An appeal has been filed in the lawsuit seeking to overturn the Choose How You Move transit referendum that was successfully passed at the ballot box by Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell last year, with both parties involved in the legal action additionally asking the court to grant an expedited appeal that would see a majority of filings due to the Tennessee Court of Appeals next month.
The appeal was filed with the court on January 15, with the Committee to Stop an UnFair Tax and its founder Emily Evans asking the appeals court to reverse the ruling released by Tennessee Chancery Court Judge Anne Martin two days prior.
Martin ruled the lawsuit was not a valid election contest, but further determined that Nashville followed the IMPROVE Act of 2017, despite the attorneys for the committee arguing the overwhelming majority of improvements included in the referendum were not allowed under the law. These include sidewalks and modern traffic signals, which opponents say should not be paid for using the sales tax increases allowed under Tennessee law for the express purpose of transit systems.
Evans previously told The Tennessee Star that the lower court’s denial of all of the plaintiffs’ claims increased her optimism about the appeal.
Noting that Nashville’s sales tax is set to increase in February to begin paying for the transit program, the Committee to Stop an UnFair Tax and Metro Nashville both asked the appeals court to both stay the collection and grant an expedited appeal process to end any uncertainty around the transportation plan.
In their request for an expedited appeal, attorneys for both Nashville and the committee additionally asked the court to schedule its first brief for the plaintiffs to be due on February 7, just over three weeks after the group filed their appeal. They also ask the court to require Nashville to submit its reply by February 21, while the plaintiffs would submit an optional follow-up reply on February 28.
Nashville’s attorneys also filed a response opposing the committee’s request for the sales tax increase to be suspended, with the city arguing the suspension is unnecessary because the sales tax will be collected by the State of Tennessee and then transferred to Metro Nashville for the purpose of its transit plan, and the state is not a party in the lawsuit.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Freddie O’Connell” by Freddie O’Connell. Background Photo “Nashville Bus” by Rebajae. CC BY 3.0.
CHOOSE HOW YOU MOVE HAS ALWAYS BEEN A RUSE
It’s Segment of the WEF 15 minute Cities plan to keep all the little people contained & monitored
“YOU WILL OWN NOTHING & YOU WILL BE HAPPY”
Klaus Schwab