Do Any of the 26 Metro Council Members Voting with Diane Neighbors in Support of Car Wash Exemption Have Conflicts of Interest?

One of the requests made by the Nashville Neighborhood Alliance is that supporters of the controversial Car Wash Exemption Bill recuse themselves from voting on Tuesday if they have ties to campaign contributors like John Hobbs and others with a vested interest in putting car washes in neighborhoods without regard to neighborhood consent. The NNA charges that Diane Neighbors has ties to campaign contributors that influence her stance on the bill.

26 other council members voted with Ms. Neighbors, but it is as yet unclear as to whether they have ties to groups lobbying on behalf of car wash interests. At least one of those voting "aye" is Buck Dozier, who is running for Mayor this year and should immediately disclose whether some of the considerable campaign funds he has received have come from these specific contributors and recuse himself from voting on Tuesday if so.

In the interest of helping constituents find out more details from council members, I have listed the names, e-mail addresses, and links to district maps of members who voted for the bill on second reading and of members who were absent that evening below:

Members Voting In Favor of Exempting Car Wash Developments

Buck Dozier (buck.dozier@nashville.gov) -- at Large
Diane Neighbors (diane.neighbors@nashville.gov) -- at Large
Adam Dread (adam.dread@nashville.gov) -- at Large
Brenda Gilmore (brenda.gilmore@nashville.gov) -- Dist. 1
Jamey Isabel (jamie.isabel@nashville.gov) -- Dist. 2
Walter Hunt (whuntnash@aol.com) -- Dist. 3
Michael Craddock (michael.craddock@nashville.gov) -- Dist. 4
Pam Murray (pam.murray@nashville.gov) -- Dist. 5
Erik Cole (erik.cole@nashville.gov) -- Dist. 7
Jim Forkum (jim.forkum@nashville.gov) -- Dist. 9
Rip Ryman (rip.ryman@nashville.gov) -- Dist. 10
Feller Brown (feller.brown@nashville.gov) -- Dist. 11
Jim Gotto (jim.gotto@nashville.gov) -- Dist. 12
Carl Burch (carl.burch@nashville.gov) -- Dist. 13
Harold White (whw777@comcast.net) -- Dist. 14
J.B. Loring (j.b.loring@nashville.gov) -- Dist. 15
Ronnie Greer (ronnie.greer@nashville.gov) -- Dist. 17
Ludye Wallace (ludye.wallace@nashville.gov) -- Dist. 19
Billy Joe Walls (billyjoe.walls@nashville.gov) -- Dist. 20
Ed Whitmore (edward.whitmore@nashville.gov) -- Dist. 21
Jason Alexander (jason.alexander@nashville.gov) -- Dist. 28
Jim Hodge (jim.hodge@nashville.gov) -- Dist. 30
Parker Toler (parker.toler@nashville.gov) -- Dist. 31
Sam Coleman (sam.coleman@nashville.gov) -- Dist. 32
Robert Duvall (robert.duvall@nashville.gov) -- Dist. 33
Lynn Williams (lynn.williams@nashville.gov) -- Dist. 34
Charlie Tygard (charlie.tygard@nashville.gov) -- Dist. 35

Members Absent on January 2

David Briley (david.briley@nashville.gov) -- at Large (also running for Mayor)
Jason Hart (jason.hart@nashville.gov) -- Dist. 8
Eric Crafton (eric.crafton@nashville.gov) -- Dist. 22
Emily Evans (emily.evans@nashville.gov) -- Dist. 23


(Carolyn Baldwin Tucker and Mike Jameson abstained from voting; Page, Hausser, Summers, Shulman, Adkins, Foster, Wilhoite were the members voting against exempting car washes).