Tag: Metro Council

Nashville Metro Council Encourages Recognition of Indigenous Peoples’ Day on Columbus Day

Wendy Wilson

Nashville’s Metro Council on Tuesday passed a resolution urging businesses, organizations and public entities to from now on recognize Indigenous Peoples’ Day on the second Monday of October, most often recognized as Columbus Day. The non-binding resolution passed 26-5. It was sponsored by council members Brett Withers, Fabian Bedne, Nancy VanReece, Colby Sledge, Mina Johnson and Freddie O’Connell. Columbus Day recognizes the landing of Christopher Columbus in the Americas on Oct. 12, 1492, but has been treated with increasing disregard and contempt nationwide by those who want to keep the focus on European mistreatment of Native Americans. Defenders of Columbus Day say critics downplay Columbus’ accomplishments and ignore the cruelty between Native American tribes, falsely painting mistreatment of other groups as a uniquely European trait. The Metro Council resolution says the council “opposes the systematic racism towards Indigenous Peoples of the United States, which perpetuates high rates of poverty and income inequality, exacerbating disproportionate health, education, and social crises.” The resolution notes that Indigenous Peoples’ Day was first proposed in 1977 by a delegation of Native Nations to a United Nations-sponsored conference. It also notes that the U.S. endorsed a U.N. declaration in 2010 recognizing that “indigenous peoples have suffered from…

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Union-Backed Antoinette Lee Wins Nashville Metro Council Runoff Election

Wendy Wilson

Antoinette Lee defeated Tim Herndon in a runoff election Tuesday to fill a vacated seat on Nashville’s Metro Council. Lee won 655 votes (55 percent) to Herndon’s 540 (45 percent), according to unofficial results released by the Election Commission Tuesday evening. The seat is in District 33, which covers part of Antioch. Lee works as a field organizer for the Tennessee Education Association (TEA) teachers union, which backed her campaign. The TEA is the state affiliate of the National Education Association. She also was endorsed by the AFL-CIO’s Central Labor Council of Nashville and Middle Tennessee. In addition, she was helped by several Democratic state lawmakers. Lee and Herndon were forced into a runoff when neither received more than 50 percent of votes cast in the Aug. 15 special election. The nonpartisan race was held to replace former Councilman Sam Coleman, who was sworn in as a Nashville judge to replace former Judge Casey Moreland, who stepped down because of a corruption scandal. Herndon runs a small company with his wife called Financial BluePrint that designs and builds group insurance programs and provides HR services to companies and individuals. He was endorsed by the Davidson County Fraternal Order of Police (FOP).

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Developer Files Ethics Complaint Against Metro Nashville Officials Regarding Fort Negley Development Plans

Wendy Wilson

  A Nashville developer has filed an ethics complaint against Metro officials for allegedly ignoring his request for more information about the process used to choose a developer for Fort Negley Park. In May, Mayor Megan Barry chose the Cloud Hill Partnership as the developer for the historic site, which includes Greer Stadium, although there is still no formal agreement. Bert Mathews, whose real estate firm created the Cloud Hill team, held a fundraiser for Barry when she was running for mayor. Devinder Singh Sandhu, who lost out to Cloud Hill in the bidding process, previously wrote a letter to city procurement officials protesting the process, saying it “was not equitable to all submitters and information required to make a proper presentation was not complete” and that there was a “lack of transparency.” In his ethics complaint Monday, Sandhu noted that he has “requested answers to questions, documents, requests for meetings and clarification.” The Procurement Appeals Board was set to consider Sandhu’s case Wednesday, but he sent the board a letter late Tuesday saying he had decided to dismiss his appeal. “We are forced to take this action because you, the Metro Procurement Office and Metro Finance Department established the August 30, 2017 hearing date…

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Nashville Metro Council Candidates Tim Herndon And Antoinette Lee To Compete In Runoff Election

Wendy Wilson

  Tim Herndon and Antoinette Lee were the top vote-getters in Tuesday’s nonpartisan special election to fill the District 33 Metro Council seat. But since neither received more than 50 percent of votes cast, they will face each other in a runoff election. The runoff will be held Sept. 19, reports AntiochTenn.com. Metro Council is the legislative body of the consolidated city-government of Nashville and Davidson County created in 1963. District 33 covers part of Antioch. The council has 40 members of which 35 are elected by district and five are elected at-large, or county-wide. Members are elected to four-year terms and in 1994 were limited to two terms. There are 11,267 voters in District 33 and there were 1,083 votes cast for the special election. Early voting was held July 26 through Aug. 10. Here are the unofficial results released Tuesday evening by the Davidson County Election Commission: Antoinette Lee                         415 votes                     39.04 percent Tim Herndon                           402 votes                …

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Nashville Metro Council Candidate Antoinette Lee Supported By Tennessee Education Association

Wendy Wilson

  Nashville Metro Council candidate Antoinette Lee publicly thanked the Tennessee Education Association teachers union Sunday for creating a mailer for her campaign. “I want to thank the political arm of TEA (the teachers’ Union) for doing my mailer,” she wrote on her Facebook campaign page. “I think they did a good job. Unions are the backbone that made our county great and supported our workers.” Lee works as a field organizer for the TEA, making it no surprise that she has the union’s strong support. The TEA is the state affiliate of the National Education Association. Lee is one of five candidates in Tuesday’s special election to fill the District 33 seat, left vacant when Councilman Sam Coleman was sworn in as a Nashville judge to replace former Judge Casey Moreland, who resigned amid a corruption scandal. District 33 covers part of Antioch. Early voting was held July 26 through Aug. 10. Lee also has the endorsement of the AFL-CIO’s Central Labor Council of Nashville and Middle Tennessee. The National Education Association teachers union has long been controversial among conservatives because of its advocacy for liberal politics. The union endorsed Hillary Clinton for president in the last election cycle as the primary season got under way…

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Nashville Metro Council Candidate Jack Byrd To Stand Trial For Extortion

Wendy Wilson

  A candidate for Nashville’s Metro Council will go on trial for extortion in October. Jack Byrd III is one of five candidates running for the District 33 seat left vacant when Councilman Sam Coleman was sworn in as a Nashville judge to replace former Judge Casey Moreland, who resigned amid a corruption scandal. District 33 covers part of Antioch. Early voting for the special election was set for July 26-Aug. 10, with election day being Aug. 15. Byrd, 28, is a former reserve officer for the Lynnville Police Department in Giles County and the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office. In May, he was indicted in Giles County on two felony extortion charges for allegedly threatening a Lynnville alderman and the mayor because he was upset that city officials had disbanded the reserve program. In a motion to dismiss, Byrd’s attorney said that then-Alderman Wil Sands launched a “personal vendetta” against Byrd after Byrd provided security in police uniform at the June 2016 gay pride festival in Nashville. Sands was unhappy when he came across photos on Facebook of Byrd working at the festival and made “insulting comments” and began harassing Byrd, the motion says. The motion also alleges that Sands was known…

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Early Voting Starts Today for Nashville Metro Council District 33 Seat

Wendy Wilson

Early voting begins today for a special election to fill a vacant seat on Nashville’s Metro Council. The District 33 seat was vacated by former councilman Sam Coleman, who was recently sworn in as a Nashville judge. Early voting continues through Aug. 10 and election day is Aug. 15. District 33 covers part of Antioch. To see a map of District 33, click here. The Metro Council has 40 members, 35 of whom are elected by district and five who elected at large. Nashville elections are nonpartisan, but the city, long a Democratic stronghold, has been on an increasingly progressive trajectory. A recent Metro Council push to make Nashville a sanctuary city for illegal immigrants was evidence of the trend. However, in part because of growing public opposition, the council members who sponsored the sanctuary city bills eventually withdrew them, revealing that progressivism in Nashville has its limits. A poll commissioned by The Tennessee Star showed that likely voters in Nashville and Davidson County were divided on the issue. In District 33, there was a statistical tie between supporters and opponents. Despite the attention on sanctuary cities in Tennessee and across the country, the five candidates in the District 33 race have made little or…

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Nashville Metro Council Rejects Measure To Reduce Lifetime Health Benefits For Council Members

Wendy Wilson

  A Metro Council committee rejected a measure last week to reduce Metro’s generous subsidy offered as part of lifetime health benefits to council members. Councilman Bob Mendes recommended to the Budget and Finance Committee that the subsidy be reduced from 75 percent to 25 percent of premium costs, bringing it in line with the subsidy for other Metro employees. Taxpayers pick up the costs that are not subsidized. The Metro Council perk is offered to council members who serve two terms. Previous attempts to reduce or end the benefit plan have been unsuccessful. Mendes wanted to defer consideration of his measure until August to have more time to collect financial data, but the committee voted 10-2 on July 5 to defer it indefinitely, effectively killing the proposal. “This is probably one of the most inconsiderate pieces of legislation that’s been brought before this body,” said Tanaka Vercher, vice chair of the Budget and Finance Committee. Councilwoman Jacobia Dowell said many council members like her don’t use the Metro plan because it’s cheaper to go with insurance plans offered by employers. But the lifetime Metro plan is needed for those who may be struggling financially but still want to serve…

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Nashville Mayor ‘Moonbeam’ Megan Barry 2019 Re-Election Bid Could Be Influenced by Sanctuary City Issue, Poll Shows

Tennessee Star Staff
Tennessee Star

The sanctuary city issue could influence the outcome of the 2019 re-election bid of California-born Nashville Mayor “Moonbeam” Megan Barry, a new Tennessee Star Poll shows. When asked “In the next local Nashville/Davidson County election, are you more likely or less likely to vote for a mayoral candidate who supports Nashville becoming a sanctuary city,” 41.3 percent of likely Nashville/Davidson County voters said they were much less likely, while only 25.6 percent said they were much more likely. Intensity of feeling on this issue is with the opponents of sanctuary city proposals. Overall, 47.4 percent of likely Nashville/Davidson County voters were less likely to support a mayoral candidate who supports Nashville becoming a sanctuary city, while 43.6 percent were more likely: 25.6% Much more likely 18.0% Somewhat more likely 6.1% Somewhat less likely 41.3% Much less likely 9.0% Not sure/don’t know “Two major points leap out at me from this particular poll result,” media consultant and political analyst Steve Gill tells The Tennessee Star. “First, while 43.6% of the likely voters responding are somewhat more or much more likely to support a mayoral candidate who supported Sanctuary City status for Nashville, 47.4% were somewhat less likely or much less likely…

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Councilman Bob Mendes Blames People Outside Nashville For Foiling ‘Sanctuary City’ Bills, Vows To Find Other Ways To Accomplish Goals

Wendy Wilson
Tennessee Star

  NASHVILLE, Tennessee — Metro Councilman Bob Mendes is blaming opposition from people outside Davidson County for thwarting two “sanctuary city” bills, saying the proposed legislation had broad support among Nashvillians. “Inside the county, the support has been overwhelming for these bills,” he said at a press conference Wednesday, where he announced he will withdraw the bills because of growing opposition and a legal opinion issued Monday by Metro’s lead attorney that presented obstacles. Mendes said the bills had become “a political football” among candidates for office, specifically mentioning the Republican primary for next year’s gubernatorial election. All of the announced and anticipated candidates spoke out against the bills. The opposition became so fierce, with many state legislators opposed and also a budding grassroots movement, that Mendes’ claim of broad support within Davidson County is likely debatable. Mendes and other supporters vowed Wednesday to find non-legislative ways to achieve the same ends. “Our goals are unchanged,” he said. Those goals are at odds with the direction many in the country and across Tennessee want to take with the challenges posed by illegal immigration, leaving Mendes and his like-minded colleagues isolated in Nashville’s liberal enclaves. President Trump, whose tough talk helped…

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Latinos For Tennessee Finds New Venue For Event Tonight After Being Turned Away Elsewhere

Wendy Wilson

  Latinos For Tennessee has found a new venue for their quarterly networking event tonight after another restaurant suddenly canceled on them Monday. Those involved or friendly with the conservative political advocacy group sometimes face harassment for their views. Executive director Raul Lopez told The Tennessee Star he thinks the group’s recent opposition to the Metro Council’s proposed “sanctuary city” ordinance has made critics even more upset. But Lopez said his group will keep forging ahead despite the pressure. “They can’t stop us,” he said. The group was set to meet tonight at Salsa Puerto Rican and Latin Cuisine, a restaurant on the edge of downtown Nashville. The event was scheduled weeks in advance, but the restaurant notified Lopez on Monday that they’d have to cancel because they were overbooked. Lopez called it “a major coincidence.” The Tennessee Star was unable to reach anyone at the restaurant for comment. Lopez said the group has met there in the past without any problems. In recent days, Latinos For Tennessee had decided to address the proposed ordinance at tonight’s meeting and invited speakers to talk about it. Some backed out because of hostility they faced for affiliating with the group, Lopez said. Councilman Robert…

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BREAKING: Sponsors of Nashville’s ‘Sanctuary City’ Ordinance To Pull July 6 Vote On Bill

Wendy Wilson
Tennessee Star

Sponsors of Metro Council’s proposed “sanctuary city” ordinance are saying they will not ask their fellow council members to vote on the bill July 6 as originally scheduled. In an email to their colleagues obtained by The Tennessee Star, council members Bob Mendes and Colby Sledge said they are working on plans to hold a press conference Wednesday with other advocates of the bill to discuss the matter. The Tuesday afternoon email followed a public statement in the morning by Mayor Megan Barry asking the council to reconsider the ordinance. Barry raised concerns resulting from the release Monday of a written opinion from Metro’s law director, who said the council can’t legally keep the sheriff from cooperating with federal immigration officials. She also said the Metro Nashville Police Department has concerns about the proposed ordinance. Metro Council passed the bill on a second reading last week, but opposition to the ordinance has grown fast in recent days, with nine state senators now joining 63 House members in opposition, with more expected. A grassroots movement is also mobilizing to stop the bill. In their email, Mendes and Sledge said they need more time to review the law director’s legal opinion. It was unclear…

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BREAKING: Nashville Mayor Megan Barry Asks Metro Council To Reconsider ‘Sanctuary City’ Ordinance

Wendy Wilson
Tennessee Star

Nashville Mayor Megan Barry released a statement Tuesday morning asking the Metro Council to reconsider an ordinance that would restrict local cooperation with federal immigration officials. The ordinance passed on a second reading last week and is up for a final vote July 6. Barry was acting in response to a formal legal opinion issued Monday by Metro Law Director Jon Cooper stating that the ordinance could not be applied to the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office. Barry said: It is clear from this legal opinion that BL2017-739 does not apply to Sheriff Daron Hall, who has said he will continue to honor detainer requests from the federal government. Additionally, the Metro Nashville Police Department has concerns that the ordinance would prohibit them from recommending U visa applications for immigrants who are victims of crime and willing to help put dangerous criminals in jail. Losing that law enforcement tool could jeopardize public safety and would run counter to the intentions of the sponsors to make Nashville a more welcoming city for New Americans. The Metro Council should give serious consideration to these factors and reconsider whether this legislation is appropriate or necessary at this time. In his legal opinion, Cooper said that…

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Latinos For Tennessee Opposes Nashville’s Proposed ‘Sanctuary City’ Ordinance

Wendy Wilson
Tennessee Star

Latinos For Tennessee is opposing the “sanctuary city” ordinance being considered by Metro Council that would restrict cooperation with federal immigration officials in Nashville and Davidson County. The ordinance passed a second reading last week and will be considered for a final vote July 6. Tommy Vallejos, chairman of the conservative group, issued the following statement in a news release: Nashville’s decision to create a sanctuary city is an affront to the rule of law and puts the well-being of the entire state at risk by blatantly ignoring federal immigration law. True compassion for our community means upholding the rule of law—one of the central pillars of any free, fair and secure society. The Davidson County Sheriff opposes this proposal, and we agree that tying the hands of local law enforcement is not only legally questionable, but it’s dangerous. Just last week in Virginia, Darwin Martinez Torres was arrested for brutally killing a 17-year-old girl. Torres is an illegal immigrant who should not have been in this country at all—he had already been held on local charges that made him removable from the United States. Nashville’s Metro Council still has time to prevent this ordinance from being enacted by rejecting the…

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Councilman Robert Swope Speaks Out Against ‘Sanctuary City’ Ordinance

Wendy Wilson
Tennessee Star

  Councilman Robert Swope told WTN 99.7 FM talk show host Dan Mandis this week that the proposed “sanctuary city” ordinance would create a new class of citizens that would conflict with existing laws. The measure, which would restrict local cooperation with federal immigration officials, was passed on a second reading Tuesday and is up for a final vote next month. Swope has been against the measure from the start, being the only Metro Council member to vote against it on the first reading June 6. Seven other council members joined him this week in voting against it, but 25 voted for it. “If you are breaking the law, then you need to be punished, not be put into a separate class of citizens that says, OK, well, you can break the law but nobody else can,” Swope said in his interview Wednesday with Mandis. Swope spoke of the dangers involved in obstructing the sheriff’s ability to detain criminal illegal immigrants for deportation. Opposition to the ordinance is not about “rounding up” Davidson County’s estimated 33,000 illegal immigrants and “throwing them back across any single single border,” Swope said. In a recent week, 19 illegal immigrants were detained for deportation by the Metro Nashville…

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Metro Nashville School Board Supports Metro Council’s Proposed ‘Sanctuary City’ Policy

Wendy Wilson

  The Metro Nashville school board is supporting Metro government’s proposed “sanctuary city” policy despite a growing chorus of opposition. The board sent a letter to the Metro Council this week encouraging passage of the ordinance, which was approved on a second reading Tuesday and will be up for a final vote next month. The ordinance would restrict local cooperation with federal immigration officials. “We celebrate the diversity in our schools and want them to be safe places for our students and families,” school board chair Anna Shepherd told The Tennessee Star Thursday. “Most of them are fleeing drug wars and/or civil wars and want better for their families just as our ancestors did.” Nashville Mayor Megan Barry, whose left-wing, open borders,  pro-illegal immigrant political philosophy is in line with the ordinance, has worked closely with the Metro Nashville school board since she was elected in 2015. When the search for a new director of schools stalled in 2016, Barry asserted a leadership role in the search process that ended in the appointment of  Shawn Joseph to that position in May 2016. In the letter to Metro Council sent on behalf of the board, Shepherd voiced concerns about illegal immigrant…

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Nashville Gay Pride Festival Undermines Traditional Beliefs But Draws Broad Support

Wendy Wilson

Organizers of the Nashville Pride Festival are cheering a resolution passed by the Metro Council recognizing June as “Nashville Pride Month.” The annual gay pride event will be held Saturday and Sunday at Public Square Park. The Metro Council resolution, as well as the event’s corporate sponsors, reflect the degree to which what once was a fringe movement has become mainstream, even here in the South where there are still many churches, a number of which continue to uphold traditional beliefs about marriage and sexuality. The resolution says that “the city of Nashville is honored to welcome members of the LGBT community and their allies to celebrate a very special and important event honoring the diversity, inclusion, and history of the pride and gay rights movement.” The resolution also says that the “celebration and movement continues to grow and celebrates inclusion as a necessary ingredient to making Nashville and the United States truly diverse. Nashville Pride has grown immensely and is now one of the largest public weekend festivals in Middle Tennessee, reminding us to embrace what makes each individual unique and to use those qualities to change the world for the better.” More than 20,000 people attended the festival year. This year,…

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Beacon Center Sues Metro Nashville Government Over Affordable Housing Law

Wendy Wilson

  The Beacon Center of Tennessee is taking Metro Nashville government to court, claiming that a new affordable housing law is illegal and unconstitutional. The Nashville-based think tank, which promotes free markets, filed a lawsuit last week in Davidson County Chancery Court. The suit was filed on behalf of the Home Builders Association of Middle Tennessee. The suit challenges an inclusionary zoning ordinance passed by the Metro Council in September 2016. With limited exceptions, the law requires homebuilders to set aside part of their developments for affordable or workforce housing or pay a fee. Megan Barry, Nashville’s Democratic mayor, has made affordable housing one of her signature issues. “As anyone who has been paying attention knows, a government program that begins with the term affordable is typically anything but,” the Beacon Center said in a blog post. “Look no further than the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare. That redistribution of wealth scheme has left working-class Americans with astronomically higher prices and fewer health insurance options, all in exchange for a worthless guarantee that it will be more ‘affordable.’ ‘Affordable’ housing is essentially the Obamacare of housing.” Developers will pass on the costs of creating affordable housing to buyers and renters, according…

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Letter to the Editor: “I am fed up with these blatant, arrogant power grabs”

Admin
Tennesee Star

  Dear Tennessee Star, First of all, I just want everyone there to know how much I appreciate you. I have sent the Tennessee Star link to all of my friends and family – both here and in other states. The reason I’m writing today is that I am fed up with these blatant, arrogant power grabs that are so totally disrespectful and contradict the residents of Tennessee. Boss Doss plainly is answering to a boss other than Tennessee residents. I hope voters remove the 10 Republicans who voted for this “amended IMPROVE Act.” This kind of “ramming” seems to be the order of the day. Last night I was at the Metro Council meeting and watched as they went through new resolutions so quickly that I couldn’t even keep up on the agenda! The Vice Mayor actually joked with the Council person reading the resolutions about getting through them so quickly. I was there specifically regarding a zoning change. I have been to every commission meeting, council meeting, and public hearing on this proposal except one when I didn’t receive a notice. The only persons who have spoken in favor of this rezoning are the person wanting to develop…

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