In a discussion Thursday 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 am to 8:00 am – Leahy spoke to in-studio guest and Metro Council at-large candidate, Steve Glover about the need for a more conservative fiscal budget in Nashville. He also noted that it is crucial that Nashville maintain a conservative voice at the table.
Nearing the end of the hour, Glover talked about how in his role on the school board in 2009 he and David Fox were able to get money for quality teachers without cutting jobs or asking the administration for more money. He said: “We fixed it internally and it was some hard choices. But you know what? That’s what you do.”
Leahy: In studio without introduction, the last man standing. The last conservative potential elected official here in Davidson County, Steve Glover. Welcome, Steve.
Glover: Good morning. How are you, sir?
Leahy: So, tell me, Steve. It’s quite unusual. You’re the last man standing. How does that feel to be of all of the candidates in all these races there’s only one common-sense conservative trying to stop Nashville from becoming a disaster like Detroit.
Glover: You know it’d be really easy to run away and not do this. I was term-limited in my district. I’ve been on the Metro Council for eight years now. Before that, I was on the school board. I found it fascinating the conversation you had last hour.
But it’d be very very simple and for my life and everything else, it’d be easier to walk away. But we really are at a point right now in Nashville that I just don’t feel like I can walk away. You now every once and a while you kind of feel like you’re where you’re supposed to be?
Leahy: You’ve got to do something.
Glover: Yeah. No matter who you believe in. I believe in God. If you just feel like this is where you’re supposed to be and that you’ll have the strength to go fight. Well, that’s what I’ve done for over eight years. Right now our city needs a true conservative voice. If we don’t do this. Let’s make sure we understand what’s at stake here. If I don’t get elected I still win. I get my life back and everything.
Leahy: You personally win.
Glover: Me personally.
Leahy: It’s a lot easier. Because I don’t think a Metro Councilman makes a lot of money doing it right? How much do you make? 5,000, 6,000?
Glover: I think it’s like 15, 16.
Leahy: 15,000.00
Glover: And I know they ended up passing, and there’s going to be a little bit of a raise. But it’s still only going to be like 23,000 or 24,000.
Leahy: People can make more at Dunkin Donuts.
Glover: Well yeah. Because it takes a lot of time to do it. And I’m not complaining. I’m ok with that.
Leahy: This is a civic duty. And as a citizen, you are concerned about the reckless fiscal irresponsibility that’s driving Nashville into the gutter making it the next Detroit. And you’re the last man standing.
Glover: Correct. So, one of the reasons I’m out here is because our debt is truly out of control. When we owe two, two and a half, three times what the state of Tennessee owes for general obligation bonds and our debt. That is unacceptable.
Leahy: Well Tennessee has 95 counties and this is just one county.
Glover: One county. And they will tell you it’s only double. No, it’s actually more than that. Because they’re not reporting everything.
Leahy: What? What? They’re misleading us. You’ve got that information and you know the score and you’re able to tell people that. And really, if you’re not there no one, this is how serious it is, no one else will tell you the truth about the terrible financial situation the city’s in.
Glover: Well I think there is one or two but they’re district councilmen.
Leahy: One or two at the district level but nobody at the countywide level.
Glover: Correct.
(Commercial break)
Leahy: So the issue is debt. You want to elaborate on that a little bit because I know you are a financial planner.
Glover: I do financial planning and estate planning.
Leahy: So you know how numbers work.
Glover: I finished third grade. (Leahy laughs) Anybody that looks at this.
Leahy: So, the question for the other leaders is, are they smarter than a third grader? Apparently not. (Leahy laughs)
Glover: I didn’t say it for that very reason.
Leahy: I said it. If you’re listening. That wasn’t Steve Glover that said that, that was me. (Glover chuckles) Because Steve is a very nice person.
Glover: Well now some people would disagree with you on that.
Leahy: But you’ve got the right answers here. And you need to be in the office so that you can keep us from this creeping fiscal irresponsibility and creeping socialism that’s going on with the other folks.
Glover: Well, so our debt’s out of control. No ifs, ands, or buts we talked about that. We owe a lot more money in Davidson county than the entire state does. When we sit down and really look at it you’re looking at about 13,000 dollars debt load.
Leahy: 13,000 dollars per person? Debt?
Glover: When you look at all of it. When you look at everything.
Leahy: There’s a lot of interest that goes in paying…
Glover: There’s a ton of interest. That’s what got us in trouble.
Leahy: So you’re running up the credit cards right?
Glover: We’re paying Visa with MasterCard in certain years. And that’s obviously a very bad way to do business.
Leahy: That’s how David Briley’s been doing it since he’s been in there for two years.
Glover: So I know you were talking about the school board. So let’s talk about that particular move on the teachers pay. When he said look, “We’re going to give the teachers.” What they did is they refinanced some of the debt to free up that money and kick it down the road.
Leahy: Shuffling paper around.
Glover: Pretty much.
Leahy: Don’t watch what’s going on over here. (Chuckles) Because I’m shuffling over there. (Chuckles)
Glover: Close your eyes while we play the shell game. Ok, you can open your eyes again.
Leahy: Of course they think people are stupid and they don’t realize that this is not a financial plan. You’re a financial planner and a retirement planner. You know it doesn’t work. That’s why your’e running. You’re trying to fix it.
Glover: Well I mean, I’m running for several reasons. One, is yes. What I do not want to see is the conservative voice lost at the table. Can we win every battle and every war? No. And I’m not foolish enough to think that.
But I do know if we have a voice, and I say we, I don’t use me, I use we, because we have to join together. If everyone who voted for Jody Ball for Congressmen in Davidson county came out and voted for Steve Glover Metro Council at-large, conservative vote. 67,701 people. That gets us at the table.
Leahy: Right.
Glover: And so what’s your duty? I’ll ask the question very simply. If we’re not careful. If we don’t have a seat at the table expect your taxes to go through the roof. And here’s why. We already had several people who have been elected to this new council that point-blank say they’re socialists.
There are things happening right now that if we as conservatives don’t get up and realize we have a role. We have to make sure our voice is heard in Nashville with our metropolitan government because if we don’t, everything starts to crumble. And when that starts happening then we lose the city. And several people will tell you right now we feel we’ve already lost the city. No. We’ve done some things…
Leahy: There’s still a shot. I agree with you. I think this election is the last shot.
Glover: This is a critical turning point. And I’m telling you it’s just very important.
Leahy: Now you ran for school board right?
Glover: I was on the school board. I got elected. When we went through the first economic crisis in ’09, David Fox was chair. I was chair of budget and finance and I told David point blank as we were looking at everything, “Look, I believe I can craft a plan and go through every part of the budget and we won’t have to lay off not one teacher.
We won’t have to cut one teaching position.” Because here’s what we know, kids can’t learn if you don’t have a qualified teacher in the classroom. We worked on it and sure enough we did it. Nor did we ask the council at that time or mayor at that time to give us more money. We fixed it internally and it was some hard choices. But you know what? That’s what you do.
If you’re going to take the role than you’ve got to be the leader to execute the role and realize you’re not going to make everyone happy. I get that piece of it. The one thing I will say, I get kind of compared to a bulldog sometimes because I will grab something and not let it go. I’m not afraid of the administration. I’m not afraid to speak out because you know what? Our opinion does matter.
Leahy: You have a legitimate representation of those surviving conservatives in Nashville. The problem is that it’s dwindling, the number of conservatives in Nashville. Dwindling. As people with kids are moving out. And what’s moving in is the hipsters and the left-wingers from Chicago and New York. They’re fleeing Chicago and New York to bring Chicago and New York values here to Nashville. That’s not going to work out so well is it Steve?
Glover: I don’t think so.
Listen to the full hour:
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Tune in weekdays from 5:00 – 8:00 am to the Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy on Talk Radio 98.3 FM WLAC 1510. Listen online at iHeart Radio.
Too late!