Tuesday, August 20, 2013

CM Duane Dominy overcomes popular dissent with an assist from a progressively challenged Metro Council

That sound you hear from Metro
Council? It's the sound of inevitability.
You should have seen this coming March 2012 when the Metro Council handed conservative CM Duane Dominy a 22-15 2nd reading win--in spite of strong community opposition--on a bill that protected the big real estate investment of Hickory MC Investments, which plans to build a new asphalt plant on the doorstep of an Antioch subdivision. Even an indefinite deferral a few weeks later only bought the wealthy property owner's lobbyist Thomas White more time to erode opposition from the generally spineless Metro Council.

Emboldened over the summer, CM Dominy rehatched his bill to permit the new asphalt plant. He brought it back for third and final reading. The community opposition Facebook page reported insider info a few days ago that "the lobbyists for the asphalt plant have been working hard for 4 months" and that those lobbyists "told the council that we had basically gotten used to the idea and are no longer opposed." Gotten used to the idea of exposing susceptible neighborhood kids to cancer and asthma risks? Gotten used to endangering the preservation of fragile wildlife and the watershed? What would be council progressives' defense for supporting the blacktop mongers? That their convenient greenness does not encompass environmental and health jeopardy outside their own districts?

Predictably, weak-kneed and campaign-financed Metro Council voted with Dominy and the lobbyists tonight, 30-4. The minority of 4 were CMs from districts near the proposed plant. Naturally.


UPDATE: the tweet I linked in last paragraph above was originally from CM Fabian Bedne's account. According to Twitter it no longer exists. I wish now I would have made a screenshot of it before it was taken down. But CM Bedne did tweet that evening that the 4 CMs voting against the plant were those from near the plant. In the future, I will screenshot his tweets whenever I link them here.

3 comments:

  1. Tom White is the Metro Council pimp. He controls the pursestrings of the campaign finances, so many of the Metro Council members simply do as their told and fail to use any common sense. Since most don't have the guts (or other body parts) to stand up to him, White just walks right over them. Money trumps democracy every time. Where is Green Dean in this? Guess since it wasn't near his neighborhood, he could care less too? Reminds us of the new toxix Salemtown landfill.

    This reader just wonders how Tom White can sleep at night. Is he too so cold that he doesn't care about people getting cancer? REadre also wonders if Dominy ever really did care or if he put the bill off long enough to run for and lose a state legislative seat?

    There are several recent former council members who screwed their constituents and local citizens who are very sick now. Remember boys and girls, what goes around comes around. The consequences for your actions and decisions will catch up to you before you leave this earth. Vengeance is mine saith the Lord. Look out!

    ReplyDelete
  2. How is Antioch supposed to be a great place to live when another Asphalt plant is being built? Google Earth Duane Dominy's address and look at what he lives across the street from and you will understand why this man has no clue. This idiot really doesn't believe people will be affected by this. Unbelievable!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Mike, I deleted it because I misread the count on the board. It wasn't 4 and didn't want to make an inaccurate statement. I apologize. Fabian Bedne

    ReplyDelete