On Monday’s Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – Leahy talked to Nashville Metro Council candidate Steve Glover who is in running for a metro council at-large seat.
During the program Glover said that he is currently working with an attorney and intends to file a civil complaint against Mayor David Briley’s recent executive order instructing Metro employees not to cooperate with federal agents who are enforcing immigration law.
Glover expressed his concern for Nashville and how should this executive order be upheld will cost Tennesseans hundreds of jobs and millions in state grants.
Leahy: Now Steve, I want to put this in context. The big news that came out last week on Tuesday…
Glover: Correct.
Leahy: Mayor David Briley. Desperate David as we call him issued an executive order preventing Nashville from helping ICE which was in my view was a violation of the HB-2315 state law which says local government and entities and officials cannot adopt sanctuary city policies. And we invited him to come in and debate you here in our studios. About that, he didn’t show up. You did. But I think you’re going to make some news about that today?
Glover: Well, so here’s what I did. First of all, you know I totally disagree with his stance on the policy. You know I’m not a lawyer, I’ve said that multiple times. But I also heard you and representative Reedy speaking the other day and so I started digging a little deeper. Now as of August 31st to 12 midnight I was no longer a councilman. However, there seems to be a clause in the amended version of 23:15.
Leahy: That’s the state law. The anti-sanctuary city law.
Glover: That’s correct.
Leahy: Co-sponsored by state rep Jay Reedy.
Glover: Correct.
Leahy: And passed in 2018. Became law in 2018. It’s the state law.
Glover: That’s the way I read and interpret it. So what I did, I will always hedge my bets, my thoughts, etc. and so I started working and I’m paying for this out of my pocket by the way, and working with an attorney to help me kind of dig it through. Again, I’m not an attorney, I want to be clear.
And representative Reedy has been so nice to speak with me and keep talking. It is my plans that I will probably be utilizing that part of the omitted law that what was passed in order to file suit against the city.
Leahy: There’s some breaking news. Your current intention is to file a lawsuit against the city.
Glover: A complaint.
Leahy: A complaint.
Glover: Civil.
Leahy: A civil complaint. And what will that complaint state?
Glover: Well, we’re not through with everything. I’d hoped we would be but we’re not yet. However, I think within the next few hours we will be ready to go.
Leahy: Either today or tomorrow?
Glover: Or tomorrow. One of the two.
Leahy: So you intend to file a complaint and the complaint will be about this executive order, which I’ve characterized as illegal from desperate David Briley that he announced on Tuesday that would tell metro employees they can’t cooperate with lawful actions of federal agents with regards to enforcement of immigration law.
Glover: Yes. Now, let’s be very clear. I haven’t filed yet. This is also not an election move. I believe that Mayor Briley, what he did was an election move. I’ve always watched after the money. And I’ve always, as long as I’ve been in office have always looked at the pennies. But here’s the other thing we have on this one. Right now, this may jeopardize thousands of jobs in Nashville.
Leahy: See, I would say, you’re saying it may jeopardize. I think it will jeopardize. I think Jay Reedy went through a list of millions of dollars of state grants that will not happen because of this law and this illegal executive order.
Glover: I will say this, representative Reedy is far more versed in it then I may be at this point. In fact, I would say, he absolutely is more versed than I am. So, with that being said we’re researching that. What scares me and frankly one of the reasons I’m really trying to figure out if there’s a way to do this. Whether I win or lose this thing, this is putting Nashville in a very bad position.
Leahy: Exactly. And that was my thought as well. That was a reckless move, a reckless political move by desperate David Briley a little over a week before the election that he’s clearly behind in the polls. And so why don’t you elaborate on that point in terms of how you viewed it.
Glover: Alright, so when I looked at everything, you already know on the parking meter piece we’re already about 30 plus million dollars short on the budget.
Leahy: Right.
Glover: We all know that. There’s are other components that are probably another 10, 15, 20Â million dollars short on the budget. Now,
Leahy: He’s going to add more to the deficit.
Glover: So now, if delete a 1000 potential jobs in Nashville. If we delete the economic development money, the grants that come from the state in excess of 1 million dollars then, I mean all we ever do here under his leadership is digging holes deeper. I used to say a long time ago, “The minute you don’t think you’ve hit rock bottom, hand somebody a shovel and they’ll find it.”
Well, Mayor Briley keeps trying to figure out just how low we can go. I can’t sit on the sidelines. I will tell you, I absolutely will fight every day. This is no different from what I’ve done before because I actually was the first council member who sued the city over Fort Negley.
Unfortunately, if we don’t do the right things in the executive branch and the legislative branch, we have to turn to the judicial branch in order to make a ruling on it. So, I’m preparing to get ready to do that. But, I’m doing it as a private citizen because representative Reedy had that build into the amendment to where I can continue to fight for the taxpayers.
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Tune in weekdays from 5:00 – 8:00 am to the Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy. Listen online at iHeart Radio.
