Former U.S. Democratic vice president and environmental activist Al Gore has praised Nashville Democratic Mayor John Cooper for a new initiative patterned after the Paris Climate Accord.
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Nashville Mayor John Cooper unveiled the city’s several step plan for Metro police officers to start using body-worn cameras (BWCs) Tuesday.
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Nashville officials have not signed any of the agreements they’ve made for an expensive Major League Soccer stadium, according to an attorney who says he’s studied the matter.
Attorney Jim Roberts told The Tennessee Star Saturday that he and other people fighting the stadium recently discovered this information in the past 30 days.
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The administration of former Nashville Mayor David Briley reportedly failed to disclose to the public how dire metro’s water system financial crisis was.
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Nashville officials are demanding scooter companies turn over GPS and route information that would allow the government to track people who ride scooters in real-time.
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Belmont University announced Friday it will host the third and final presidential debate of 2020.
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Outgoing Nashville Mayor David Briley’s scheme to privatize parking is dead, following a court ruling.
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Metro Council Member At-Large Steve Glover said on Facebook Monday that new Nashville Mayor John Cooper neglected to thank one key demographic for helping him get elected — conservative voters.
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John Cooper took the oath of office as Nashville’s new mayor Saturday at Stratford High School, where he said Nashville is about to transform into a different type of city.
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U.S. Rep. Dr. Mark Green (R-TN-07) led a debate on the House floor Wednesday night against sanctuary cities, introducing a motion to ensure that the stories of victims and their families are told.
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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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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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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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John Cooper will replace Nashville incumbent Mayor David Briley, after Cooper defeated him in a runaway victory Thursday, by a margin of 69 percent to 30 percent, according to the Nashville Election Commission’s website.
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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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A review of public filings on Davidson County’s website shows Nashville mayoral candidate John Cooper took in a substantially greater number of contributions versus his competitor in the runoff election, incumbent Mayor David Briley.
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On Friday’s Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy and special guest Ben Cunnigham – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – Leahy and Cunningham talked about Cunningham’s recent Tweets stating that he would hold John Cooper accountable to his implied commitments to the reallocation of Davidson County funds and not raising property taxes.
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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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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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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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In her concession speech at about 8:40 p.m., conservative candidate for Mayor of Nashville told her supporters, “The results of this election is not a rejection of the values we believe and the values we brought forth, so I will remain active as your voice.”
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NASHVILLE — Metro Nashville At-Large Council member John Cooper told a crowd of several hundred people Thursday that if he’s elected mayor then teachers, police, and firefighters will get better pay.
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UPDATES – Nashville Mayoral election results as they become available…
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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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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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WSMV polled the four major Nashville mayoral candidates on whether the Metro Nashville Public Schools superintendent should report to the mayor instead of the school board, and only one said “Yes.” That candidate was Dr. Carol Swain. WSMV’s story is here. The Metro Nashville mayoral candidates who were polled were Swain, incumbent Mayor David Briley, State Rep. John Ray Clemmons (D-TN-55) and at-large Metro Council member John Cooper. Swain told WSMV, “I believe the director of schools should report to the mayor because there has to be some accountability. We’ve had problems in the past. The school board has a budget of almost a billion dollars and we know that we have some of the worst performing schools in the state.” Briley, Clemmons and Cooper said “No.” One education expert told The Tennessee Star that requiring a superintendent to report to an authority other than a school board would be unprecedented. JC Bowman, executive director of the Professional Educators of Tennessee, said, “That structure does not exist in Tennessee. Mayors in urban areas around the nation have closely aligned economic development with K-12 education. However, we have elected school boards to exercise oversight in the state of Tennessee of public schools.”…
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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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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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The Nashville Fraternal Order of Police has endorsed mayoral candidate John Cooper. Cooper currently serves as an at-large Metro Council member. Nashville Fraternal Order of Police President James Smallwood told The Tennessee Star Thursday that FOP members voted to endorse Cooper. Smallwood would not say how many people voted because FOP does not release that information. “The reality is the members of the FOP are sent a ballot, and this is the result that we got,” Smallwood said. “Cooper got that (vote), and we do what our membership tells us to do.” The Star asked Smallwood about Nashville’s Community Oversight Board, a concept the FOP opposes. “When he was in Council Cooper voted against it,” Smallwood said. “When it came up for referendum I think he was supportive of it because he believes in accountability in all forms of government.” According to this week’s Nashville Post, Cooper “voted last week against a property tax increase that would have boosted police pay, but the police union picked him over Mayor David Briley, state Rep. John Ray Clemmons and former professor Carol Swain, who secured a significant chunk of police union support in the 2018 special election.” Cooper acknowledged the FOP…
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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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Nashville mayoral candidate Carol Swain made a stark contrast between herself and the other more liberal candidates who want the job at a forum at Belmont University Tuesday night. Moderators, for instance, asked if she, as mayor, would pass a property tax next year to fund public schools and give Metro workers a raise. Swain said she would not — that’s because revenues are up 23 percent between 2015 and 2019. “The revenues were an estimated $440 million. We need to find out where the money is going. Where the waste is and so, no, I don’t believe we need to raise property taxes. We need to cut spending,” Swain said. “We don’t have a revenue problem in this city. We have a spending problem because we have leaders who can’t say no. They make irresponsible decisions. They spend like drunken sailors.” At-large Council member John Cooper, when asked the same question, said there are other sources of revenue for the city other than property taxes. State Rep. John Ray Clemmons, D-Nashville, also criticized the notion of any proposed tax increase. “It’s unfortunate we found ourselves in a position where the most fiscally responsible option was a property tax…
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Metro Councilman John Cooper on Sunday held his kick-off event for his campaign to try to serve as Nashville’s next mayor. Cooper kicked off his campaign at Gabby’s Burgers & Fries on Humphreys Street. Saying his event was well-attended, he posted on his campaign’s Facebook page: Cooper announced in April that he would run for mayor of Nashville after saying as early as February he would not, The Tennessee Star reported. Cooper is the brother of U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN-05) and the son of former Gov. Prentice Cooper His campaign website is here. The mayoral election will be held Aug. 1, according to Ballotpedia. – – – Jason M. Reynolds has more than 20 years’ experience as a journalist at outlets of all sizes. Photo “John Cooper Mayoral Campaign Kickoff” by John Cooper.
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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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Metro Councilman John Cooper announced Monday that he will indeed run for mayor of Nashville, multiple media outlets report. Cooper will run against incumbent Mayor David Briley, retired Vanderbilt University professor Dr. Carol Swain and State Rep. John Ray Clemmons, NewsChannel 5 said. In February, Cooper said he would not run for mayor and may not run again for the Metro Nashville Council, The Tennessee Star reported. He said it is good to have a rotation of leaders in government. Cooper was denying his interest in running for mayor just last week, according to a story by the Nashville Scene, which has checked on his interest level since the qualifying deadline is May 16. While on the council, Cooper played a foil to former Mayor Megan Barry and to Briley, the Scene said. He questioned economic incentives and voted against the major league soccer stadium deal. Although Briley has been fundraising since last year, Cooper could provide his campaign some of his own money, as he did in 2015, the Scene said. Swain said she raised $118,000 in less than a month, The Star reported Saturday. The Swain campaign spent less than 7 percent of the money raised compared to incumbent…
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Metro At-Large Councilman John Cooper will not run against Nashville Mayor David Briley in August and may not seek re-election to the council, he said Thursday. According to the Nashville Scene, Cooper said it is good to have a rotation of leaders in government. State Rep. John Ray Clemmons (D-TN-55) is the only candidate running against Briley. According to the Scene: “Rotation of personnel in citizen government is a good thing,” Cooper told the Post. “Having a bench of personnel who have gone through this learning experience is also super for a community.” To that point, two new names have recently appointed treasurers to run for one of five at-large seats on the Metro Council: former state Rep. Gary Moore and Zulfat Suara, a controller at Meharry Medical College and chair of the American Muslin Advisory Council. Constitutional lawyer and civil libertarian Daniel A. Horwitz tweeted, “I’m very sad about this news. However, it makes going all in for @JRClemmons easy as can be. Everyone should be grateful for @JCooper4Council’s service on the Council and his contribution to an otherwise insane and clueless body.” https://twitter.com/Scot_Blog/status/1093611519202545664 Cooper is the brother of U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN-05) and the son of former…
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Nashville residents soon will have a voice in Metro Council’s spending habits. Metro Council voted 34-4 to create a “Blue Ribbon Commission” like a popular one in Atlanta in which private citizens may critique the budget, Nashville Public Radio WPLN reports. The commission will form by October. Councilman Fabian Bedne said he doesn’t want to see the effort turn partisan as people do not always agree on spending. Councilman John Cooper suggested the commission. The commission’s recommendations will be just that — recommendations. “This is a statement from us as a council that we recognize … our budget process is somewhat broken. That we do need fresh eyes,” said Councilwoman Angie Henderson. WPLN also reports that Metro Council members, who were dissatisfied with the surprise budget shortfall, also voted to cut funding by $103,000 for the city’s Finance Department. Those funds will provide a finance expert to work directly for the council to help them handle the budget. Betsy Phillips of The Nashville Scene reports that move will help the council hold the Finance Department accountable — since the department answers to the mayor. Phillips compares the mayor’s office’s control of the complicated budget to The Labyrinth of Greek myth:…
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Surprise! Nashville is growing skyscrapers and other developments at an ever-increasing rate yet faces a $34 million revenue shortfall. Councilman-at-large John Cooper, who is on Metro’s Budget and Finance Committee says Nashville’s revenue continues to grow faster than most cities, to the tune of a couple billion dollars, NewsChannel 5 reports. At the same time, Metro can’t fully fund schools or provide promised pay raises to employees, and some are calling for a property tax hike. Nashville has been glutted with massive capital projects despite some narrow misses. Most of the new money has gone to debt service to pay for pretty and shiny projects like the Sounds baseball stadium and the convention center, plus more conventional needs like school improvements. Borrowing costs have increased about $100 million in the last five years. Former Mayor Megan Barry’s resignation earlier this year following a sex and ethics scandal was followed by the failure of the $9 billion transit plan, the Nashville Scene reports. Then there was Barry’s quickly abandoned plan to end inpatient care at Metro General Hospital, the same week that the Metro Council approved a $275 million soccer stadium plan; the proposed Cloud Hill development, a sweetheart deal for…
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Mayoral candidate Carol Swain came out swinging on Tuesday against Acting Mayor David Briley’s last minute proposal to come up with an extra $38 million shortfall in his proposed 2019 Metro Nashville budget by selling three existing properties currently owned by the Metro Nashville Davidson County Government. Swain’s campaign issued its pointed response in a tweet on Tuesday morning: The Dean, Barry and now Briley administrations have mismanaged the city’s funds in times of plenty. Our reserve fund is almost empty, we have a ballooning balance sheet, & next year’s budget is dependent on property sales that don’t have council approval. #budgetonaprayer 🙏🏻 https://t.co/v8WokfOaB1 — Carol M Swain For Nashville Mayor (@CarolSwain4Nash) May 8, 2018 In an article titled “Mayor Briley is banking on land sales, parking overhaul to make up $38M in budget,” The Tennessean on Tuesday reported on Briley’s proposal, the details of which were apparently finalized over the weekend between his State of the Metro speech on Friday and the communication of the plan to the Metro Council on Monday: Briley last week proposed a “status quo” $2.23 billion operating budget for the 2018-19 fiscal year that would be just a $22 million increase over the current year, meaning…
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A PAC opposed to a $9 billion transit plan calls Nashville Metro Council’s vote Tuesday a “shameful” effort to pull the wool over the voter’s (sic) eyes.” NoTax4Tracks made the statement in a press release in response to Metro Council voting 21-14 not to accept an amendment to the light rail transit plan that would have shown the $9 billion cost on the May 1 ballot. The Tennessee Star broke the latest story on Mayor Megan Barry’s plan Wednesday morning. Once the amendment failed, the council voted on the Barry administration’s favored language for the referendum, citing a price tag of just over $5.3 billion. The council voted 30-6, with three not voting, to create the ballot language. The third and final reading will be Feb. 6. NoTax4Tracks said, “We know the city and the pro-light rail groups leaned hard on council members today. They did so because their own polling and political advisors told them that if Cooper’s amendment passed, their entire plan was in big trouble. So, they laid the wood to the council. It’s clear, they’ll do just about anything to win.” Council member John Cooper proposed the ballot language for the city’s Transit Improvement Plan be open and transparent…
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