In late April Nashville Mayor John Cooper discussed a four-phased plan to reopen the city’s economy following the COVID-19 pandemic and told anxious business owners to remain patient because, as he said, safety was paramount.
“Every Nashvillian feels an urge to return to business as normal. Many livelihoods depend on it,” Cooper said at a press conference.
“But everyone, business owners, employees, and customers should trust that places of business, schools, and all venues throughout Nashville are safe. Consumer confidence lies at the heart of our economy. A safe rollout must be data-driven, not purely date-driven. This is essential to avoid a false start, which would simply prolong the economic effects of the coronavirus in Davidson County.”
But this past weekend, during the second of the four phases, Cooper seemed to forget his own words and attended a rally at Legislative Plaza that honored George Floyd. Floyd died in Minneapolis while in police custody.
How does Cooper justify continuing his COVID-19 restrictions on businesses when he himself violated those restrictions at this Saturday’s rally at Legislative Plaza — and encouraged others to do so?
In an email, Cooper spokesman Chris Song told The Tennessee Star that “Cooper has consistently supported the right of all Nashvillians to safely engage in public demonstrations while observing public health protocols.”
“This includes his vocal support for the Safer at Home Order protest in downtown Nashville on April 19,” Song said.
During an April 20 press conference, Cooper said he was “all for the rally.”
“I just want everyone to do it safely and remember to socially distance yourself while you’re doing the rally. This is a period of time where we want public participation, but we want it safely. We hear their message and agree with the message,” Cooper said at the time.
“We want a restart. It’s just going to be a priority to have the restart done safely, not to undo the progress. What we really want is long-term mitigation of the disease to keep our health care capacity in place for those who may, unfortunately, need it.”
As for Saturday’s George Floyd rally, several thousand people attended the event. Cooper thanked many of them for wearing masks to protect themselves against the virus. But many of those people, especially those near the speaker’s platform, stood close to one another, by only a matter of inches — and not feet.
Strict Physical Distancing Protocols
Cooper and his staff previously told the city’s business owners that they would not tolerate anyone deviating from the mayor’s required safety protocols.
Members of his of staff warned that, during Phase Two, restaurants and bars could only serve at 75 percent of capacity. Live music events could hold no more than 25 people. Amusement and attraction venues, meanwhile, could open at only 50 percent capacity.
Also, during Phase Two, according to Metro Coronavirus Task Force Chair Alex Jahangir, city officials would limit other public gatherings, including worship services, to 50 people and with adherence to strict physical distancing protocols.
Before Phase One started, Metro Public Health Director Michael Caldwell warned the city’s business owners that if they repeatedly did not comply with Cooper’s rules for safety that they could face fines or loss of business permits. Caldwell then announced that city officials had hired up to 20 additional environmental health inspectors to ensure compliance with Cooper’s Phase One reopening.
As reported, one Nashville business owner has named Cooper and Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee in a federal lawsuit. That man, The Local Spot owner Geoffrey Reid, said the two politicians’ COVID-19 requirements forced him to close his business and caused economic devastation to him and Davidson County.
Feared Second Wave
Following the Floyd rally, as The Star reported, protestors resorted to violence. They vandalized the Metro Courthouse and, later, parts of lower Broadway.
Rioters have resorted to violence nationwide.
Since Saturday, former Nashville mayor candidate Carol Swain said she warned Cooper not to attend the event. Nashville Council member at Large Steve Glover also said he didn’t want Cooper to attend Saturday’s rally. Neither did Council member at Large Sharon Hurt.
Hurt said she didn’t want Cooper to attend because she said it violated the city’s current social distancing requirements on COVID-19.
“I don’t want to see a second wave pandemic run rampant through our communities,” Hurt told The Star.
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “John Cooper” by Nashville.gov.
Come on Mayor Cooper. If you cannot determine the difference you are dumber that I thought.
Lets not forget, folks. This is all about the election . The Dems will do ANYTHING to win in November and at any cost to the citizens.
Cooper is on his way to becoming as bad a mayor as David Briley.
Sorry John but you are a progressive hypocrite and the Nashville riot is on you. You are responsible for the safety of this city. The police chief reports to you. It was you who encouraged a huge public gathering, without prepared LE there and when they had to go back and get riot gear, the barbarians vandalized a historic building and your workspace, then move on and trash lower Broad.
So, either you were so naive that you thought YOUR people wouldn’t riot or you were flat out clueless about Antifa’s presence here and what had already happened in other cities Either way, you’re a loser and not fit to lead this great city.
Cooper doing what you would expect a Democrat to do. The rules only apply to everyone else, particularly if you are trying to get rid of Donald Trump. I am sure Cooper would feel differently if he were going bankrupt over this.
He is by definition he absolutely is, he will NEVER admit it. People of Nashville should rise up and expect more.