The Weakness on Both Sides

Time for real leaders to speak up

Does anyone know, here at mid-week, where all that inane back-and-forth between Nashville’s City Hall and Tennessee’s Capitol Hill actually stands?

I don’t know, and honestly I do try to keep up.

The whole kerfuffle so far has been so much bluster (from the state people) about Nashville saying “No, thanks” last August to the pressure to welcome the Republican National Convention next year – or possibly any year. The Metro Council opposition took several forms – the main complaint being that in our present-day political environment the thing could quickly turn violent, some of the national Republican figures being so quick to encourage such behavior. That worry seemed reasonable to me.

At the moment, the rancor aimed downhill from Capitol Hill seems to erupt every few days with an outburst of condescending ridicule (toward Nashville) from the GOP legislature. You’d think the MAGA Republicans up there would be too busy with their systematic persecution of large demographic groups, like students, teachers and transgender teens. But no.

In the past month, in fact, the Republican payback crusade has spotted many high-value targets inside Nashville. They have in their sights…

1. State takeover of Nashville’s airport authority.

2. State takeover of the Nashville Sports Authority.

3. Stripping the name of the late Congressman John Lewis from parts of the street formerly known as Fifth Avenue – and replacing the civil rights hero’s name with that of Donald Trump.

4. Cutting in half the size of Metro Council.

And, what exactly is our City Hall doing to put all this foolish mischief to rest? Very little of substance, it seems,

For a few days, Mayor John Cooper seemed to inject some sanity into this sorry picture, announcing that he would send a new letter to the RNC inviting the convention to Music City after all, though possibly not until four years hence, in 2028. The weekend headlines were glowing. He had taken a conciliatory step toward the halfway point.

And House Speaker Cameron Sexton had nice things to say – until he didn’t. Would the worst of the legislature’s vengeance bills be spiked, if not withdrawn?

No so fast. Nobody in authority spoke to any of those other problem bills – just to the one that could tank the city’s good will with its bond holders and disrupt the funding solution for the Music City Center. What kind of deal did Cooper actually cut with the legislative leaders? Nobody’s talking.

Can Mayor Cooper deliver on his choice now to recruit the RNC in any year? Arguably, no – not without a new level of consensus across Metro Council. That choice wasn’t close last summer, and that was before Cooper chose to be a lame-duck mayor for six more months.

Can Speaker Sexton actually lead his House Republican caucus – some of whom are quite radical when it comes to Nashville’s brand of progressivism – to do a quick turnabout and pull back from all this silly game-playing? Doubtful, yet this will indeed be an objective test of Sexton’s power there.

To my eye, all this smacks not of strength but of weakness on both sides – in the Speaker’s office and he Mayor’s, too.

And what seems needed in this leadership vacuum, especially now, is the kind of plain straight talk that can only come from real leaders understanding the need to rise above narrow political fist-fights that are wholly unnecessary.

Fortunately for everybody, this happened on Wednesday afternoon. Thirty-five Nashville community leaders sent a no-nonsense letter to Sexton and his state Senate counterpart, Lt. Gov. Randy McNally. Here’s what they wrote…

“There are now multiple legislative proposals that, among other results, would impede the city’s ability to self-govern by downsizing the Metro Council; allow the state to strip away tourism-related tax revenues from the Music City Center causing it to potentially default on its bond obligations; partially assume control of the Nashville Airport Authority and the Metro Sports Authority; change the way we have successfully conducted elections in this city for decades; and remove the late Congressman John Lewis’s name from a downtown street where he and other African-American historical figures helped shape the civil-rights movement.

“These measures pose significant financial and legal risk, and they threaten to destabilize the climate for economic success and government efficacy that have long been the city’s calling card and a major contributor to the state’s success. These efforts both individually and collectively not only raise serious policy considerations, but they are also simply bad business. We believe the economic harm they would cause, the legal and governmental chaos they would create, and the impact they would have on minority representation in a community that values and benefits from diversity are significant.

“Much of Tennessee’s recent economic growth is attributable to Middle Tennessee, and Middle Tennessee’s economic future is inextricably linked to Nashville and Davidson County. Protracted tension between state and local policymakers is not healthy for the city, the region, or the state — and has the potential to inflict long-term economic and reputational damage.

“Looking ahead, we are asking for your help to reboot this conversation.”

Well, finally. At last, common sense and straight talk from a significant group of responsible Nashvillians.

The 35 Nashville leaders who signed their names didn’t have to. But they understood the time has come for responsible adults to speak up.

© 2023 Keel Hunt