on a sidewalk, carjacking an old lady at a red light, pulling a gun on the owner of a liquor store, cussing out a cop and spitting in his face and stomping on the flag and lighting it up — before the refrain asserts such behavior is unacceptable in small towns, where people “take care of our own.” (continue reading)
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We deserve a leader committed to improving our schools, ensuring our city is safe, and getting our finances in order. Elect Alice Rolli, Mayor.
While others are finally catching on to what matters most, Alice's message from her launch has never wavered. We deserve a leader committed to improving our schools, ensuring our city is safe, and getting our finances in order.
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