The Tennessee Star Report: Metro Council District Member Steven Glover Requests Opinion from Tennessee’s AG on Alleged Illegal Budget

  During a specific interview discussion Monday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Steve Gill and Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – Gill spoke to Metro Council district member and At-Large candidate Steven Glover about his plans to request a budget opinion from Tennessee’s state Attorney General. Nearing the end of the segment the men discussed the alleged illegal budget proposed by Mayor Briley and the Metro Council and questioned the legal ramifications of whether or not the Metro legal department could get involved. Gill: Now the Tennessee legislature, not the only one’s that love to raise taxes. Metro Council, Nashville. They wanted to raise taxes a few weeks ago but instead opted to balance the city budget by including money to be generated by a parking meter scheme that Mayor Briley has proposed and that is overwhelmingly opposed by voters in Nashville. They haven’t passed the tax scheme to bring in thirty million dollars or so in revenue but they’re counting that revenue that hasn’t been approved and the deal that hasn’t been cut to “balance their budget.” They’re also counting money to be derived from selling property…

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David Briley Wins Nashville Special Mayoral Election With 55% of the Vote

David Briley

NASHVILLE, Tennessee–Acting Mayor David Briley won the Nashville/Davidson County special mayoral election on Thursday, winning 55 percent of the vote in a field of 13 candidates, easily clearing the 50 percent threshold needed to avoid a runoff election. Former Vanderbilt professor Carol Swain finished in second place with 23 percent of the vote. At-Large Metro Council Member Erica Gilmore finished in third place with 5.6 percent, State Rep. Harold Love (D-Nashville) finished in fourth place with 5.4 percent, former talk radio host Ralph Bristol finished in fifth place with 5.2 percent, and jeff obafemi carr finished in sixth place with 4.7 percent. The other seven candidates on the ballot received 2 percent of all votes cast. The final election turnout of slightly more than 80,000 was higher than had been expected, a sign perhaps that the uptick in the last three days of early voting continued into election day. Much of that uptick appears to have been driven by get-out-the-vote activities of the Briley campaign. Though Briley’s support of the $9 billion transit plan, which voters rejected overwhelmingly on May 1 by a 64 percent to 36 percent margin, among other political issues, left him vulnerable to potential rivals, his…

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Election Day: Nashville Finally Votes for a New Mayor Today

David Briley and Carol Swain

Voters in Nashville/Davidson County go to the polls today to elect a new mayor to serve out the remaining one year and three months of the term of former Mayor Megan Barry, who resigned in disgrace on March 6 after pleading guilty to a felony earlier that day. If none of the 13 candidates on the ballot receive more than 50 percent of the vote, a runoff between the two candidates who receive the highest vote totals will be held on June 28. Though Acting Mayor David Briley, who was sworn in on March 6, the day disgraced former Mayor Megan Barry resigned after pleading guilty to a felony earlier in the day, is considered the front runner, this special mayoral election has been so unusual anything could happen today. The long odyssey that shocked Nashville and caused the need for today’s special election began when former Mayor Barry admitted at a press conference on January 31 that she had conducted an almost two year long affair with her bodyguard, former Metro Nashville Police Department Sergeant Rob Forrest. After five weeks of investigations, stonewalling, and lurid details, Barry finally and mercifully resigned on March 6. Though she pleaded guilty to…

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‘Boondoggle Briley’ Vows Continuity of Disgraced Former Nashville Mayor Megan Barry’s Progressive Policies and Insider Dealings

Briley-Barry

Acting Mayor David “Boondoggle Briley” has vowed “continuity” if voters in Nashville/Davidson County elect him to serve the remaining one year and three months of disgraced former Mayor Megan Barry’s term in tomorrow’s special mayoral election. Nothing illustrates Briley’s embrace of his predecessor’s progressive policies better than this pink hat he donned back on January 21, 2017–and proudly featured on his Facebook page– shortly after President Trump was inaugurated to express his support for the women’s march in Washington where far left critics gathered to decry the new president’s “Make America Great Again” agenda. The Tennessee Star has identified the policies that constitute this promised “continuity” in a potential Briley administration, following on the heels of eight years of former Mayor Karl Dean, now a candidate for the Democratic nomination for governor, and two years and six months of former Mayor Megan Barry. Briley earned his nickname “Boondoggle Briley” for supporting the original Barry boondoggle–the $9 billion transit plan conceived of by Barry and the developers, lobbyists, attorneys, engineers, and architects who stood to benefit from its adoption. Fortunately, the voters of Nashville/Davidson County overwhelmingly rejected that particular set of boondoggles on May 1 by a 64 percent to 36…

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Nashville Predators’ Endorsement of Acting Mayor David Briley ‘A Sleazy Quid Pro Quo’

David Briley and Sean Henry

The Nashville Predators’ unprecedented endorsement of Acting Mayor David Briley in this Thursday’s special mayoral election in Nashville/Davidson County is “a sleazy quid pro quo,” one long time Tennessee Republican political operative tells The Tennessee Star. The definition of “quid pro quo” is “something that is given or taken in return for something else.” In this case, the long time Republican operative says the “quid” that is given is the Predators’ endorsement of Acting Mayor David Briley. The “quo” that is provided in return, the operative says, is the financial benefit to the Predators franchise from lower lease terms they anticipate in receiving from Metro Nashville under a potential administration of David Briley should he be elected on Thursday. The Predators, who have been the beneficiaries of millions of dollars in subsidies provided by the state of Tennessee and the Metro Nashville/Davidson County Government, are in the process of renegotiating the team’s lease of the Bridgestone Arena with Metro Nashville. Recently, the Predators hired two high powered lobbying firms, The Ingram Group, and Hall Public Strategies, to lobby Metro Nashville on their behalf. The Tennessee Star reported on Sunday that the recent financial disclosures by Acting Mayor Briley’s campaign show…

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Pigs at the Trough: Many of Briley’s Donors Are Developers, Lobbyists, Lawyers, and PACs Who Benefit From Metro Nashville Business

David Briley

Acting Mayor of Nashville David Briley has raised more than $720,000 for his campaign to win the May 24 special mayoral election, according to two financial disclosures filed by his campaign with the Davidson County Election Commission for the period beginning March 8 and ending March 31 (when he raised $402,885) and the period beginning April 1 and ending May 14 (when he raised $317,315). Much of his financial support comes from real estate developers, lobbyists, engineers, architects, lawyers, and PACs who stand to benefit from contractual relationships or the actions of Metro Nashville/Davidson County Government. Briley’s former law partner, Charles Robert Bone and employees of the Bone McAllester Norton law firm donated $13,000 to Briley’s election campaign. Charles Robert Bone was one of the leading proponents of the $9 billion transit tax plan, which Nashville/Davidson County voters rejected emphatically on May 1 by a 64 percent to 36 percent margin. The Bone McAllester Norton law firm frequently represents clients who have business interests influenced by Metro Nashville. The firm has a practice area that “includes the representation of clients with issues related to the powers granted to these agencies, the validity and effect of rules and regulations adopted by these agencies…

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Acting Nashville Mayor Briley Conducts Town Hall About Political Issues on Taxpayers’ Dime Two Weeks Before Special Election, Claims It’s ‘Official Event’

NASHVILLE, Tennessee–Acting Nashville Mayor David Briley held a town hall at the Coleman Park Community Center which featured a number of questions on politically related policy issues from attendees on Thursday, paid for by the taxpayers of Nashville/Davidson County, just two weeks before the May 24 special Nashville mayoral election in which he is a candidate. Briley intends to conduct several more such town halls between now and the special election. The Tennessee Star asked the Mayor’s Office if the Nashville/Davidson Metro Government is paying for these town hall events, which appear to be political events rather than official events? Or is the Briley campaign paying for them? “These are official events, not political ones,” Michael Cass, a spokesperson for the Mayor’s Office responded. “Mayor Briley wants to hear what taxpaying citizens are thinking and have direct dialogue with them. He said at his press conference the night he was sworn in that he would be holding town halls around the county, and that will continue after the election. Each of these events is held on Metro property,” Cass added. “So since these town halls are official events according to the Mayor, the taxpayers of Nashville/Davidson County are paying for them?”…

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Swain Blasts Acting Mayor Briley: He ‘Mismanaged Funds in Times of Plenty,’ His Budget Is ‘Dependent on Property Sales That Don’t Have Council Approval’

Mayoral candidate Carol Swain came out swinging on Tuesday against Acting Mayor David Briley’s last minute proposal to come up with an extra $38 million shortfall in his proposed 2019 Metro Nashville budget by selling three existing properties currently owned by the Metro Nashville Davidson County Government. Swain’s campaign issued its pointed response in a tweet on Tuesday morning: The Dean, Barry and now Briley administrations have mismanaged the city’s funds in times of plenty. Our reserve fund is almost empty, we have a ballooning balance sheet, & next year’s budget is dependent on property sales that don’t have council approval. #budgetonaprayer 🙏🏻 https://t.co/v8WokfOaB1 — Carol M Swain For Nashville Mayor (@CarolSwain4Nash) May 8, 2018 In an article titled “Mayor Briley is banking on land sales, parking overhaul to make up $38M in budget,” The Tennessean on Tuesday reported on Briley’s proposal, the details of which were apparently finalized over the weekend between his State of the Metro speech on Friday and the communication of the plan to the Metro Council on Monday: Briley last week proposed a “status quo” $2.23 billion operating budget for the 2018-19 fiscal year that would be just a $22 million increase over the current year, meaning…

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Nashville Metro Council Member Angie Henderson Calls on Acting Mayor David Briley to ‘Break Cleanly from Hidden Deals of Dean/Barry Era’

On Saturday, Nashville Metro Council Member Angie Henderson (District 34) called on Acting Mayor David Briley to “restore trust in Government ASAP before May 24 election.” “He should break cleanly from the hidden deals/arrangements of the Dean/Barry era,” Henderson said in this tweet: Noticing a common thread? It is imperative that @MayorBriley restore trust in @MetroNashville Government asap before May 24 election. He should break cleanly from the hidden deals/arrangements of the Dean/Barry era. https://t.co/0dnLBHpe4R — Angie E. Henderson (@angienashville) May 6, 2018 Days before the May 1 $9 billion transit plan referendum, which Nashville/Davidson County voters rejected by a 64 percent to 36 percent, Henderson, who graduated from Bryn Mawr, where she majored in “The Growth and Structure of Cities,” said she would vote no on the transit plan and criticized the Briley administration for its handling of that proposal, as The Tennessee Star reported: In an episode of the Nashville Sounding Board podcast discussing the light rail transit plan. Nashville Metro council members Freddie O’Connell and Angie Henderson were guests. O’Connell said, “I think that as a councilmember trying to do the best job of representing my constituents… I will say I think a mistake was made by…

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Acting Mayor of Nashville David Briley Looks Like A Man Who Hates His Job in News Channel 5 Interview

Acting Mayor David Briley appeared sullen and disengaged on NewsChannel5’s ‘Inside Politics’ with Political Analyst Pat Nolan Sunday in his interview to recap the State of the Metro address and attendant budget issues. To his credit, Inside Politics host Nolan started off the half-hour interview on what should have been a heartwarming moment. “On a personal note,” he began, “the address you gave Friday morning – the Star of the Metro address – was one that your grandfather, Mayor Beverly Briley, gave for twelve years, including the very first State of the Metro fifty-five years ago on April 1st 1963 – which is Metro’s original birthday. As you put this speech together and as you gave it, did that come back to you because the first thing your started out in your speech was a quote from your grandfather.” Briley replied flatly, “It did. We wanted to look back at what people were saying fifty years ago, and that was a good place to look.” Nolan – seeming to sense Briley’s lost opportunity jumped in, “It was about bringing people together and addressing things that were problems today, but address them in a way helps for tomorrow.” “Yep,” Briley said, nodding. He…

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Culture of Corruption: ‘No-Bid’ Bond Sales Contracts Given to Firm That Employed Son of Metro Nashville COO Rich Riebeling

Riebeling and Briley

The culture of corruption that has permeated Metro Nashville Government for years revolves around Chief Operating Officer Rich Riebeling, the man who appears to be in control of all the reins of power, while Acting Mayor David Briley joylessly slogs through the ceremonial duties of his temporary job. On Monday, The Tennessee Star documented three specific opportunities Briley has had since March 6, when he was sworn in as Acting Mayor of Nashville, to ask for Riebeling’s resignation. On all three occasions, Briley failed to act. Over the next two weeks, The Star will document additional instances of Riebeling’s conduct during his decade plus tenure as a key official in Metro Nashville Government that constitutes a conflict of interest that in any other public or private setting would be sufficient for a leader of the organization for which he works to call for his resignation. Some of these instances will represent original reporting by The Star. Other instances will simply entail our reminding residents of Nashville/Davidson County of facts that are in the public record and have been previously reported by other news organizations. Riebeling has an impressive bio, and is not a man to be taken lightly, nor should his…

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Acting Mayor Briley ‘Doesn’t Have Any Comment’ on Carol Swain’s Call for Resignation of Rich Riebeling, Metro Nashville Official at Center of Financial Scandals

Rich Riebeling w Acting Mayor Briley

Acting Mayor of Nashville David Briley has no comment on election day rival Carol Swain’s call for Metro Nashville Government’s Chief Operating Officer Rich Riebeling to resign. “Mayor Briley doesn’t have any comment,” a spokesperson for the mayor’s office told The Tennessee Star late Sunday in response to a request for comment on Swain’s call Friday for Riebeling’s resignation, in light of the $7 million federal funding scandal that originated in 2010 and 2011 when Riebeling served as director of finance in former Mayor Karl Dean’s administration. Two polls conducted prior to the May 1 transit referendum put Briley in first place in the May 24 special mayoral election in which Nashville/Davidson County voters will select a mayor to complete the remaining one year and three months in the term of disgraced former Mayor Megan Barry, who resigned on March 6, the same day she plead guilty to a felony. Both polls showed Swain in a distant second. Briley has stumbled badly in recent weeks, however. His first misstep came when he backed the $9 billion transit plan introduced by Barry before her March resignation. Voters in Nashville/Davidson County soundly rejected that Barry-Briley plan on Tuesday by a 64 percent 36…

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Acting Mayor David Briley Echoes Megan Barry in His New TV Ad ‘Moving Forward’

Acting Mayor of Nashville David Briley is echoing the themes and policies of disgraced former Mayor Megan Barry in his new television ad, titled “Moving Forward.” The ad began airing Thursday on both local broadcast networks and cable outlets. With a bank roll in excess of $400,000, Briley is expected to keep his ad campaign on both broadcast and cable outlets until election day, May 24. Two of his rivals in the mayoral race–State Rep. Harold Love (R-Nashville) and former Vanderbilt professor Carol Swain–are currently running television ads on the local cable system. You can watch Briley’s ad here: .   Here is the trancript of the ad, which features the voice of Briley only: These days, it seems like everyone is on the move. As Nashville’s new mayor, it’s my job to get us all moving in the same direction: forward. We’ve worked hard to build our economy. Now let’s work on what’s important to families. By building stronger and safer schools. Working for more affordable housing. And finding new traffic solutions we all can agree on. Because when we’re all moving forward, no one gets left behind. In 2015, when he was running for vice mayor, Briley ran…

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Erica Gilmore Blasts Acting Mayor David Briley’s Metro Nashville Budget Proposal for 2019

Erica Gilmore runs for Nashville Mayor

At-large Metro Council Member Erica Gilmore took the gloves off Friday and blasted Acting Mayor David Briley’s Metro Nashville budget proposal for 2019. Gilmore, who is among the top tier of candidates challenging Briley in the May 24 special election in which voters will select a permanent mayor to serve out the one year and three months in the term of disgraced former Mayor Megan Barry, said Briley has proposed a “Promises Made, Promises Broken Budget” to the residents of Nashville/Davidson County. “The budget proposed by Acting Mayor Briley is a Promises Made, Promises Broken Budget. Nashvillians have been told we need ‘continuity’ in this month’s election. But this budget reflects continuity for some, and broken promises for everyone else,” Gilmore said in a statement released by her campaign on Friday. “This morning, Acting Mayor Briley insisted ‘most citizens will not notice any difference at all.’ I could not disagree more,” Gilmore continued. “Our employees nearing retirement will notice,” the At-large Council Member said. “Young workers trying to save to buy their first home will notice,” she added. “Parents trying to put their kids through college will notice,” Gimore noted. “And our Metro Public School students and teachers–who will not…

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$7 Million Federal Funding Scandal Hits Metro Nashville Administrations of David Briley, Megan Barry, and Karl Dean

US Capitol

A WSMV investigation revealed on Friday that $7 million in federal flood relief funds provided to the Metro Nashville Government in 2010 were not used for flood relief at all, but were instead used to build the Ascend Amphitheater downtown. The stunning revelation rocked the special mayoral election, and cast doubt on fiscal management and legal compliance with federal funding rules on the administrations of former Mayor Karl Dean, former Mayor Megan Barry, and Acting Mayor David Briley, who is a candidate in the May 24 special mayoral election. “Nashville got $10 million from HUD’s Disaster Recovery Fund to start and received another $22 million in a second appropriation from HUD in 2011,” after the 2010 Nashville floods,” WSMV reported, adding: Our News4 I-Team investigation discovered that one-third of that $22 million – $7.4 million – never went to flooded homeowners. It was used to design Ascend Amphitheater, a downtown concert venue. “Rich Riebeling was the city’s finance director at the time; he’s now Metro’s Chief Operating Officer. The News4 I-Team asked him who decided to use the money for the amphitheater,” the WSMV report continued: “I don’t recall it,” Riebeling said. “I think it was a group decision. I’m…

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Early Voting Begins Today in Nashville’s Special Mayoral Election

Early voting in Nashville’s special mayoral election began today, just three days after residents of Nashville/Davidson County went to the polls and defeated the $9 billion Nashville transit plan, 64 percent to 36 percent. Taxpayers will spend an extra $2 million on the May 24 special mayoral election, thanks to the ill advised and legally unsound decision made by the Davidson County Election Commission to schedule the election for a later date, rather than follow the law, as The Tennessee Supreme Court later told them to do in a landmark legal decision last month. The legal and common sense decision that the Davidson County Election Commission rejected would have scheduled both the transit plan referendum and the special mayoral election for the same day, May 1. Residents of Nashville/Davidson County can early vote beginning today, and continuing until Saturday, May 19, as News Channel 5 reported: Right now, you can only vote at the Howard Office Building in downtown Nashville. Hours vary but it opens at 8 a.m. every weekday. All early polling locations will open next Friday, May 11. WSMV offered this guide to early voting: The following locations will be open for voting starting Friday, May 11: Belle…

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Weak and Wounded, Acting Mayor David Briley Big Loser in Nashville Transit Plan Blowout

Acting Mayor of Nashville David Briley’s aura of inevitability came to a sudden and devastating end Tuesday night when voters soundly rejected the $9 billion transit plan he championed to the bitter end by a 64 percent to 36 percent margin. The man who less than two months ago had been praised by the Nashville Business Council as the only possible person who could provide “continuity” to the city after the resignation of disgraced former Mayor Barry on March 6, found himself reduced to blaming the deplorable voters of Nashville for their lack of wisdom in rejecting the boondoggle his predecessor introduced and he embraced whole heartedly. “We all can agree that we have to do something about traffic and transportation, but voters didn’t get behind this plan,” Briley said after it became clear that his cherished plan of “continuity” was going down in flames, adding:    My responsibility as Mayor is to get back to the drawing board and find the common ground to develop consensus on a new way forward. Our transportation problems are not going away; in fact, we know they’re only going to get more challenging as we continue to grow. I’ll get back to work…

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Acting Mayor David Briley Stumbles in Last Minute Defense of Nashville Transit Plan at Public Meeting in Bellevue

Acting Mayor David Briley demonstrated that he is not ready for prime time when he repeatedly stumbled Monday night in his responses to questions about the Nashville Transit Plan to a large group of voters in Bellevue. The 90 minute meeting was intended to be a last minute pro-transit pep rally, but it ended up being more like the cross examination of a witness who was not particularly compelling. Briley admitted several things damaging to the plan during the evening. He conceded to the audience that he did not think he would get federal funding for the $9 billion transit plan, already criticized as being hugely and disproportionately expensive. He also admitted that residents of Bellevue are not likely to use the proposed mass transit system. “I don’t really understand how a $9 billion investment for 3 percent turns out to be a good investment for the majority of us,” one member of the audience said, and asked Briley to explain how that math made sense. “Lots of people are not going to get on light rail or any sort of transit. I know that. We’re not saying everybody should,” a defensive Briley responded. “What we’re saying is if we…

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Acting Mayor of Nashville David Briley Calls for Gun Control After Waffle House Shootings, Carol Swain Criticizes His ‘Pandering’ for Votes

David Briley Waffle House Tragedy

Acting Mayor of Nashville David Briley called for more gun control measures on Sunday, hours after 29-year-old Travis Reinking of Morton, Illinois allegedly shot and killed four people at a Waffle House in Antioch, Tennessee in the early hours of Sunday morning. More casualties were avoided when 29-year-old David Shaw, Jr., a customer inside the Waffle House, confronted the alleged attacker, wrestling his gun away from him. Reinking, who was clad only in a jacket at the time, removed the jacket and ran naked away from the scene of the crime. He remains at large. Briley’s first response came in this statement released by his office: “It’s a tragic day for our city anytime people lose their lives at the hands of a gunman. My heart goes out to the families and friends of every person who was killed or wounded in this morning’s shooting. I know all of their lives will be forever changed by this devastating crime.” “There’s clearly more to be said about these circumstances, but for now I ask Nashville to pray for and rally around these victims and join me in thanking the Metro Nashville Police Department as it works to find and apprehend the…

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