Live from Music Row Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. –  host Leahy welcomed Metro Nashville City Council Member-At-Large Steve Glover to the newsmaker line to update his call to council attorney regarding Dr. Stephanie Kang’s internal email citing the Rittenhouse verdict as an injustice.
Leahy: On our newsmaker line now, our very good friend, Metro Nashville Council Member-At-Large Steve Glover. Good morning, Steve.
Glover: Good morning, sir. How are you?
Leahy: Well, newly arrived Dr. Stephanie King, Harvard, public health Ph.D., arrived in Nashville after having spent two and a half years as the health policy director for the head of the progressive caucus in the House of Representatives.
She graduated from Northwestern University. One of the very first things that she did was send an internal memo out to members of the Metro Nashville Public Health Department, basically calling the Kyle Rittenhouse jury verdict an injustice and that it was continuing to promote daily acts of racism and pervasiveness of white supremacy and oppression.
The question that we had for you, Steve Glover, is in this memo. Did Dr. Stephanie Kang, newly arrived in Nashville with progressive values and a Harvard Ph.D., create a hostile working environment for Metro Health Department employees?
Glover: I say yes, it did because I’ve heard from several folks there, and I reached out yesterday, so I did everything I told you I was going to do. I reached out to my attorney, and basically, as a Metro councilman, I have no authority. I get that.
Then I reached out to Gilright, who’s the director, and another one of my folks over at the Health Department, and I asked them, I said, look, guys, you could make this really easy. Just put out an apology. Didn’t think it all the way through. Sorry, blah, blah, blah. Wouldn’t even do that.
Leahy: Let’s talk about Dr. Gill Wright, who is the director of Metro Nashville Public Health Department, he’s listed on this memo, but apparently they told us at The Tennessee Star that doctor newly arrived Harvard Ph.D. adviser to Progressive Caucus congresswoman, Dr. Stephanie Kang wrote this thing.
They confirmed that with us. Her boss is Dr. Gill Wright. So you called, tell us about your interaction with Dr. Gilright, the head of the Metro Nashville Public Health Department.
Glover: So, I was, no foul language. (Leahy laughs) I was polite, but I will say this. I mean, I’m hot about this, because here’s what I’m trying to figure out. What does the far left think exactly we are? Michael Patrick, what do they think we are?
I don’t like being labeled by somebody else who really doesn’t know me. And they said, well, it didn’t mention your name. I said it pretty much so infers Republicans and conservatives. You didn’t have to mention my name.
And we went round around, had several sentences on that. Then I had other conversations with the health department yesterday. And the bottom line is, it took them all day long to make no decision. However, she could send out this email in the blink of an eye.
Leahy:Â So you asked directly, Dr. Gilright, the head of Metro Nashville Public Health Department, to send out, we apologize for this communication.
Glover: I asked for an apology from either her or him? I just am looking for an apology because, as I said, we’re worried. I don’t remember the exact phrasing in the email, but we’re here to help. Well, am I not a constituent? Am I not one of the people that we should be here to help?
Leahy: So when you asked him directly, what specifically did Dr. Gill Wright, head of the Metro Public Health Department, say?
Glover: That they were going to be meeting on it and talking about it, et cetera. Well, we’re one day later and nothing has occurred. Now, let’s be fair here. What I said was, I’m not letting this go and I’m not letting it go.
Leahy:Â So they haven’t sent anything out. Have they officially told you they’re not apologizing?
Glover: No, they have not told me that.
Leahy:Â So they’re doing nothing?
Glover: Well, isn’t that about the same thing? Pretty much so far.
Leahy: Is there a possibility are you going to call Dr. Gilbert again and say, where’s that apology?
Glover: I don’t think I have to call again. I think I’ve already made my request very clear. I don’t think I was out of line with my request, and frankly, I’m disgusted that they have taken this position.
Now, you know, they’re going to villainize me and just say, oh, well, he’s just a radical. There is diplomacy and there’s decency. And apparently, our health department, who gets paid by our Nashville taxpayers and one of their directors doesn’t feel like they owe an apology to those of us in the community that was offended by that email.
Leahy: I want to ask about the question of the legality of this communication. Because the communication specifically called the jury verdict in Wisconsin and injustice, and which seems to me to be undermining the entire rule of law in the United States of America.
And they’ve created, I would say, a hostile work environment for Metro Public Health employees. The legal question is you’ve asked a legal advisor whether or not this is a legal communication. What did they tell you?
Glover: Everybody has him and hawed. I’m not getting direct answers. Unfortunately, as it gets dark earlier when the sun goes down and I think it’s nighttime, but maybe still just afternoon, at the end of the day what I do is I just keep pushing. And now I’m going to push harder because I told him I was going to push harder.
Leahy: The attorney, that is your adviser, in your capacity…
Glover: I have no legal authority as a Metro Councilman.
Leahy: But you said you talk to an attorney.
Glover: Yes. I talked to my attorney.
Leahy: Your personal attorney?
Glover: My council attorney.
Leahy: Your council attorney. Did that person have a name? And what did they tell you?
Glover: Well, first of all, it’s my attorney. I’m not going to share the name, but I can look at dead now and tell you that I did have the conversation. What they said is, as a Metro Councilman, we really have no authority. So the only choice I have is to do what I’m doing right now.
Leahy: But did you ask them the question of whether you have the authority or not? The question is, does that memo violate the law? Did you ask that question?
Glover: So let’s go to the next level. What I said was, I’m not letting this go. Today I’m having a letter sent over to the mayor’s office asking, does it violate the law? And I think I’m going to file an ethics complaint.
Leahy: Can we get a copy of that letter when you send it?
Glover: Yes. When I get it done now. I’m going to try and get it done today. It could be tomorrow until we get all the language figured out on it. But I’m here to tell you right now, I’m not letting this go.
Leahy: I think you’ve got a good argument here that this is not legal and that there should be consequences thereof. I would be very interested seeing if you send that letter to Mayor John Cooper, he’s going to have to send it to his legal department and get legal advice on it right?
Glover: I guess so.
Leahy: That’s what I’m looking forward to seeing.
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Tune in weekdays from 5:00 – 8:00 a.m. to the Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy on Talk Radio 98.3 FM WLAC 1510. Listen online at iHeart Radio.
