Brandmeir Announces for District 22

Seanna Brandmeir makes her candidacy official in the race to take Eric Crafton's place on the Metro Council:

Community volunteer and Bellevue resident Seanna Brandmeir today announced her candidacy for the open District 22 Metro Council seat. A Nashville resident for more than 23 years, Brandmeir hopes to serve on the Council as a way of giving back to the Bellevue community and city of Nashville, while bringing attention to key issues facing her neighbors.

“Bellevue should have a council member who is a community-driven public servant focused on listening and communicating with residents. I want to serve District 22 as an experienced leader with a strong voice who will work hard to move Bellevue forward,” said Brandmeir.

“I believe that with the development of the Bellevue Center Mall space and the new library, we have an important opportunity to strengthen our neighborhoods and bring smart growth and development to this District,” she said, “but I also intend to spend my time listening and working with Bellevue residents on the everyday issues that are most important to them.”

Read the full release here.

Markeith Braden Kickoff Tonight

Filed under the "Better Late Than Never" category, Markeith Braden, a candidate running to succeed Sam Coleman on the Metro Council, is having his campaign launch party tonight at SnapStone's in Antioch.

Antioch native Markeith A. Braden will officially announce his candidacy for Metro Council District 32 at his “Together We Can” campaign kickoff on Thursday, April 28 at SnapStone’s Restaurant in Antioch. The free event will start at 6:30 p.m. and is open to the public.

“My family has lived in the Antioch community for more than 100 years, and through this
campaign, I hope to help continue to the improve the community dialogue, infrastructure
and tremendous growth the area has seen over the last 10 years,“ said Braden. “I love this community, and I have a passion to serve and a heart to give back to the community that has given me so much. I’m excited about this campaign and hope the community will support me.”

Meet the Second Lady

Me thinks that being called "Governor Ramsey" has sort of gone a little bit to Speaker of the Senate Ron Ramsey's head.  The Speaker, who automatically gets the title of Lt. Governor because the authors of our constitution couldn't find anyone who wanted the job, has created a website to promote the office of Lieutenant Governor (which entails being Speaker of the Senate and waiting for Haslam to die or resign).

This taxpayer funded venture includes a constituent services section, press releases, and a section on "the Second Lady," Mrs. Sindy Ramsey.

Vacuous Childish and Narcisstic Party Finds Their Spox

The Tennessee Republican Party is trying to piggyback off of an upcoming TNDP fundraising breakfast headed by Al Gore with a radio ad:

VO- Paid for by the Tennessee Republican Party.

CHARLIE SHEEN- Winning, anyone?

VO- Charlie Sheen knows about winning. But Tennessee Democrats? Well, Al Gore is hosting a Nashville Unity Breakfast with the largest gathering of losing Democrat politicians probably ever.

VO- Besides losing elections, Democrats have a lot to unify over; Barack Obama’s healthcare takeover, a failed budget-busting stimulus boondoggle, and trillion dollar deficits.

VO- Now that’s Democrat unity and a recipe for losing elections.

VO- Help us defeat Barack Obama. Go to TNGOP.org.

CHARLIE SHEEN- Losers. Winning. Buh bye.

Hrmm, lets see, a paranoid and conspiratorial actor with delusions of grandeur and compulsive destructive tendencies. Yep, sounds like the Tennessee Republican Party has found their embodiment.

Slow News Day in Washington

First I awake this morning to hear that a Democrat will finally hold that coveted GOP spot of Defense Secretary that hasn't seen a Democrat since William Perry left in January of 1997, as Leon Panetta will take over for Sec. Def. Bob Gates and see Gen. Patreus move into the job of CIA director.

Then we find that President Barack Obama, AKA, Barry Soetro to the birthers, has finally finished the forgery of released his "long form birth certificate" to the public.  Does anyone really think this will kill the movement? Conspiracy theories thrive on evidence disproving them. It doesn't matter how many forensic experts show that Lee Harvey Oswald killed Kennedy, just one person to counter it feeds the flames. Same with Area 51, or ghost stories, or any of the other myths that propagate our lives.

Even as some birthers grudgingly admit that Obama was born in the United States, there will be some who claim this document is a forgery and require eye-witness testimony from a doctor who is likely dead now, or those who do admit he was born in America will make some convoluted case that Obama was adopted by his step-father in Indonesia and thus is ineligible (hint: a parent can't revoke a child's American citizenship on their behalf).  Either way, keep the popcorn a popping, because crazy never dies.

Pay to Play

The Senate has apparently moved one step forward in eliminating donation limits to political parties, while simultaneously treating out of state corporations the same as human individuals.

Matthew Hurtt, in a response to the TNDP, noted that Maryland Democrats have allowed for corporations to donate to political campaigns in their state. What he failed to mention is that Maryland has one of the more strict limits on aggregate contributions, $10,000 per cycle. Meaning that while yes, some faceless corporation could give to a candidate or caucus, they wouldn't be able to spend the kind of money necessary to buy the support of the entire caucus (unless they were just giving it up cheap).

In Tennessee, if Woodson's bill goes through as-is, a corporate entity (say Amazon), could give the maximum amount to each member of the legislature, while also giving an unlimited amount to the political caucus or party (the latter being most likely during session) of their choosing.  The same goes for some rich individual whose money comes from non-corporate sources.  

If I were the Democrats, I would offer an amendment to this bill that requires same day online disclosure of any amount over, say, $10,000.  Under the rules being offered by Woodson, a corporation or individual could pump millions of dollars into the political parties or caucuses in the final weeks of the campaign season without the voters knowing it.  

Bigot CM Hodge Announces Re-election Bid

In a press release to reporters, Councilman Jim Hodge announced he was running for re-election, touting his assistance in the creation of a few neighborhood groups in the district.  In his endorsements list, Hodge lists Democratic Senator Doug Henry, along with a group of councilmembers, all of whom opposed the Contractor Non-discrimination ordinance:

Hodge has been endorsed by State Senator Doug Henry as well as present and past council members Karen Bennett, Phil Claiborne, Eric Crafton, Duane Dominy, Buck Dozier, Robert Duvall, Randy Foster, Jim Forkum, Tim Garrett, Jim Gotto, Michael Kerstetter, J. B. Loring, Rip Ryman, Carter Todd, Parker Toler and Charlie Tygard.

Hodge was a vocal opponent to the Non-discrimination ordinance that is in the process of being overturned by the state legislature, and said that he could not operate his business if he wasn't allowed to discrimination against GLBT persons. During the 2009 debate, Hodge likened sexual orientation to smoking or dieting.

Michael Allen has pulled papers against Hodge, but has not officially announced. 

The Money Race

Filed under the Department of Things I Missed, Mike Peden did us a solid by putting the Metro Council financial filings online for the August 2011 candidates.  A brief rundown:

No surprise here, but Mayor Dean is trouncing his opponent Michael Craddock by a factor of about 60 in terms of Cash on Hand, with $524,843 to Craddock's $8,736.

The Vice-Mayor's race is shaping up to be a lopsided one as well, as incumbent Diane Neighbors has $30,175 to James Baxter's zero on hand (though he did spend $1,580 which was raised from family members).

In the At-large race, unsurprisingly Megan Barry leads the pack with $62K on hand, followed by Ronnie Steine with $39K, Charlie Tygard with $20K, Jerry Maynard with $13K and Tim Garrett with a little over $1K of which about $.03 was raised in the last quarter.  Newcomer to Renard Francois is lighting things up as the most prolific fundraiser of the non-incumbents, he's sitting on $21K which includes a $10K loan.   Ken Jakes had $2,300 on hand but had spent about $7K, and Vivian Wilhoite has $4,500, most of which came from a 2009 loan of $25,000.

Here are a few of the district council races of note:

Jobs Plan is Here!

After 45 days of exhaustive study, Governor Haslam has finally come out with a jobs plan...drumroll please...cut Economic and Community Development by 35%.  Oh, but that's not all...wait..yes it is, that's pretty much it.  Besides a few buzzwords and repackaging of old ECD programs as somehow new, all Gov. Haslam said today is that he'll cut the ECD staff by 35% and continue working on ideas to expand business and reduce regulation.

Looking at the Power Point slideshow presented by the Governor's team, it appears someone had their kid get a few company logos from businesses around the state, paste them onto a page, and call it a plan:

Haslam's office also says they will "fundamentally restructure" ECD's field staff to create regional "jobs base camps" across the state. But, looking at the map, it doesn't seem terribly different than the one that already exists...I guess the difference will be that they are now going to be staffed with GOP cronies?

Soft Money Is Here Again

Tom Humphrey has an article about outgoing Sen. Jamie Woodson's attempt to cram through a bill which would remove prohibitions against corporate contributions to political candidates, as well as raise contribution limits:

Woodson said removing the current state ban on corporate contributions would bring Tennessee into line with a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year that struck down the federal ban on direct corporate contributions to candidates. The Legislature last year approved a bill allowing corporations to make independent expenditures in political matters, but not to make direct donations to candidates.

Unless there was another case I'm not aware of, Citizens United did no such thing. What was struck down was a ban on independent expenditures by corporations on political candidates or issues within a certain time frame before the election. What was upheld, and is still law, is the federal ban on corporate donations to candidate campaign accounts.

Ultimately, the damaging portion of this bill is less that it will allow corporations to give to candidates, but that it will open the floodgate for soft money donations to political parties and caucuses.  Woodson's bill deletes the section on aggregate limits (2-10-312) for individuals (or corporations as the case would be) to give to political candidates or parties.  Currently, there is a limit of $101,400 placed on donations to political candidates, $40K max to candidates and $60K max to parties or caucuses.  This bill would eliminate that limit and in effect allow a corporation or individual to donate hundreds of thousands of dollars at one time to the parties and caucuses.

UNITY w/ a side of bacon

The TNDP is having a Unity breakfast for "Democratic Leaders Uniting to Support the Tennessee Democratic Party," staring none other than Al Gore.

Among the hosts are all of the members of the 2008 Democratic congressional delegation from Tennessee, Gov. Bredesen, as well as folks like Doug Horne and Will Cheek who opposed Chip's re-election as Chair of the TNDP.

UNITY BREAKFAST
Democratic Leaders Uniting to Support the Tennessee Democratic Party

With The Honorable Al Gore

Friday, April 29, 7:30 a.m. – 9 a.m.
CABANA Restaurant
1910 Belcourt Ave, Nashville

Admission: $250 per person

Purchase tickets: Unity.tndp.org

Co-CHAIRS (as of April 20):
Rep. Jim Cooper,
Rep. Steve Cohen,
Gov. Phil Bredesen,
Rep. Lincoln Davis,
Rep. Bart Gordon,
Rep. John Tanner,
Mayor Karl Dean,
Mayor AC Wharton,
Mayor Daniel Brown,
Vice-Mayor Diane Neighbors, Metro Nashville Council Members Megan Barry, Tim Garrett, Jerry Maynard & Ronnie Steine,
Mike McWherter,
TNDP Chairs: Randy Button, Will Cheek, Jane Eskind, Houston Gordon, Doug Horne, George "Buck" Lewis, Dick Lodge, Gray Sasser, Bobby Thomas & Bob Tuke,
TNDP Vice Chair Elisa Parker, TNDP Treasurer David Garrison and members of the TNDP Finance Council

PARTY SUSTAINERS: Bill Freeman & Olan Mills II

Ethics Schmethics

Both Aunt B and Steve Ross do a little digging and find that The Sen, Stacey Campfield, may have violated some Senate Ethics Rules when requesting a fee to debate his bill barring teachers from talking about a little same-sex love.

The Nashville Way

Ken Whitehouse writes a great editorial in which he explains the difference between the Nashville way and the Capitol way. A snippet:

The Capitol Hill way means intruding upon the rights of a local people while waving the flag of “state’s rights,” printing money that can’t even be used at Chuck E. Cheese and telling individuals that they are terrorists or members of a cult because you don’t subscribe to their religion...

...The Nashville way is different. It is about telling people they have value in the workforce and as a person no matter who they choose to hold hands with. It is not waiting for a handout and giving a helping hand when natural disaster strikes.

It is the Nashville way to respond to proposed laws that limit the languages of our diverse people with a vote for every voice to be heard, regardless of what language that voice speaks.

No Fair, I Was Running for President

Credit where credit is due, Sen. Kelsey catches Ol' Fred Thompson slipping as he brings up a 2007 article (about the time he was running/walking to be President in a GOP primary) written by the former Senator in which he directly contradicts his position now that he is a lobbyist for trial lawyers.

Gotto Rams Elections Bill Through Committee

The House State and Local Government committee passed HB1376, a bill to increases penalty for misuse of municipal sidewalk from Class C to Class B misdemeanor...oh, wait, I mean, extend council and mayoral term by 15 months and change the way Nashville's political process works forever...oh, and something having to do with the gas tax in Shelby County.

After discussion in which it was made plainly evident that all but one member of the Davidson County legislative delegation, as well as at least 3/4ths of the Metro Council, the Vice-Mayor and the Mayor were all opposed to this bill, the House State and Local committee chaired by Rep. Curry Todd went ahead and moved the bill out anyway with zero discussion or input from those who would be effected by this drastic change in our elections process.

Democratic Caucus Chair Mike Turner, while not necessarily opposed to the idea, seemed exasperated by the legislatures continued movements towards over-riding and ignoring the will of localities across the state, and primarily in Davidson and Shelby counties.



I'd post the text of the amended bill here but from what I can tell its not posted online. The bill now heads to Calendar and Rules. Hopefully if it does get rammed through the House, maybe they'll have a bit more substantial debate and consideration in the Senate?

Update:

One note about the sheer level of Gotto's arrogance. He said he was "disappointed" that the council members who have signed onto the resolution opposing his bill haven't called him to discuss the merits. This coming from someone who introduced this measure with absolutely zero input from the Mayor, the council or the Davidson county delegation.

Maybe Haslam Doesn't Understand the Bill

In an article about the GOP's efforts to stifle local rule across our state, the Governor and Speaker seem to not really understand what it is they are trying to interfere with:

"In my book, I'm not sure cities should be telling businesses what they should do," Haslam said. "Businesses should be able to decide that."

House Speaker Beth Harwell, R-Nashville, agreed.

"When a local government mandates to private businesses what their policy regarding employment should be, I do think it's an opportunity for the state to step in and say that's not appropriate," she said.

Do you all understand what a contract is? Far be it from this lefty to explain how business works, but the word contractor is sort of derived from the concept of a contract. What is a contract? Its a piece of paper signed by both parties stipulating various requirements in order for money to be exchanged. Its not one side telling the other what to do, its both sides agreeing to a set of terms. 

Nashville isn't trying to dictate to private companies what they can and can't do in their business, Nashville is simply setting terms for doing business with their company...just like any private company can request that another private company adhere to their terms in order to do business.  Why should a local government that is tasked with spending money collected from the citizens through taxation have less control over how and where that money is spent than a private company? 

This notion that somehow businesses need to have a clear set of rules across the board is kind of ridiculous, seeing that when they try to do business with Nashville, they will be required to sign a CONTRACT which lays out the terms.  So a company won't have to research the rules of every city in our state, they simply have to read their contracts and know what they are signing.  If they don't like the terms, they are free to pass on doing business with our city.

List of Council Members Opposed to Gotto's Desire to Nationalize Local Elections

Here's the list of council members who have signed on to the resolution opposing Councilman Jim Gotto's plan to extend the council and mayor's terms by 15 months and having our local elections be drowned out by national issues (RS2011_1607):

Jerry Maynard
Ronnie Steine
Megan Barry
Bo Mitchell
Lonnell Matthews
Mike Jameson
Erica Gilmore
Sam Coleman
Greg Adkins
Walter Hunt
Frank Harrison
Sandra Moore
Buddy Baker
Edith Taylor Langster
Parker Toler
Darren Jernigan
Jamie Hollin
Rip Ryman
Anna Page
Erik Cole
Sean McGuire
Tim Garrett
Jim Forkum
Emily Evans
Carter Todd
Randy Foster
Bruce Stanley
Kristine LaLonde
Vivian Wilhoite
Jason Holleman

Not surprising, but somewhat interesting are three Republicans who didn't sign on, Karen Bennett, Duane Dominy and Robert Duvall. Each of them ran in districts that had a 70%+ vote for Barack Obama in 2008. While they'd be term limited in 2016, if they were running under the Gotto-imposed conditions in 2008 they likely all would have lost.

Thirty Council Members Oppose Gotto Election Plan

Yesterday Rep. Kent Williams asked Rep. Gotto to take the pulse of the metro council regarding his plan to have the state usurp local control and move the next municipal election date from August of 2015 to the Presidential election cycle in 2016.   Last evening it appears that some council members took it upon themselves to take just such a poll and as a result 30 of the 40 members on the council signed on to a resolution urging the legislature not to pass Gotto's proposal.

Vice Mayor Diane Neighbors plans to send a letter to the Speaker of the House, with the attached amendment, urging them to let Nashville fix this problem, which won't come around for another 20 years, themselves.  "We have a process and a Charter Revision Committee that is capable of looking at the options and making a recommendation to the Council and to the voters of Davidson County," said Neighbors. "Thirty members of council agree that this is a local issue that needs to be decided by the voters."

Neighbors said that while the scheduling issue won't come about for another 20 years, she and the council intend to look into ways to fix this problem in the near future.

Update: I almost forgot, the council approved the MPC's district changes last night by a vote of 38-0.

See Also: Cass with a quote from George Barrett (the impetus for changing the districts before the election) who likens Gotto's plan to "using a cannon to kill a flea".

Well, Some Voters Were Dumb Enough To Elect You

Rep. Jim Gotto insinuated today that voters in Metro Nashville weren't able to intelligently deal with an issue as complex and "convoluted" as to whether or not to move council elections to a Presidential election year, when bringing up his bill to do just that in the state legislature.

Haters Gotta Hate Bill Passes Committee

Rep. Glen Casada made a smug appearance before the House Commerce Committee to bring up his bill, HB600, to overturn Nashville's Contractor Non-discrimination Ordinance that would require companies wishing to do business with Metro go through the arduous and overly burdensome task of signing a piece of paper which says they won't hate on some gay people when hiring and firing. 

It ultimately passed by a voice vote after Rep. Brenda Gilmore's amendment to exempt Nashville was tabled by a 21-7 vote.  During the debate, Casada laughably claimed that he was trying to be "proactive and not reactive," pretending as if somehow his bill wasn't entirely a reaction to Nashville's CAN-DO ordinance.  Of course, his bill isn't about commerce, its about government contracts, and considering that most contracts, be they private or public, have varying clauses in them, the notion that somehow requiring a Metro Contractor adhere to one set of policies would conflict with them doing business with any other city or private business is pretty absurd unless the other business or city requires them to discriminate against gays and lesbians.

During his explanation of his bill, Casada told Rep. Hardaway that he could see a scenario where one town would require that you be a baptist with two children or someone with red hair...really, you disingenuous ass?  You can really see that scenario playing out? 

Later, when questioned by a Republican, he was asked what would stop a city from employing a discriminatory practice that said a contractor could not hire gay or lesbians employees.  Casada said he was trying to stop that sort of thing, but his bill (unless its changed from the one on the legislative website) specifically lists "anti-discrimination" policies, meaning a municipality could require their contractors discriminate against gays or lesbians, but not the other way around.

Anyway, you can watch Casada and his fellow Republicans' stupidity in all its glory, along with a cameo by Councilwoman Gilmore.

Crafton "Weighing" At-large

Joey Garrison informs us that Councilman Eric Crafton has picked up papers to run for Metro Council At-large and that he is "weighing" a citywide.  Why he's drawing out the inevitable, I'm not sure...I guess to build anticipation amongst his conservative xenophobic Nashville base, but its been pretty obvious to most everybody that he was looking to take his brand of crazy to the city level for quite some time.

Upcoming Events

A non-exhaustive view of some upcoming council candidate events:

Vivian Wilhoite Campaign Kickoff 

Thursday, April 14 · 5:30pm - 7:00pm

Historic Gran Dale Manor 

200 Nashboro Boulevard Nashville, TN

Donations: $50, $75, $100, $250, $500, or $1,000 But any amount is appreciated 

###

 

Mary Carolyn Roberts District 20 Kickoff Party

Thursday, April 14 · 5:30pm - 7:00pm

Welcome to 1979 studio

1110 48th Ave North Nashville, TN
###

Lonnell Matthews Re-election Kick-off

Saturday April 16th, 11-1PM

Cafe Hope

3518 West Hamilton Ave.

###

Jerry Maynard 

Wednesday April 20th, 5-7PM

Sunset Grill

2001 Belcourt Avenue

Suggested contribution: $250 per individual

If You Are Looking for Bad Ideas, Gotto's Full of 'em

Rep/Councilman Jim Gotto has taken it upon himself to once again usurp local control and have Metro's local election date changed from August in an odd numbered year to November during the Presidential election cycle.

According to Gotto, this is a good government initiative to avoid having the fast redistricting process again in 2031.  And while I appreciate that Gotto wants to leave a legacy to be remembered by 20 years from now, in doing so, he would completely upend the local elections process and throw our city's balance out of whack.

Not only would this extend the Mayor's and Council's terms by 15 months, it would also dramatically change the way in which candidates campaign for city elections.  Trying to run a campaign cycle in the midst of Presidential, Congressional and State Legislative races would significantly add to the cost of running a campaign for office.  Television time would cost more and be harder to come by, campaign workers and supplies would likely cost more simply as a function of greater demand and less supply.  And not to mention voters will be overwhelmed with information about candidates and the policy positions they are running on.

If Gotto wants to change the rules, a much better way to do this would be to simply change the election dates from August in an odd numbered year, to May in an odd numbered year.  That way the qualifying deadline will have passed before the Census figures are out.  It will still result in a local election being run on local issues, not overtaken by State or National politics.  And, added bonus, it would result in candidates running campaigning in the Spring rather than the hot summer months.  Win-win all around.

Of course, I don't think any changes are really necessary.  Despite Gotto's inability to gerrymander the districts to bend to the political will of his fellow Republicans on the council, the process was fair, there was an enormous amount of public input into the process, and by the end of it you saw public comments swing from the overwhelmingly negative to generally positive.  Its a process that was somewhat hasty, but in my opinion really highlighted how a government agency can and should run.

Dean Announces North Nashville Steering Committee

The Dean Team released a list of supporters in North Nashville, known in political speak as a "steering committee".  In the release, they listed a few of the Mayor's efforts to help this portion of the city, including:

"In 2008, Mayor Dean began implementing the recommendations from a Disparity Study completed in 2004, which found “evidence of discriminatory barriers” to minority- and women-owned businesses participating in the procurement process of Metro Government. The Mayor’s Office proposed an ordinance to amend the Metropolitan Procurement Code to include a Procurement Nondiscrimination Program. From that work, the number of women and minority owned businesses that work with the city significantly increased and continues to increase with every project and initiative."

The Steering Committee is listed below.

Maynard Kicks Off Campaign

This past Tuesday, before the Metro Council met to pass the CAN-DO ordinance, Jerry Maynard held a campaign kickoff event at Swett's.  There was a good size crowd, and he was introduced by by former TNDP Chair Bob Tuke and his father, Bishop Jerry Maynard.

Maynard spoke of his success in keeping campaign promises such as expanding affordable housing and giving people who live in affordable housing complexes better access to public transportation, as well as fully funding education.

Maynard also gave strong support for the Convention Center as a $1 billion economic development project during the recession, pointing out that more money has been spent on women and minority owned small businesses than with any other public project to date.

In addition, Maynard announced the formation of the Women for Maynard group who will be holding a meeting April 26th at the Mad Platter @7am.  Here's a short clip from the event:



Read full release here.

Democrats are "Bold, Swift, and Rather Ingenious" According to Rep. Halford

Filed under the Department of Don't Put Things in Writing, Rep. Curtis Halford, a West Tennessee Republican, has had enough of Democrats kicking their ass when it comes to reminding the voters of what a piss poor job the Republicans have been doing with regards to job creation since their route in 2010.

Halford opens his letter to the GOP Caucus by stating that "[i]t has become overly apparent to me that we have an issue with the Democrat [sic] Party being one step ahead of the game and using every opportunity they have in leading the public to believe that the Republicans are not doing enough to bring jobs to Tennessee."

Halford went on to say that the Democratic tactics were "bold, swift and rather ingenious," and that they must "step up up and do a better job at educating the public," before suggesting a meeting tonight after lobbyist receptions.

Notice, none of Halford's letter shows one iota of concern for the people of Gibson and Carroll counties, which have UE rates of 15.5 and 17.2% respectively, that are out of work, rather, its entirely about the "perception" that Republicans aren't doing enough to create jobs and grow our economy.

Instead of trying to hold a secret meeting after lobbyist receptions that will leave many of the GOP members too drunk to think straight (they have enough trouble with that sober), perhaps they should rewind the clock back to November of 2010 when they took power from the Democrats and start thinking of ways to grow Tennessee's economy and create jobs?  Nahh...lets find better ways to talk about it instead.

Halford Letter to Republicans

What to do Next?

This morning I woke to find a few emails from people who are itching for a fight over last night's CAN-DO vote in which the wheat was separated from the chaff in terms of who is willing to stand up for all of Nashville, and who is willing to put narrow interests and outdated bias at the forefront.  A couple key votes last night:


Karen Bennett showed that she isn't on the State GOP Exec Committee to represent the 19th Senate District, rather, she's on the Metro Council to represent the State GOP.  The East Nashville and Madison communities deserve better, and they can get it with Nancy VanReece.

Duane Dominy surprised nobody with his vote last night to oppose inclusiveness and worker protections.  He might have hoped to leave behind Metro politics to join the the anti-gay Republicans in the House, but that just didn't happen, now he's gotta take on Tanaka Vercher in a very diverse District 28.

Jim Hodge, well, Jim Hodge needs a lesson in constitutional law.  Instead of having a councilman who makes a fool out of himself every time he gets up to speak, they can get a representative they can be proud of if Michael Allen, who has pulled papers to run in the district, commits to running.

Last but not least, Michael Craddock.  While the Council last night commended Craddock on his uncanny ability to show up to their meetings on a consistent basis, I think its safe to say many up there probably know in their hearts that it would be a better place if he took a sick day once in a while.  Now a term limited Craddock wants to take his ridiculousness to the Mayor's office.  Last night's vote should give considerable pause to any progressives who were thinking of backing Craddock. While you may not be happy with Karl Dean on certain issues, don't ignore Craddock's appalling record (such as opposition to the 2009 NDO and Maria Salas' nomination to the Metro Human Relations Commission) just out of spite.  Hell, vote for the homeless guy...at least he knows what its like to be marginalized in society.

Update: Here's the roll call...

Aye: Barry, Steine, Maynard, Matthews, Harrison, Hollin, Jameson, Cole, Jernigan, Page, Moore, LaLonde, Gilmore, Langster, Evans, Holleman, McGuire, Whilhoite, Coleman, Mitchell.

Nay: Tygard, Craddock, Bennett, Forkum, Ryman, Gotto, Burch, Stanley, Claiborne, Crafton, Dominy, Hodge, Toler, Duvall, Todd

Abstain: Hunt, Adkins, Foster

Absent: Garrett

Enough Years to Drink, Enough Votes to Pass

The Metro Council voted tonight along the same lines as the February 15th vote to pass BL2011-838, the Contractor Non-discrimination Ordinance. 21 Council Members votes in favor, 15 against, three abstained, and one (Garrett I do believe) was not present to vote. At an after party to celebrate the passage of CAN-DO, Council-members Hollin, Jameson, Matthews and Wilhoite (that I saw) were in attendance.

While I somewhat doubt this will have much of a real life impact on the jobs of people in Nashville, what it does do is show that Nashville is welcoming city that will not tolerate discrimination.  During the debate, Councilman Claiborne suggested that the council instead vote to ban all employment discrimination based on non-merit reasons...a labor official I spoke with welcomed such a change in hiring policy after the current non-discrimination ordinance was passed.

Central Labor for Dean

The Central Labor Council, on the other side of the Convention Center issue from the SEIU, have endorsed Mayor Karl Dean in his re-election efforts.

The Labor Council stated in their endorsement, “We believe that you are the strongest candidate on the issues concerning working men and women who live and/or work in Davidson County.” Dean, a hard-working and accessible mayor, has demonstrated he understands and shares the values of working men and women by focusing on improving education and investing in Nashville to create and attract more jobs.

Unions and labor organizations affiliated with the Nashville/Middle TN CLC include, the Amalgamated Transit Union; American Federation of Government Employees; American Postal Workers Union; Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States; Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers, and Grain Millers; Communication Workers of America; International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees; Moving Picture Technicians; International Association of Fire Fighters; International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators; International Association of Machinists; International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers; International Union of Painters and Allied Trades; National Association of Letter Carriers; NFL Players Association; Office and Professional Employees International Union; Sheet Metal Workers International Association; Southeast Laborers’ District Council; Transportation Workers Union; United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry; United Auto Workers; United Steel Workers; and, the United Union of Roofers, Waterproofers and Allied Workers.

This is a pickup for Dean, as the CLC backed Bob Clement for Mayor in the 2007 election.

District 16 Race Gets More Crowded

It looks like Anna Page has a little bit more competition coming her way, this time in the form of Virginia (Ginny) Welsch.  Welsch was a liberal independent candidate for Congress in 2006 against Jim Cooper, garnering 2% of the vote.  She is also a co-founder and Executive Director of Radio Free Nashville.

Also on the latest list of petitions pulled. Sam Coleman has picked up papers to run At-large after serving two terms as the District 32 representative.  That would bring the total number to three of district council-members running for an At-large spot, after Vivian Wilhoite (29) and assuming Eric Crafton (22) does so as well.

The Mayor's race also got a bit bigger, as Bruce Casper, a homeless man living downtown, pulled a petition to run our city.  It appears he is buddies with Lisa Kleis (AKA Lisa Leeds) who has pulled papers to run in District 19.

See a list of candidates who have picked up petitions below.

Useless Statistics

Mark Penn does some concern trolling over at Huffington Post and starts out with this useless bit of information:

Only two Democrats in the last 90 years have been reelected to a second term -- Franklin Roosevelt and Bill Clinton. The rest of the Democrats have seen their presidencies cut short, and so the historical odds of Obama winning a second term are at first glance not encouraging.

Alright, perhaps, but let's see...

FDR: Elected to four terms, died 3 months after 4th inauguration.

Harry Truman: Served all but three months of a full term, elected to his own term in 1948, didn't run for re-election in 1952.

John F. Kennedy: Killed during his first term.

LBJ: Finished out Kennedy's term, elected to his own in a landslide, became enmeshed in an unwinnable war, didn't run for re-election.

Jimmy Carter: Lost his re-election bid.

Bill Clinton: Re-elected in 1996.

Barack Obama: TBD

OK, so, out of six Democrats elected to the Presidency over the past 90 years, only one ran for re-election and lost, with Obama's re-election still in the making. This reminds me of all the concern trolling about how no Democrat from outside the South had won an election since Kennedy in 1960, and so ipso facto, we needed to pick John Edwards to be the nominee.

Will The Metro Council Reject Bias Tonight?

Anthony Davis, who will hopefully be taking Erik Cole's position on the Metro Council, has written an op-ed for the Tennessean in favor of BL2011-838, the Contractor Non-Discrimination Ordinance.

As a small-business owner myself, I understand the importance of keeping Nashville friendly. Why? Because it's good for business. My company is one of more than 70 businesses, congregations and labor groups that have endorsed CAN-DO.

Passing this ordinance sends a message that Nashville is progressive and wants to attract top companies and talent to our city. Last year, 89 percent of Fortune 500 companies included sexual orientation in their non-discrimination policies, and 43 percent included gender identity.

Ensuring that Metro only does business with companies that treat their gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender employees fairly puts Nashville squarely in the mainstream.

Read the rest here.

Ned Ray McWherter Passes On

A beloved Governor and leader of the Democratic Party, Ned Ray McWherter has apparently died at the age of 80 according to accounts on twitter that have been confirmed by the AP's Eric Schelzig. 

As Speaker of the House, McWherter made history by ushering in the newly elected Republican Governor Lamar Alexander to office before the scheduled time in order to stop then Democratic Governor Ray Blanton from issuing a slew of ethically compromised pardons before leaving office.

As Governor, McWherter launched the ambitious TennCare program designed to allow Tennesseans to buy into a state health insurance program based on Medicaid, making Tennessee one of the most progressive states concerning state health care programs.

It is a testament to his leadership and stature within the Democratic party that his son, Mike McWherter, was able to get the nomination and support of Tennessee Democrats in his bid for the governorship, despite a lack of prior political involvement. Despite his diminishing health, the former Governor traveled the state in order to promote his son's ultimately unsuccessful candidacy.

He will undoubtedly go down as one of the most important Tennessee figures of the 20th century.

Stacey Campfield Looks To New York for Inspiration

http://albanysinsanity.wnymedia.net

Stacey Campfield, a New Yorker by birth and raising, looks fondly to his home state for inspiration in recreating the party balloting rules for Tennessee.   Via Tom Humphrey via Shelzig:

Republican Sen. Stacey Campfield of Knoxville wants to allow candidates to be listed on the ballot as the nominee of more than one political party. Their total votes would then be added up to decide the election. Campfield is offering his amendment to a bill (SB935) designed to bring Tennessee into compliance with a federal judge's ruling last year that the state's qualification standards for minor parties are too burdensome.

Tennessee would not be alone in adopting such standards. New York State has for years adopted a similar approach, and as such, Republicans often have to gain the support of the Conservative party in order to win. Likewise, Democrats have the "Working Families" party to contend with when running for office.

[Updated] TNDP Chair Chip Forrester Tragically Loses Son

Wilson Forrester, the son of TNDP Chairman Chip Forrester, passed away this weekend at his fraternity house at the University of Arizona.  Wilson was a graduate of Hume-Fogg and a member of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity.  Friends and family have set up a Facebook page to keep those interested informed as well as to remember his life.

Update:  The party has released details of a memorial service at Hume-Fogg this Saturday:

‘Celebration of Life’ Services for Wilson Forrester Set for Saturday

Wilson Forrester, the 19-year-old son of Tennessee Democratic Party Chairmen Chip Forrester, passed away unexpectedly Saturday.

Wilson Forrester died in Tucson, Ariz., where he was a sophomore at the University of Arizona studying business finance.

Wilson leaves behind his father Chip, mother Alice Forrester, brother Evan Forrester and stepmother Gabrielle Mittelstaedt as well as scores of friends.

“Our family is deeply grateful for the outpouring of support during this trying time. Your thoughts and prayers give us strength,” Forrester said. “While Wilson’s death is tragic, his life was not. Wilson had an absolute passion for life and he adventured through each day with a sense of purpose and an open mind.”

A Celebration of Wilson’s Life will be held at Hume-Fogg Academic Magnet High School, 700 Broadway, Nashville, TN 37203, from 2 p.m. - 4 p.m. Saturday, April 9. A Celebration of Life service will follow at 4 p.m. at the school.

At this time, the cause of death is not known, but foul play is not suspected. While results of the death investigation are forthcoming, the family asks for respectful consideration of their privacy.

A Facebook page, “In Memory of Wilson Waters Forrester,” has been set up for friends and family to offer remembrances.

In lieu of flowers, gifts can be made to the Wilson Waters Forrester Celebration of Life Fund, Acct: 183717507  at any First Tennessee bank branch or by sending a check to “Wilson Waters Forrester Celebration of Life Fund,” P.O. Box 198107, Nashville, TN 37219.

Go-Green Nashville

Councilman Mike Jameson held an informational/promotional meeting regarding the Go-Green Nashville initiative to encourage home owners to get a re-reimbursable home energy audits that would suggest ways in which they can make their homes more energy efficient.  Congressman Jim Cooper was there speaking in support of this and any other programs to encourage energy efficiency, as well as Mark Deutschmann, founder of Village Real Estate, and Chris Bowles, the head of the Mayor's Office of Environment and Sustainability.

This is part program and part contest between various members of the Metro Council who are trying to get the most constituents to sign up for the plan. Jameson's contest is called "District Six Energy Fix," and was originally started by Councilwoman Kristine LaLonde who called hers "Go Green District 18".  The program is sponsored by NES, the TVA, the Urban Land Institue, Village Real Estate, and Impact Nashville.

Congressman Cooper, in remarks to the gathering, noted that "Tennessee homeowners waste more electricity than homeowners of any other state" in part because years ago we were "sold a bill of goods by the TVA" which said that electricity would be too cheap to meter, and because of this, Nashville has "more uninsulated, all electric homes than any other city in America and probably in the world."

Chris Bowles then spoke and laid out how the plan works.  Essentially, homeowners can call NES to get an energy audit, the cost of which is $150, and if the homeowners implement some of the suggestions, they'll receive that money back and get a $500 subsidy on the first $1,000 spent in order to make the repairs.  Nashville is also in the process of having their own subsidy to add on to this program, which could potentially mean up to $1,000 in money to make one's home more energy efficient.

During a question and answer period, Councilman Maynard asked about what suggestions they would have for the Metro Council to help those with fixed incomes and can't afford the $150 upfront cost, to get in on the program.  Bowles noted that Hands on Nashville was getting involved in the energy efficiency game by gathering volunteers and resources to go to the homes of the poor and help weatherize their houses to increase efficiency, and that the Council-members could help marshal volunteers and resources to help them do this.  An employee with NES was also in attendance, and he said the number to call for folks who can't afford to participate in the Go-Green program is 252-8500.

Dean Kicks Off North Nashville Campaign

Sen. Thelma Harper held an event this Saturday at her restaurant, Harper's, to support Mayor Karl Dean's re-election effort.  Sen. Harper and Mayor Dean spoke to a primarily African-American audience that was supportive of the mayor, but not without some reservations. 

Tommie Morton-Young, a member of the Davidson County Democratic Party, asked the Mayor if charter schools were a precursor to "schools of choice."  Dean responded by saying that he supports charters schools and that he wants it to be a choice for every family in the city.  He also noted that in every high school in Nashville the graduation rate has gone up.  This would be key for Mayor Dean, as he basically staked his job on the idea that graduation rates would increase under his leadership.

Dean was questioned on using federal grant money designated for improving Nashville's health for the gymnasium at the Looby Center, which apparently has to close during a hard rain due to a leaky roof.  Dean said those funds couldn't be used for capitol projects, rather it was being used on programs to improve health living, reduce the number of food deserts, etc.. But Dean promised that he would look into the problems at the Looby center first thing Monday morning. 

Finally, the Mayor was given an admittedly softball question by Councilman Jerry Maynard about bringing back baseball to Sulphur Dell.  Dean said that Greer stadium is "long term, not what is needed," while praising the new owners for putting in two and a half million into renovations of Greer.  While Dean said he'd let the group studying locations for a new baseball stadium, the Mayor said "let me just say this, baseball is my favorite sport, I love history, baseball took place historically at Sulphur Dell and when you talk about energizing economic development in North Nashville, that would be sensational.  You would be able to capitalize on all that activity, and just make it that much better.  But, you've gotta go through a process of looking at what the best location is."

Tanaka Vercher Launches Campaign

Tanaka Vercher held a campaign kick-off event last night at Raz'z on Murfreesboro Rd. in Antioch. Vercher had initially pulled papers to run against Robert Duvall, but has subsequently been drawn into a redesigned 28th and will instead run against Councilman Duane Dominy, who last year attempted to unseat Sherry Jones in the State House.

I spoke with Tanaka about her race and the area she lived in. She feels (rightly so in my opinion) that Antioch has received a bum rap by many in other parts of Nashville, and that she wants to help restore the community to the up-and-coming destination for businesses and residents that is was when she first moved there.

Press Release below: