Tag: David Briley

Covenant School Parents File Motion to Intervene in Lawsuits Seeking Release of Covenant Killer Manifesto

M.D. Kittle

Parents of the three children killed in the Covenant Presbyterian School shootings are now seeking to intervene in lawsuits demanding the release of the Covenant killer’s manifesto and related documents.

And The Tennessee Star learned Davidson County Chancellor I’Ashea Myles rescheduled Thursday’s conference status meeting on the lawsuits for 1 p.m. Monday. It’s yet another delay in an increasingly complex web of lawsuits, consolidations, and interventions over the mass shooter’s writings.

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Former Nashville Mayor and Current Candidate for Davidson County Circuit Court Judge David Briley Commemorates His Role in the Leftist Occupy Movement

Morgan Nicole Veysey

Last night former Nashville Mayor David Briley reflected on his role in the Occupy Wall Street movement on its tenth anniversary. In 2011, the movement took place at Nashville’s Legislative Plaza and Briley was one of its many attenders. Briley said that when “free speech and free association were being threatened at the most public forum of the state,” that he was proud to represent and preserve the rights of those in Nashville.

Briley announced his running for Circuit Court judge on July 15, 2021, saying that he’s running “to ensure that the law is enforced fairly, and [he] will always act with independence, integrity and impartiality.”

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Community Oversight Board Declares Use of Force Consent Decrees for Metro Police

Corinne Murdock

The Community Oversight Board (COB) approved a report issuing use of force consent decree recommendations. Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) will work with the COB to implement these recommendations.
Mayor John Cooper tasked members within the Community Oversight Board to explore use of force policies following the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.

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Analysis: Low-Turnout, Low-Energy Runoff Election Brings Major Victories

Lonnie Spivak

The runoff election for mayor, metro council and a few council districts, turned out to be a low turnout affair. Mayor-elect John Cooper was the big winner with a clear mandate to lead Nashville with his 40 point victory over incumbent David Briley. The defeat was so bad that Briley had his concession speech ready, and conceded the election as soon as the early voting data was available, and all of the council races were decided by 9 pm.

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David Briley and John Cooper Mum on Alleged MS-13 Gang Member in Nashville

Chris Butler

  Outgoing Nashville Mayor David Briley and members of his staff have nothing to say about the illegal immigrant authorities arrested this week for allegedly kidnapping and beating a local high school student. Mayor-Elect John Cooper has nothing to say either, at least not now. The Tennessee Star contacted representatives for both men Wednesday. That illegal immigrant, Franklin Jefferson Pineda-Caceres, 18, is allegedly an MS-13 gang member. We asked Briley’s spokesman Thomas Mulgrew a variety of questions including whether, in hindsight, Briley’s recent executive order mandating city officials not cooperate with ICE jeopardizes public safety. Mulgrew’s emailed response: “No comment.” Meanwhile, a woman at John Cooper’s office, who only identified herself as Katie, also declined comment. “We are really aiming to allow John to focus on the transition right now as much as possible to ensure everything runs smoothly,” Katie said. “Once he has been sworn in, we will definitely be happy to answer these types of questions on behalf of the mayor’s office.” Nashville Police spokesman Don Aaron declined to answer our questions and sent a copy of Pineda-Caceres’ arrest warrant. As The Star reported, Pineda-Caceres continuously tried to recruit a Glencliff High School student into the infamous gang…

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Leahy Talks to Crom Carmichael About Desperate David Briley’s Recent Pro-Squad Tweet on the 18th Anniversary of 9-11

Julie Carr

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 welcomed in studio guest Crom Carmichael back to the Nashville airwaves to talk about David Briley’s recent executive order and why Briley chose to Tweet in support of the ‘Squad’ on 9-11’s 18th year anniversary.

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UPDATE: Metro Council At-Large Candidate, Steve Glover Describes Details on His Civlian Lawsuit in Response to David Briley’s Executive Order

Julie Carr

On Wednesday’s 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 – Michael Patrick Leahy spoke with metro council at-large candidate, Steve Glover where he described his recent lawsuit filed against the ‘illegal’ executive order by Mayor David Briley.

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Lonnie Spivak Analyzes Early Voting Trends in Nashville Mayoral Runoff Election

Julie Carr

In a specific discussion Monday 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 welcomed on the VIP line and former Vice Chairman of the Davidson County Republican party, Lonnie Spivak to the show. The men discussed some of the early voting trends in the Nashville Mayoral race along with some information in the district level. Spivak specifically requested that Republicans need to turn out in districts 16, 23, and 26. Towards the end of the segment, Leahy questioned whether or not there was really such a thing as a moderate Democrat anymore. Leahy: We’re joined by the Tennessee Star Report all-star panelist Lonnie Spivak. Former Vice-Chairman of the Davidson County Republican Party. A long-time conservative activist and election voting analyst extraordinaire. Lonnie, welcome to the Tennessee Star Report. Spivak: Good morning Michael. Thanks for having me on.  I’m glad to be part of the panel. Leahy: Yes. And by the way, it’s going to be a lot of fun when we do this special live broadcast on 98.3 and 1510 WLAC this Thursday night. 7 pm to 10 pm. And we’ll be…

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Dear Tennessee: Nashville is Not a ‘Sovereign State Within a Sovereign State’

Julie Carr

  On Tuesday’s 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 – host Leahy welcomed in-studio guest and Nashville Metro Council at-large candidate, Steve Glover to the show to discuss David Briley’s recent desperate decision to enforce an executive order against ICE and it’s federal orders to detain illegal immigrants in Tennessee. Nearing the end of the show, the men discussed how and if a Mayor had the power to enforce an executive order and clarified the legalities stating that “Nashville is not a sovereign state within a state.” Leahy: So we are joined in studio by Steve Glover who is a current council member of the Metro Council. Which district do you currently represent? Glover: Well, I was the current council member until September first at midnight. Leahy: Oh. Glover: It’s all changed now. Leahy: Oh, that’s right. So you are not now a council member? Glover: Correct. Leahy: OK. Which district did you formerly represent? Glover: District 12. Hermitage. Leahy: Hermitage. Great. It literally is Andrew Jackson’s? Glover: No, it’s Larry Hagar’s district. I’m on the other side and I go to the water of…

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David Briley Issues Executive Order Preventing Nashville from Helping ICE

Chris Butler

  NASHVILLE — Nashville Mayor David Briley announced at a press conference Tuesday that the city will not assist the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers, as long as it can legally help it. At the press conference, Briley also took issue with HB 2315, a state law that prohibits state and local governmental entities and officials from adopting sanctuary city policies. “Frankly, HB2315 is un-American. It’s reminiscent of the general warrants that resulted in the American Revolution. HB2315 delegates the power to arrest to unnamed bureaucrats in Washington, D.C., and it is a law that should be rescinded, repealed, and challenged in our state,” Briley said. “Additionally, today I am also calling on the Metro Legal Director to explore any and all legal challenges to HB2315 that would result in it being declared unconstitutional.” Briley said that once the law is overturned “we will take immediate action.” Among those actions: • Unless they are issued with a valid and properly issued warrant, no Metro agency or Metro employee or agent will give ICE or CBP access to a person being detained by or in the custody of that agent or agency. No Metro…

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Briley One-Ups Cooper in Attacks on ICE as Nashville Mayoral Run Off Election Approaches

Jason M. Reynolds

  The choice in the Nashville mayoral race is between incumbent Mayor David Briley, who is soft on immigration — and Metro Councilman John Cooper, who is soft on immigration. Michael Patrick Leahy on Tuesday’s Tennessee Star Report weighed in on the mayoral debate: “So, the very, very, very, bad Mayor – David Briley – debated with the very, very bad Metro Council at large candidate for Mayor, John Cooper. And purportedly they were discussing issues. Except they really weren’t. They talked platitudes.” The report is broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am. Briley tweeted, “This week, @WSMV reported on Metro probation officers sharing Nashville residents’ personal information with ICE agents. Today, I’m ordering the Metro Auditor to conduct a full investigation of the department involved and these deeply troubling reports.” This week, @WSMV reported on Metro probation officers sharing Nashville residents’ personal information with ICE agents. Today, I'm ordering the Metro Auditor to conduct a full investigation of the department involved and these deeply troubling reports. pic.twitter.com/JKqGWCcCR6 — Judge David Briley (@DavidBriley) August 29, 2019 One comment summed up the Nashville mayor’s responsibility — to protect the public: “If they are on…

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Moderator of the Nashville Mayoral Debate Asks the Wrong Question About How to Improve Public Schools

Julie Carr

On Tuesday’s 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 talked about the recent mayoral debate in Nashville and how moderator Rhori Johnson asked a completely irrelevant question to both candidates who responded with non-answers and dodged the real issues facing public education in Davidson County schools.

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Carol Swain Urges Support for Steve Glover, ‘Only Experienced Conservative’ Running for Council

Jason M. Reynolds

  Former Metro Nashville mayoral candidate Dr. Carol W. Swain is calling on her supporters to turn out to the polls once again — to support at-large Metro Council candidate Steve Glover. Early voting runs to September 6. Election Day is September 12. In an email newsletter to her supporters, Swain says that Glover is the “only experienced conservative running for a seat on city council” and that he needs votes — and she asks people to vote for only one at-large candidate to give Glover his best chance. Swain also asks her supporters to vote for District 26 council candidate Courtney Johnston, who is engaged in a run-off against Jeremy Elrod. Current Metro Council district member and at-large candidate Steve Glover has been a critic of incumbent Mayor David Briley, including lately, the mayor’s budget, The Tennessee Star reported. Glover believes that the budget submitted by Mayor David Briley and recently passed by the Metro Council violates state law and Metro rules requiring a balanced budget. Glover asked State Senator Farrell Haile (R-Gallatin) to request an opinion from Tennessee State Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery concerning the legality of that budget. During her concession speech in the Aug. 2…

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Nashville Mayor Briley Roasted for Thanking Fox News for Negative Coverage

Jason M. Reynolds

  Metro Nashville Mayor David Briley tried to judo-flip the bad coverage of his Spanish-language video on how to avoid ICE by tweeting a “thank you” to Fox News, but a lot of people on Twitter and Facebook weren’t buying it and roasted him. The mayor tweeted, “If you have an encounter with ICE, it’s crucial to know your rights and have a plan. Thank you, @FoxNews viewers, for the hundreds of messages you’ve sent in today about our immigration and refugee rights work in Nashville. We’re planning to keep it up.” If you have an encounter with ICE, it's crucial to know your rights and have a plan. Thank you, @FoxNews viewers, for the hundreds of messages you've sent in today about our immigration and refugee rights work in Nashville. We're planning to keep it up. https://t.co/bg2anUBKoY — Judge David Briley (@DavidBriley) August 8, 2019 Fox News based its story on The Tennessee Star’s coverage of Briley’s Spanish-language tweet telling illegal aliens how to avoid being detained by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. The Star’s story is here. Tennessee Star Political Editor Steve Gill saw concern with what Briley did. “It’s crazy that you have a mayor…

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Nashville Elite Reportedly Working Hard to Get Nashville Mayor David Briley Re-Elected

Chris Butler

  Certain members of Nashville’s elite, who have a lot at stake in the upcoming mayoral race, reportedly are working hard to prop up Nashville incumbent Mayor David Briley as he seeks another term in office. This, according to the Nashville-based NewsChannel 5 of Nashville. “Some of Nashville’s most influential business leaders gathered at the offices of billionaire John Ingram hoping to reset the mayor’s campaign as it heads to a runoff election. We watched Friday morning as Briley and his security detail arrived outside Ingram’s Belle Meade office for a meeting of Briley’s strategic finance committee. Ingram, who hosted the meeting, is also co-owner of Nashville’s new soccer team, which is the beneficiary of a $250 million development deal with the city for a new soccer stadium,” the station reported. “Briley supported that controversial stadium deal, and his administration helped push it through the Metro Council. Reports say it was those contentious negotiations that led Ingram and others to start a new political action committee called ‘A Better Nashville’ to support business friendly candidates.” As reported in June, the PAC formed to influence this year’s Metro election. Briley’s opponent in the general election, John Cooper, has questioned economic incentives, and…

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All Four Nashville Mayoral Candidates Issue Statements on ICE Attempt to Arrest Illegal Alien in Hermitage

Jason M. Reynolds

  A group of Hermitage neighbors interfered with an attempt by ICE on Monday morning to apprehend an undocumented immigrant man and a 12-year-old boy following a traffic stop, Fox 17 reported. Neighbors locked arms around a van the immigrants hid in while ICE agents tried to serve a civil warrant (detainer). Agents left after a standoff that lasted more than two hours when the immigrants went into a house, with their access secured by the neighbors. Metro Nashville Police Department officers were on scene but did not participate with ICE, the station said. On his official Twitter account, incumbent Mayor David Briley tweeted, “Every Nashville resident and family deserves to feel safe, regardless of immigration status. My statement on yesterday’s events.” His tweet was accompanied with the following statement: It is my job as Mayor to keep all Nashvillians safe. On Monday, ICE agents attempted to detain a Nashville resident. However, the agents did not end up detaining the resident, and no arrests were made. Our police officers do not actively participate in immigration enforcement efforts and only serve as peacekeepers. The officers were at the incident to keep neighbors safe and secure a perimeter. I am keenly aware…

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Business PAC Endorses David Briley for Nashville Mayor

Chris Butler

  The Nashville Business Alliance Political Action Committee has reportedly endorsed several candidates in advance of the Aug. 1 election. This, according to The Nashville Business Journal, which reported the PAC has endorsed incumbent Mayor David Briley. “It’s not surprising to see the group endorse Briley. Since taking over the office last year, the mayor has courted the support of the city’s business community, with several leading business voices among his largest campaign contributors,” The Nashville Business Journal reported. “Briley also shepherded legislation earlier this year that overhauled Metro’s procurement process to make doing business with the city easier for minority- and women-owned businesses — a key issue for the political action committee.” The website also reported that Tennessee State Rep. John Ray Clemmons, D-Nashville, At-Large Councilman John Cooper, and former Vanderbilt University professor Carol Swain are “credible opponents” to Briley. The PAC reportedly advocates for women-and-minority-owned businesses. The PAC also reportedly made other endorsements for the following seats: • Incumbent Jim Shulman for vice mayor. • Berkley Allen, Fabian Bedne, Sharon Hurt, Bob Mendes, and Zulfat Suara for Metro Council At-Large. • Johnathan Hall for Council District 1 • Kyonzte Toombs for Council District 2 • Elise Hudson for Council District 3…

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Nashville Mayoral Candidates Want More Accountability for Schools

Chris Butler

  The top four candidates running for mayor of Nashville said Tuesday that, if elected, they will play a greater role holding the Metro School Board accountable. Some even said they want a greater role selecting the next school superintendent. Candidates debated at Belmont University. Former Vanderbilt professor Carol Swain said she plans to hold school board members accountable for how they spend taxpayer money. “The school board already gets $1 billion a year and every election we hear more money for teachers’ pay but somehow that money doesn’t quite reach the teachers, the bus drivers, the cafeteria workers,” Swain said. “I believe we have to make sure there is accountability and transparency and, yes, teachers deserve better pay, and we have to make sure there is no waste and that the money we give to the school board is being spent as it should.” John Ray Clemons, meanwhile, said he will sit down with teachers and ask them what they need to do their jobs. When asked how much involvement the next mayor should have selecting the next superintendent, Cooper said the mayor “should be deeply involved.” “It’s half of our money that goes to schools and the school…

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The Tennessee Star Report: Gill and Leahy Ponder, Why Is the Nashville Mayoral Race So Quiet?

Julie Carr

  On Wednesday’s Tennessee Star Report with Steve Gill and Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – Gill and Leahy pondered why the Mayoral race in Nashville was so quiet and questioned why Swain and Cooper weren’t utilizing an attack while Briley was throwing them softballs. Towards the end of the segment, the men discussed how Davidson County is a deep blue county and will unfortunately always be that way. Gill: A lot of folks are taking this whole week off. Leahy: Yeah. Gill: We’re going to take off Thursday and Friday. (Gill laughs) Leahy: You know who’s really taking the week off, is all the challengers to David Briley. He’s throwing them softballs and they’re not hitting back. Gill: Yeah, he’s giving a pay raise to teachers with money that’s not in the till and not giving pay raises to police officers, first responders, and firefighters because he doesn’t think he’ll get their votes anyway. And he figures he can buy the teachers votes. And Briley, giving away pay raises with money we don’t have. Leahy: And the fraternal order of police, of course, endorsed…

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Phil Bredesen Endorses David Briley for Nashville Mayor

Chris Butler

  Former Tennessee Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen came forward this week to endorse incumbent Nashville Mayor David Briley for reelection. Briley announced the endorsement on his Twitter page Thursday. “It was my honor to have former Mayor and former Governor @PhilBredesen come out and support my campaign last night. Thank you Gov. Bredesen. You laid the foundation for the great city that Nashville is today, and I want to continue that work! #TeamBriley,” Briley wrote. According to Briley’s social media posts, Criminal Court Clerk Howard Gentry, LGBTQ Activist Eric A. Patton, businessman Charles Robert Bone, and former YWCA President Pat Shea have already endorsed his reelection. Bredesen was the Democratic Party candidate to replace former Republican U.S. Sen. Bob Corker last year. Bredesen lost to Republican Marsha Blackburn, by a margin of almost 55 percent to 44 percent. As The Tennessee Star reported last year, Bredesen went all-in with the President Trump-hating far left socialist wing of the Democrat Party during his run for the U.S. Senate. Bredesen, for instance, announced entertainers Jason Isbell and Ben Folds — who supported Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign — would host a fundraiser for him in Nashville. Bredesen also refused to disavow the comments of…

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Tennessee Star Report on New Poll: Briley Crushes Swain in Potential Nashville Mayoral Runoff, But is Easily Defeated by Cooper

Julie Carr

  During a discussion Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Steve Gill and Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – Gill and Leahy explained the recent Tennessee Star/ Triton poll of the upcoming August 1 Mayoral election in Nashville, Tennessee. Here are the raw numbers from the poll: David Briley 27.8 percent Carol Swain 22 percent John Cooper 19.8 percent John Ray Clemmons  10.8 percent Undecided 19.5 percent If no candidate receives above 50 percent of the vote on August 1, a runoff of the top two vote getters will be held. In a potential runoff between Briley and Swain, Briley wins easily, 50 percent to 31 percent. In a potential runoff between Briley and Cooper, Cooper wins 42 percent to 31 percent. Here’s the transcript of the discussion.   Gill: And as Michael’s been mentioning we have a new Tennessee Star Triton poll of likely Davidson county voters. Five hundred and forty-five likely Davidson county voters surveyed in the poll. And the poll shows continued reelection problems for Mayor David Briley. We did a poll a couple of months ago that showed David Briley was under water when it…

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New Tennessee Star/Triton Poll Continues To Show Re-Election Problems for Mayor David Briley

Admin

  In April, a Tennessee Star/Triton poll of likely Davidson County voters indicated that Mayor David Briley was facing headwinds in his bid for reelection.  The weather hasn’t improved for Briley as Election Day looms just over a month away. If the August 1 election was held today Briley would lead the pack going into a runoff, pulling support from 27.8% of likely voters compared to 22.0% for Carol Swain, 19.8% for John Cooper, 10.9% for John Ray Clemmons and 19.5% of voters undecided or not sure. The Triton poll was conducted over two days (June 24-25) and surveyed 545 likely voters in Davidson County. The poll has a margin of error of 4.2%. Briley’s poll numbers are down slightly from the April poll data. In that poll of likely Davidson County voters, shortly after Cooper entered the race, Briley had support from 30.6% of the voters. Swain’s numbers remain static, with 22% support now compared to 21.1% support in May. Cooper has nearly doubled his support from 11% to 19.8% over the past two months. Clemmons has also seen his results continue to be flat, with 10.5% in April and 10.9% now. Briley remains plagued by favorability/unfavorability responses that…

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Bob Mendes Warns Nashville Will Eventually Pay Higher Taxes

Chris Butler

  Metro Nashville Council Member Bob Mendes implied on his website Saturday that Nashvillians will eventually have to pay higher property taxes. In a 730 word post, Mendes told constituents about Mayor David Briley and the events leading up to this year’s final Metro budget. “Multiple district council members told me that in the days and hours before the vote the Mayor and his office told them that he would raise the tax rate next year,” Mendes wrote. “He’s denied that to the press. I guess you all can draw your own conclusions about what to make of that.” Mendes said this year’s budget disappointed him and that “there now is a broad consensus that we will be right back in this same situation a year from now.” He also said Metro officials are choosing not to fix known budget problems at the expense of making things difficult on Metro employees and on Metro services. “If you follow my posts, you know that I predicted the size of this year’s budget to within a few million dollars. I predicted $2.335 billion, and it came in at $2.332 billion. That wasn’t luck. The size of a budget is pretty predictable when…

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Nashville Mayor David Briley Curbs Proposed Parking Plan

Chris Butler

  Nashville Democratic Mayor David Briley has shelved a plan to privatize parking because he realized city residents have little love for it. Briley announced this on his Facebook page late last week. “It is clear to me that residents still have questions about the merits of this proposal. Residents need more time – and it is unfair to the public and to Council to rush this process,” Briley wrote. “Worse yet, others are using misinformation to further confuse and scare people. It’s politics at its worst. For these reasons, I am hitting the pause button on this proposal.” As The Tennessee Star reported, Briley’s plan to privatize on-street parking meters, which would include higher fines for parking violations, elimination of most free parking times, and expand meters into additional neighborhoods, is extremely unpopular. Also, as reported, certain Nashville residents said city officials were rushing through the plan so they could get more money out of people’s wallets and help cover their past mistakes. Nashville resident David F. Roberts, for instance, sent out a letter to thousands of his neighbors that bluntly said the plan will “screw us over” and “make our lives a lot more complicated and MORE EXPENSIVE!” Roberts…

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New YouTube Video Warns Against ‘Bad Parking Meter Scheme’ in Nashville

Chris Butler

  Nashville residents who oppose a proposed plan to privatize parking have upped their game and have released a new YouTube video to encourage people to protest. Nashville resident David F. Roberts said in an emailed statement that the video is part of a digital ad campaign to get his neighbors active on this issue. In the video, Nashville resident Mike Johnson warns that everyone needs to learn about what Democratic Mayor David Briley and members of the Nashville Metro Council “are trying to rush forward that will cost us a lot of money.”   “In their latest crazy scheme, they want to take away free parking. They want to raise the price to park citywide by 20 percent. They want to double the cost of parking fines, and they want to add up to 5,000 new parking meters to charge more people more money for parking in our own neighborhoods. We were having dinner the other night with some friends, and I saw this parking meter scam come up on the news. When the reporter explained that the city is about to sell a 30-year contract selling our parking assets to an out-of-state company it just got me fuming, and…

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Nashville Resident Warns Neighbors About Plan to Privatize Parking

Chris Butler

  Certain Nashville residents say city officials are rushing through a plan to privatize parking so they can get more money out of people’s wallets and help cover their past mistakes. Nashville resident David F. Roberts sent out a letter to thousands of his neighbors that bluntly said the plan will “screw us over” and “make our lives a lot more complicated and MORE EXPENSIVE!” Roberts live in Nashville Metro Council member Freddie O’Connell’s district. “Without taking feedback from residents, they’re getting ready to sign a 30-year contract privatizing parking meters and parking enforcement in our neighborhood,” Roberts wrote. “According to Channel 5 News, the plan will take away free parking, raise prices, and give an unaccountable, for-profit company police-like powers to issue tickets and fines against Nashvillians. What do we get in return? A 20 percent increase in the price to park. A 100 percent increase in the cost of fines. Up to 5,000 spaces that will now charge for parking. And that’s just in the early years. With a 30-year contract, there’s no limit to how much this out-of-state company can squeeze out of us in higher costs.” This plan to charge people to park in their own…

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Tennessee Star/Triton Poll Shows Re-Elect Troubles for Mayor David Briley

Admin

  A new Tennessee Star/Triton poll of 550 likely voters in Davidson County indicates that he will face some stiff headwinds in his bid for reelection in August. His first challenge will be addressing a favorability/unfavorability deficit of 35.5 favorable, 44.6 unfavorable and 20.1 undecided. More specifically, if the August Mayoral race was held today, Briley would lead the way into a runoff with less than a third of the vote, 30.6%, followed by conservative former Vanderbilt Professor Carol Swain at 21.1%, Metro Councilman John Cooper at 11% and State Representative John Ray Clemmons with 10.5%. 26.9% of those surveyed were undecided at this point. Briley won the last Mayoral race a year ago without a runoff when he carried 54.4% of the votes. Swain finished a distant second with 22.9%, slightly more than she recorded in the new Tennessee Star/Triton poll. Four other candidates in that race received about 5% of the vote each. The most recent fundraising reports from the candidates last month showed Briley with a huge 4-1 advantage over both Swain and Clemmons. Cooper had initially passed on a race for Mayor and only announced his plans after the last fundraising reporting deadline. However, he can…

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Nashville May Reportedly Use Taxpayer Money on NASCAR

Chris Butler

There is talk of using taxpayer money to bring NASCAR to Nashville, according to NobleNashville.com. The website reported this week that Speedway Motors has met with Nashville Mayor David Briley since February of this year to discuss options. “Over the past few months, outrageous proposals have been made such as using $54 million in public taxpayers’ money, and $2 million in cash from the city. Of course, Mayor Briley continues to deny proposals that involve using taxpayers’ money,” NobleNashville.com reported. “This is where we have to ask, is it really worth it? The public and the fair board have no knowledge of the talks between Briley and Speedway Motors. What is known is that the Mayor continues to deny each proposal given to him.” The website went on to say the idea is “horribly expensive and it would be a nuisance to all those living in the area. In the end, it may be best to leave things as they are.” As reported in January, Nashville’s debt continues to climb, so much so it’s at its highest point in 10 years and city officials spent one out of every $10 of taxpayer money to pay off debt the last fiscal…

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Carol Swain Announces She Is Running for Mayor of Nashville Again

Tennessee Star Staff

Former Vanderbilt professor Carol Swain announced on Sunday that she is running for mayor of Nashville again in the municipal election to be held this August. Swain finished in second place to Mayor David Briley in last May’s special election for mayor. Briley easily surpassed the 50 percent runoff cutoff, while Swain received 23 percent of the vote. “Swain made the announcement Sunday during her keynote address at a faculty breakfast club event hosted at Tennessee State University, in Nashville,” according to a statement released by her campaign. “The city of Nashville deserves a mayor that is committed to making commonsense improvements that will enrich our community,” Swain said in the statement. “It is a disgrace that under the leadership of our current mayor, Nashville has the highest debt per citizen of any city in the nation, teachers remain under paid, we lack affordable housing, all while traffic and infrastructure problems clog our streets,” she added. The statement continued: Swain has pledged to work closely with the police, firefighters, first responders and emergency personnel to address ongoing concerns regarding funding, working conditions and competitive pay. She insists that Nashville can be a model for what can be done with sensible,…

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Bill Freeman Passes on Making Another Run for Mayor of Nashville

Admin

After much anticipation and weeks of speculation Nashville real estate mogul and top Democratic Party fundraiser Bill Freeman has decided to opt out of another campaign for Mayor of Nashville. Freeman made the announcement in a release to two of his media properties, the Nashville Scene and Nashville Post, Monday afternoon. Freeman’s 2015 mayoral bid fell just short of him making the runoff setting up a race between David Fox and eventual winner Megan Barry. Freeman spent over $5 million in his unsuccessful campaign, with nearly $4 million from his personal funds. Barry subsequently resigned in scandal, setting up Vice Mayor David Briley to succeed her, first automatically and then by handily winning a special election. One of the candidates that Briley defeated in the special election, conservative former Vanderbilt professor Carol Swain, is again considering a race for Mayor.  Nashville Democrat State Representative John Ray Clemmons has announced in January that he is running for the position. Bob Freeman is a newly-elected Democrat State Representative in Nashville, and is widely viewed as the political heir to his father’s political operations. He is settling into his new position representing the legislative district previously represented by Republican House Speaker Beth Harwell…

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Potential Nashville Mayoral Candidate Carol Swain Suggests Ways to Boost Police Morale

Chris Butler

If Carol Swain decides to run a second time for Nashville mayor then she said she may have a way to boost morale among the city’s police officers. Swain said low morale exists, and, for this, she blames low pay and current Police Chief Steve Anderson. “When it comes to the police problems, one of the things is that police don’t get a say in the selection of the police chief,” Swain told The Tennessee Star this week. “I think it is important that when the next police chief is selected that some representatives of the police department sit on that committee (to choose the chief) and the police officers themselves get an opportunity to decide who will sit on that committee. (They decide) who their representatives will be.” Swain also said she has ideas on how to lower the city’s crime rate. “The people (here) are concerned about rising crime, the fact that first responders are so underfunded and there is corruption as well as the lack of any real creative ideas to address affordable housing and the traffic situation,” Swain said. “What I would like to do is apply old fashioned common sense solutions to some of these…

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