A group that advocates for illegal aliens has endorsed Freddie O’Connell in his bid to become Nashville’s next mayor.
The Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC), via its political arm TIRRC Votes, endorsed the District 19 Metro Council Member on Thursday.
“For us, on the eve of early voting, with thousands of Nashvillians considering who to vote for, we are excited to say that Freddie is our choice to lead the city,” Lisa Sherman Luna, TIRRC Votes executive director, reportedly said. “We need someone who understands all the levers to pull and the importance of including immigrant families in decisions and policies about our city, and so for us, it was Freddie’s enthusiasm, his commitment and his readiness but also his vision for our city.”
TIRRC says that it exists due to a “unrelenting assault on immigrant families and our fundamental American values,” and its goal is “to build political power for immigrant and refugee communities and to create a pro-immigrant majority in the state.”
O’Connell (pictured above) thanked the group for its endorsement.
“I’ve learned from and worked with TIRRC for almost 20 years as they’ve helped to make Nashville and Tennessee more fundamentally welcoming communities,” O’Connell he reportedly said. “I’m deeply honored to have earned the endorsement and support of one of the most effective voter mobilizing organizations in the state and look forward to continuing to partner and collaborate with them.”
The endorsement comes on the heels of the news that Nashville-area soccer coach Camilo Hurtado Campos, who allegedly raped numerous boys between the ages of nine and 17, was an illegal alien and has been living in the United States for at least 20 years.
As early voting begins, O’Connell leads the field of 12 candidates in polling.
Citing a Harpeth Strategies poll, The Tennesseean reports that of 502 likely Nasvhillian voters, 20% said they were inclined to vote for O’Connell. The poll, conducted on July 5 and 6, found that 15% of likely voters support Matt Wiltshire, former economic development director for the city. About 13% of likely voters say they will vote for Alice Rolli, a career public school teacher.
No other candidate is polling in the double-digits, but 26% of voters have not decided for whom they will vote.
Conspicuously left off the list of highly-polling candidates is State Sen. Heidi Campbell (D-Nashville), who is notable for her bombastic Twitter presence.
The election will be held on August 3.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter.
Photo “Freddie O’Connell” by Freddie O’Connell.
Well now any REAL American that believes in the Constitution and the law will know exactly who NOT to vote for but of course we are talking about Nashville so this probably bodes well with a lot of the folks in that city. But those in Nashville that do not want to support illegals and believe in the law need to get out on election day and VOTE. Do not sit at home because I am sure there will be some hanky panky taking place.
This endorsement, like most endorsements, is worth a pitcher of spit. How arrogant to believe their approval will cause the “undecideds” to follow their suggestion.
Thank tirrc for this idiot in Franklin…..it was just a matter of time.
You know the old saying –
“Birds of a feather flock together.”
Vote for this clown at your own risk.
nashville is portland if they elect this hipster doofus
I trust TIRRC about as far as I can throw them. I moved here to Nashville in mid-2020. Like most new residents I received mail addressed to former residents of my address for a while (and still do occasionally). As we headed into the 2022 elections I suddenly started receiving mail addressed to 3 different hispanic named people, none of whom had ever lived at my address (I did some research). The only mail I ever received in their names were from TIRRC and specifically addressed voter mailings from the election commission. I immediately suspected fraudulent voter registration and reported it via phone call and in writing. I also alerted the poll workers at my polling location that I have been the only valid registered voter at my address for over two years.
I will never know if the 3 people had their votes counted, however, shortly after the election there were verification mailings sent to my address in what appeared to be a voter registration verification. I suspect those names have now been purged from the voter roll.