CAPITOL VIEW
By Pat Nolan, NEWSCHANNEL5 Political Analyst
June 9, 2023
THE NASHVILLE MAYOR’S RACE IS EVEN WIDER OPEN THAN ANYONE THOUGHT; BILL BECK; THE WAR OVER LGBTQ RIGHTS CONTINUES TO BE WAGED ON SEVERAL FRONTS; METRO COUNCIL IS ONE VOTE AWAY FROM APPROVING A NEW CITY BUDGET; THE SUPREME COURT; WHEN A MOVEMENT CAN STOP A RUMOR; CONGRESSMAN JOHN ROSE IS ON INSIDE POLITICS DISCUSSING THE LATEST FROM WASHINGTON, DONALD TRUMP AND FROM THE PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN TRAIL; 50 YEARS LATER
THE NASHVILLE MAYOR’S RACE IS EVEN MORE WIDE OPEN THAN ANYONE THOUGHT
Everywhere I go these days, people ask me about the Nashville Mayor’s race.
My standard answer is there are too many candidates (12) on the August 3 ballot, making it difficult for voters to discern who to support. And so far, no candidate or candidates are distinguishing themselves as potential favorites to make it to the inevitable runoff vote on September 14 between the top two vote getters in August.
But even I was surprised this week at how wide open the race appears to be when the latest public opinion poll came out. The survey was underwritten by a coalition of local commercial realtor groups, and conducted by a well- respected polling firm which gets high marks from the 538 web site.
The results show a bevy of candidates so bunched together (at 10% or less), that it is hard to discern even one frontrunner, especially with a margin of error of 4.2% in the poll.
Oh wait, maybe there is a frontrunner. Like earlier polls, “undecided” or “someone else” dominate the results. In fact, in this poll, if undecided or someone else were a single candidate, he or she would garner more than a majority (51%) of support.
Hopefully, the field will ultimately shake out, but my concern is, what happens if not. While Nashvillians have voted more than 250,000 or more in recent presidential elections, the vote totals for mayor lag well behind that. Usually, the mayoral vote total is not a whole lot over 100,000. The biggest turnout ever was 140,000 36 years ago in 1987. That’s when Bill Boner defeated Phil Bredesen in a runoff election. If the current mayoral field remains muddled, “undecided” or “someone else” may lead voters to tune out and not go the polls, waiting to see what the runoff field holds. That is not a good idea. I would assert who our mayor is more important in our daily lives than the president, and we ought to vote that way.
The candidates continue to attend a seemingly never-ending number of community forums, trying to win support and stand out from the rest of the field. One of the recent forums concerned the controversial $2.1 billion roofed Titans stadium.
A coalition of arts groups have held a forum, and asked candidates to respond to a questionnaire. While not making an endorsement the groups then ranked the candidates on arts issues.
BILL BECK
The unexpected death, from a heart attack this past weekend, of Nashville Democratic State Representative Bill Beck, has shaken the local political community to its core.
Most political obituary stories are filled with statements issued by the offices of other elected officials. Bill Beck’s had that, but yet the comments about Representative Beck seemed more personal and touching. Bill Beck was truly a man well liked on both sides of the aisle and someone who had and kept good relationships that helped to get things done. In short, not the kind of lawmaker we can afford to lose when the relationship between Nashville and state government are at their lowest point ever.
But a replacement must be found to fill Bill Beck’s shoes on the Hill. Already the special election dates have been announced. They will coincide with the two Metro city elections already set for August 3 (primary) and September 14 (general election). That will save the expense and confusion of picking different dates for these special elections.
The Metro Council also has the responsibility to fill Representative Beck’s vacant seat in the Davidson County delegation on a temporary basis. In a “normal” year, when state lawmakers are in recess until January, making an interim choice might not be top priority. But with a special legislative session set for August to discuss gun issues, it is paramount that the Nashville constituents of Representative Beck have someone to represent them in this very important matter.
In a rare mark of respect, Representative Beck laid in state at the State Capitol on Thursday. His funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center. He was just 61 years old.
Rest in peace, Representative Beck. Thank you for a job well done.
THE WAR OVER LGBTQ RIGHTS CONTINUES TO BE WAGED ON SEVERAL FRONTS
The now national war over LGBTQ rights, which began in several ways here in Tennessee, was raging on several fronts this week.
A Memphis federal judge issued a long-awaited ruling striking down the state’s new drag law making such performances illegal in public places or with children under 18 present.
The judge was scathing in his comments declaring the statute too vague and is an unconstitutional violation of the First Amendment. While a dispute remains over how broad-ranging the ruling is statewide, the Tennessee Attorney General says he plans to appeal, meaning the legal battle will continue.
Meanwhile, on July 1, a new law to ban gender-affirming health care for children under 18 in Tennessee will go into effect. The deadline leaves some parents and their children with very tough decisions to make very soon.
Gender-affirming care is still a health procedure legal for adults in Tennessee. But for the second time in recent months, the Metro Nashville Employee Benefit Board has voted to deny extending the city’s health insurance coverage to include gender affirming care for Metro workers.
The decision comes despite the strong and continuing support of Mayor John Cooper to cover gender-affirming care.
In Washington, President Joe Biden is seeking to protect LGBTQ rights and safety, while also holding the largest Proud Month celebration ever at the White House. However, the event will be rescheduled after it was canceled due to all the smoke from Canadian wild fires that created a dangerous situation outdoors in many parts of the eastern United States.
Elsewhere on the national level, up to 20 GOP-led states now have laws restricting or outlawing gender-affirming care, primarily concerning children. But a federal judge in Florida has stopped such a law in that state, although his ruling seems to apply only to the three children and their parents who brought this particular legal action.
By the way, if you’ve noticed how many lawsuits the state of Tennessee is involved in these days due to all the “hot button” social issue laws the Republican Super Majority is passing, Governor Bill Lee (who signed all the measures into law), says it’s “par for the course” in government.
If you are keeping score, as these lawsuits continue to be filed and slowly move their way through the judicial system, pay attention to what “par for the course” might cost taxpayers in legal fees.
METRO COUNCIL IS ONE VOTE AWAY FROM APPROVING A NEW CITY BUDGET
Tuesday night, the Metro Council approved on second reading the city’s new operating budget as proposed by Mayor John Cooper. The proposed spending plan is $3.2 billion dollars, up 6.2% from the current Metro budget. Much of the increase will go to schools and additional public safety employees. The budget also provides 4% cost-of-living adjustments and 3% step pay raises for Metro employees, including Metro Nashville Public Schools employees.
The council is set to final approval at its next meeting on June 20
At that time, they will approve a substitute budget that will amend the current proposal to reflect changes the Council wants to make. The body got lots of suggestions about that from the 66-plus members of the public who spoke at the annual public hearing the Council holds on the budget. The number one suggestion was a bigger pay raise for Metro employees especially librarians and substitute teachers, who along with many others, say they can no longer afford to live in the county where they work for the local government.
Several employees asked for a 7% across the board of living raise compared to Mayor Cooper’s 4%. I am hearing the Council is looking to add 1% to 2% more, although with the new restrictions the Council has adopted on the use of surplus funds, that higher figure may be hard to reach. Also given the size of Metro Government, even a 1% additional pay hike is a significant amount of money and it is very likely a permanent increase in the budget as pay raises always go up and are never adjusted downward.
THE SUPREME COURT
Just when it appears the 1960s Voting Rights Act was dead, the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday seemed to reverse a trend in its recent rulings on voting rights. The High Court voted 5-4 to uphold a decision by a three-judge appeal court panel that threw out Alabama’s new congressional map, which included only one congressional district with a majority of Black voters even though African Americans make up more than a quarter of the state’s population.
It appears Alabama will need to redraw its congressional district map and add a new district that better represents the African American vote in that state. I suspect this may create similar litigation from other states. Might that include Tennessee?
The Supreme Court also issued a ruling of local interest Thursday, favoring Jack Daniels.
WHEN A MOVEMENT CAN STOP A RUMOR
When Nashvillians get information that something may soon happen they strongly oppose, they organize to stop it. That’s true even when the focus of the “rumors” repeatedly remains silent or will make no comment.
That’s how it’s been the last few weeks when there were persistent rumors that Nashville’s non-profit Alive Hospice was about to be sold to a for-profit entity.
Former Alive Hospice leaders, board members, and even former Nashville congressman Jim Cooper, railed together to oppose the idea and demand answers. But the current leadership and the board at Alive Hospice either gave no comment responses or gave non-denial answers that the organization would never do anything to harm the organization or hurt Nashville.
Finally this week, Alive Hospice gave a definitive response. Alive Hospice is not being sold and is not for sale.
But one other thing remains clear as this current crisis ends, Alive Hospice’s lack of transparency in handling in this matter, leaves the organization with a desperate need to restore the public’s faith and confidence in Alive Hospice as it seeks to move ahead.
CONGRESSMAN JOHN ROSE IS ON INSIDE POLITICS DISCUSSING THE LATEST FROM WASHINGTON, DONALD TRUMP AND FROM THE PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN TRAIL
Republican 6th District Tennessee Congressman John Rose is our guest on INSIDE POLITICS this week.
The Nashville area representative joins us after a busy period in Washington with both the House and the Senate approving a bi-partisan bill to extend the nation’s debt limit until January 2025 while also imposing some spending cuts.
There has been a GOP backlash in the House in the wake of the passage of that new law, that shut down the lower chamber for at least a couple of days this week and maybe longer, which we will discuss.
This week also saw a continuing increase in candidates joining an already crowded 2024 Republican presidential field. We will discuss, in particular, Congressman Rose’s endorsement of former President Donald Trump for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination. It is now reported that Mr. Trump has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Miami on 7 counts emerging from the Department of Justice’s probe of the former president’s handling of classified documents.
We welcome the Congressman back to the program!
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50 YEARS LATER
The CMA Fest.
It is now the premier annual tourist event in Nashville, bringing thousands of visitors and tens of millions of dollars to our town.
What was known when the event began as “Fan Fair” is 50 years old this year. It’s been quite a history and journey through Nashville over the past five decades. Here’s a guide of what to expect this year with a good bit of the music being presented free of charge.
I have my own special memory of the beginning of Fan Fair. It was in 1972 when I was working part time at WLAC Radio while I was a student at Vanderbilt. Eddie Parker was one of the reporters I was working with each day. I will never forget one day Eddie phoned in a report and taped sound from a news conference where an annual country music festival was being created called “Fan Fair.”
At the time, it sounded like a good idea. But I had no idea this annual event would grow into being the city’s most prestigious tourist attraction as the CMA Music Festival. It brings tens of thousands of tourists to town to be entertained by an “A- List” of country music superstars. Those visitors spend tens of millions of dollars too.
And it all began with that first news conference and Eddie’s radio report in 1972.
