Good thing she took me off the mailing list

Since other progressives report receiving solicitation e-mails from Re-elect Megan Barry for Metro Council at-Large 2011, I seem to be spared the trouble of telling CM Barry "not this time, not after this term, not since you deserted some of us who contributed in 2007."

Signs of Overcompensation

Charlie Tygard is about to reintroduce his effort to allow LED billboards into residential neighborhoods. So, what does he do? He rails in the Sunday Tennessean against the visual clutter of "illegal signs." This is not the first time CM Tygard has lead with a pro-"beautification" jab before pulling an unethical sign stunt of his own. During the 2007 council campaign, CM Tygard protested to the Tennessean about campaign sign clutter. Then he put up big campaign banners that encouraged people to "re-elect" him. CM Tygard, who was running as a first time at-Large candidate, had been term-limited out of his Bellevue council seat and could not legally be re-elected.

So, whenever Charlie Tygard sets you up in the mainstream media with distracting jabs about illegal signs, be on guard for an even bigger sucker punch, which will likely be re-introduction of his LED ordinance.

Another at-Large Council Member Hocking a Bright Sign Bill

Last term it was Buck Dozier (at-large) sponsoring a bill (unsuccessfully) to allow more distracting bright light clutter on the streetscapes of Nashville. Now Charlie Tygard is poised to take his turn. And I have to wonder how far local sign maker and Metro patron Bobby Joslin's foot is in the door CM Tygard is opening.

In a Friday afternoon e-mail to fellow Metro council members, CM Tygard (at-large) says that he intends to file an amendment to Metro's Sign Ordinance on Tuesday that would "allow churches, synagogues, and other non-profits that exist on major streets, i.e. collector & arterial roads only, to install LED-signs as a matter of right." He is doing so on behalf of a Baptist church in Bellevue. He tells his fellows that churches and non-profits in residential neighborhoods would not be permitted LED-signs; only those that have to compete with Walgreens or Publix on "major roads" would be allowed. That sounds like a lot of new business for Mr. Joslin's company.

I'm not a big fan of any of these new iris-branding LED signs that lead to driver rubbernecking at places like Walgreens, but in fairness to commercial establishments, we should ask whether Baptist churches are aiming for the same market niche as the local drug store or supermarket. What kind of competitive edge does Publix LED have that puts Harpeth Heights Baptist Church at an economic disadvantage? The church is in the business of saving souls, not selling oranges, and permitting rezoning so that it can proselytize seems to be skirting a rather gray area.

CM Tygard's bill also looks like a narrowly suburban-leaning one. This distinction between commercial areas placed along arterial streets completely set off from sprawling neighborhoods and secondary roads is irrelevant to high-density urban neighborhoods, where either commercial areas are mixed-use or arterial roads are right on top of stoops. An LED sign at a great distance in suburbia would loom very near many urban homes.

One would think that as an at-large member, vested with representing all of Nashville, CM Tygard would have branched out from his former Bellevue seat and started considering the consequences of such a bill for all of our neighborhoods. But with this bill and his recent comments about getting a Bellevue library stuck into the Bellevue Mall financing plan, it appears that he ran for this seat in order to bring the goods home to his own former constituents.

My Eyes Are Peeled on This One, Brainstem

My friend, Sean Braisted, beat me to this City Paper news that new at-Large Council Member Jerry Maynard is having a fundraiser with some very influential Nashvillians to help him pay off his campaign debt. Sean is much less cynical and much more charitable than I am and he suggests that we give Mr. Maynard a chance since this is not a big deal as Sean sees it. But he also calls upon us watchdogs to keep tabs on the situation.

I feel more like a hangdog right now: after seeing the news earlier on Karl Dean's post-election Joslin-connection, I'm plain disappointed that a second leader for whom I cast a vote in the run-off is getting all tied up with big-money company, which has a very keen interest in Metro Council decisions.

The company Mr. Maynard keeps may not lend to balance when decisions get made. Here is a list of the contributors that the City Paper names:

• Adam Dread--lawyer who helped Davidson Co. Republicans prop up Kay Brooks on the School Board
• Other lawyers: Keith Simmons, Bob Tuke, James Weaver
• Multiple lobbyists: Jane Alvis, Peter Heidenreich, Joe Hall, Abby Trotter
• Roy Dale--Dale and Associates Engineering and Architecture firm who designed the controversial water holding system for a Salemtown development
• Other developers and contractors: Bill Hostettler, Bill Knestrick
• Nashville Chamber of Commerce Chair Darrell Freeman
• Convention Center proponent Bert Mathews

We will have to keep an eye on Council proceedings and watch to see whether at-Large Member Maynard sponsors bills or votes in ways that could be a conflict of interest based on his pocketbook needs rather than the broader community's welfare. It's just a shame that the post-election honeymoon ended so quickly for me.

Tygard May Still Face Challenge for his at-Large Seat

Unlike Philip Hostettler, Saletta Holloway looks to file a suit against Charlie Tygard's (re-)election before the 10-day statute of limitations is up.

A Couple of Notes from Last Night's District Run-offs

• The Tennessean refers to a website in the District 11 run-off that may have made a difference in Rick McClintock losing to Darren Jernigan. That website hit Mr. McClintock hard for campaign contributions that he received from developers and construction owners. His online opponents also referred to Mr. McClintock as too "business friendly" and not endorsed by those who actually live in 11.
• District 33 incumbent Robert Duvall survived his run-off by a mere 52 votes over opponent Page Turner. Mr. Duvall, who showed a propensity to vote with the Council's conservative bloc (Crafton, Tygard, et al.), definitely did not receive a mandate from his constituents.

Voters Say NO to Two of Three Old Guard in the at-Large Run-off

Megan Barry outpaced her nearest rival, Council fixture Charlie Tygard, by nearly 6,000 votes. This was a huge victory for ethics reform in the Metro Council. Fortunately, other old guard council members J.B. Loring and Ronnie Greer, both of whom seemed ethically challenged at times, failed to place in the top four places for open at-Large seats. Besides Barry's and Tygard's, the remaining open seats went to Ronnie Steine and Jerry Maynard.

That is fairly decent consolation from August's results from where I sit. To have had three of the four open seats go to Tygard, Loring, and Greer would have been backward and awful. Instead, Mr. Tygard's conservative old patonage approach to government would seem to be somewhat mitigated by the other four at-Large members, who seem moderate and even progressive compared to Mr. Tygard (Tim Garrett, about whom I don't know as much, won back in August and avoided the run-off).

The results seem to have more to do with new leadership, and they seem to have less to do with "experience" as some of the campaigns had suggested.

VOTE FOR MEGAN BARRY TODAY!

A New Voice

on Metro Council

for Us.

Did I Miss Something?

Nashville Public Radio did the first two installments of what it called a "three part series" on at-Large candidates in the run-off. What happened to the third? I was waiting for the one that included Megan Barry, and it never came as far as I can tell. Today is the election and the installments ran on last Wednesday and Thursday. What did I miss?

Judge Rules at-Large and District Council Seats Different Offices

But losers of next week's at-Large run-off will still have 10 days afterward to file a challenge to that particular reading of the term limit referendum.

Charlie Tygard Promises to Expand Council Patronage of Private Organizations

While Megan Barry responded to the Tennessean by proposing streamlining the inefficient run-off process as a means of saving Metro tax dollars, Charlie Tygard--the Council's King of Non-Profit Patronage--was telling them that he would continue to shunt our property tax dollars away from public services that benefit all Nashvillians. He said that, if he wins the 9/11 run-off, intends to send them to private groups like Habitat for Humanity, despite the fact that Habitat officials told me in July that Nashville's last contribution represented only a tiny fraction of the money donated to the local building projects.

You might remember that one of the beneficiaries of Mr. Tygard's penchant for private patronage appeared in one of his campaign commercials to endorse him over the summer, and "Habitat for Humanity" was listed right next to her name. Mr. Tygard's comments to the Tennessean are replete with irony, as he says that his highest priority is to provide "ethical leadership and experience" if elected. Given his promises to expand private patronage, I don't see any ethical leadership and experience starting in the next Tygard regime.

At-Large Candidate Megan Barry Supports "Instant Run-offs" to Save Metro Money

From this morning's Tennessean:

Candidates could be forced to define their campaigns earlier if Megan Barry has her way. Barry, who finished third in the general election Aug. 2, said she is looking at proposing that future council races be determined through instant runoff elections.

In instant runoff elections, voters rank their multiple votes in order of preference. If a voter's top selection doesn't garner enough votes, that ballot then moves to the next candidate in line, as indicated by the voter.

San Francisco uses instant runoff elections, as do several states for overseas voters.

"A lot of other communities do this," Barry said. "It could save the city some money."

What's Better Than Voting for Megan Barry Once? Getting to Vote for Her Again!

I voted today. I voted for Megan Barry for Council-at-Large today.

This has been a public service announcement to remind you to go vote in the Metro run-off elections, especially if you are predisposed to vote for Megan Barry, the only candidate on the ballot with ethics oversight experience.

You can still vote early until Thursday or vote in the regular run-off on 9/11. Either way, vote for Megan Barry for Council-at-Large!

Davidson Co. "Election Guide" Posted in the Williamson Co. Seat

"Friends of Charlie Tygard" sent out an "Election Guide," which looks like a neutral voter resource above the fold on the front page, but it quickly becomes a Tygard Campaign promotion piece the farther you read in. We received ours yesterday. The postage mark indicates that the guide was posted in Franklin, rather than in any town in Davidson County.

Notable on the front page is a "story" on the Mayor's race, which quickly segues into the Vice Mayor's race, which quickly segues into the election of the Vice Mayor and one at-Large member based on experience, which quickly segues into Charlie Tygard and his "proven track record," which should have segued into the warts on that track record if there were some intellectual honesty in this campaign material. The Mayor's race story ends with a comment by prominent Republican-funder Lee Beaman about Mr. Tygard's ethic.

Also mentionable on the front page is an attempt to tie into the illegal immigration issue, pairing Mr. Tygard with Sheriff Daron Hall, who has received a lot of positive mainstream press for his illegal immigrant background check program. Not mentioned is Mr. Tygard's vote for "English Only/First," which was a not-so-veiled attempt for Metro Council to scare legal and illegal immigrants into assimilating faster than they are already trying to. Given the connections between anti-immigration and "English Only/First," I can understand why the Tygard Campaign would not want to mention his entire voting record, but again, let's be intellectually honest.

Also, this connection between Daron Hall and Mr. Tygard has got me wondering about a curious sequence of events where the Sheriff's Office received money from Metro Council with a lot of help from Charlie Tygard. Then, the Friends of Tygard received a campaign contribution from Mr. Hall a few months later. Now we come to find out from Tygard's mailer that "The Sheriff's Community Service Group" helped build an inline hockey rink for Youth, Inc., a non-profit to which Mr. Tygard has been personally connected. Do these guys seem a little too tight on the contributions/funding front for two Metro officials?

Finally, the "Election Guide" has the garden-variety menu of endorsements on the last page that mentions the general group of "Nashville Neighborhoods" in the same list with the Greater Nashville Hotel/Motel Association and the Metro Police Teamsters Union. There may be some neighborhoods that endorse Charlie Tygard, but there are other neighborhoods whom he alienated with his sponsorship of the Car Wash Exemption Bill. He needs to take responsibility for that fool's errand, too. However, he should not have insinuated generally that neighborhoods in Nashville support him.

"No Tax Pledges" Amount to Nothing Beyond Fear Mongering

I wish I could say that Mayoral Candidate Bob Clement's bold pose of taking a "No Tax Pledge" impressed me to any degree. But such pledges are full of sound and fury, signifying nothing but the message, "I will pander to voters' deepest fears about their pocketbooks in order to stampede their votes." And when a reporter conveys that no at-Large Metro Council candidate has committed to a No Tax Pledge, I am not phased in the least.

It wasn't too long ago that the Tennessee Tax Revolt secured a commitment from a single Metro Council Member to sign their No Tax Pledge. Afterwards, TTR turned a one-eighty to let the guy off the hook when he chose to support a budget option that raised taxes less than the Mayor proposed to raise taxes. It is hard to take the no-tax side seriously beyond the knee-jerk emotions they try to evoke.

But how can a No Tax Pledge fly in a town where the Community Centers shut down now on Saturdays for lack of funds, where crumbling roads are forever in need of repair, where aging sewer systems are attracting federal attention for the environmental hazards posed, and where crime has to be fought with more than just good intentions?


UPDATE: Via VV, Karl Dean pledges in his own way:

At-Large Candidates Should Have to Live Down Their Rash Words of the Past

I ain’t voting for nothing that’s going to keep me from eating .... That’s crazy, see, rich people can do that kind of stuff, see. They get to eat when they want to, go buy food and things. You know, they can, two, three of them, get together, spend money to buy food for 40 people. I can’t afford to do that. … That [patron-provided] meal is a thank-you from a grateful community for your service.

- - Former Council Member Ronnie Greer in 2005 on the occasion of the Metro Council's ethics initiative to end Meals for Deals

New Anti-Tygard Website Intends to "Take Out the Cat"

Unnamed "Residents of District 35" brought their "Retire Tygard" website online today as a medium for motivating people to vote against Charlie Tygard in the September 11 at-Large run-off by voting for the "4 [other at-Large] candidates who are most likely to bump Tygard out of the top 4 remaining slots." The residents call the 4 remaining candidates that the Tennessean endorsed (Megan Barry, Saletta Holloway, Jerry Maynard, and Ronnie Steine) "an excellent (progressive) group of candidates."

The website authors see Mr. Tygard's connections to wealthy land owners, developers, and builders as their motivation and they seem really peeved about his last-minute reintroduction of a long-deferred and controversial zoning bill at the final Metro Council meeting.

They also have a blog that they encourage their readers to use to share their thoughts and their "anger."

Tygards of Different Stripes

Charlie Tygard seems to run his at-Large campaign one way and defend his at-Large legal case in an opposite way. One the one hand, Mr. Tygard ran for at-Large on the plea to Nashvillians to "re-elect" him (photo credit: Sean Braisted), even though he was no longer eligible to run for his 35th District seat.

On the other hand, Charlie Tygard's personal defense attorney, James Murphy, contradicted the Tygard argument for re-election during yesterday's Chancery hearing of Philip Hostettler's case for an injunction on the September 11 at-Large run-off. Mr. Murphy said several times that Mr. Tygard, J.B. Loring, and Ronnie Greer are running "for a different office" in their at-Large campaigns.

Attorney Murphy told Judge Claudia Bonnyman that Mr. Tygard was originally put in office by the "electorate of the 35th District," but that now his at-Large run is for a "clearly separate and distinct office." The differences, according to Mr. Murphy, are based on who elects the different candidates and on the residency requirement distinctions.

To top the whole thing off (in what I think is the defense's strongest argument), Mr. Murphy appealed to the idea that referendum voters did not intend to prohibit candidates from being elected to different offices in their attempt to limit candidates from being re-elected to the same offices.

Was Mr. Murphy indicting Mr. Hostettler's case or Mr. Tygard's own campaign?!

Last Night's Roll Call Votes on the Car Wash Bill

A couple of observations on last night's 2 roll call votes on Diane Neighbors' motion to defeat the Car Wash Exemption Bill: all three of the at-Large candidates--Charlie Tygard, J.B. Loring, and Ronnie Greer--in the September 11 run-off election voted to table her motion and then voted against defeating the controversial bill.

That tells me that they are embedded in the pockets of developers and that they do not take the concerns of neighborhoods seriously. Do you really want to vote for candidates on September 11 who would vote to make it easier for car washes to be put in your neighborhood with no regard to neighborhood feedback about the development? If you are a developer who wants the absolute freedom to throw down anything in a neighborhood without any responsibility, then vote for Tygard, Loring, and Greer. If you believe that developers should be good neighbors (which includes fielding community feedback), then vote for anybody but Tygard, Loring, and Greer.

___________

Here is the roll call vote (17-17) on the motion to table Diane Neighbors' motion to disapprove (in "AYE," returning members' names bolded; Sept. 11 run-off members italicized):

AYE:

Buck Dozier
Jamie Isabel
Walter Hunt
Michael Craddock
Rip Ryman
Carl Burch
Harold White
J.B. Loring
Ronnie Greer
Ludye Wallace
Eric Crafton
Randy Foster
Jim Hodge
Parker Toler
Sam Coleman
Robert Duvall
Charlie Tygard

NO:

Diane Neighbors, Carolyn Baldwin Tucker, David Briley, Adam Dread, Brenda Gilmore, Pam Murray, Mike Jameson, Eric Cole, Jim Forkum, Anna Page (run-off), Ginger Pepper, Billy Joe Walls, Emily Evans, John Summers, Jim Shulman, Vivian Wilhoite, Lynn Williams

Tie-breaking "NO" vote cast by Howard Gentry.

___________

Here is the roll call vote (21-12) on Diane Neighbors' motion to defeat the Car Wash Exemption Bill:

AYE:

Neighbors, Tucker, Briley, Dread, Gilmore, Isabel, Murray, Jameson, Cole, Forkum, Page (run-off), Pepper, Walls, Evans, Summers, Shulman, Foster, Wilhoite, Coleman, Duvall (run-off; voted to table first), Williams

NO:

Buck Dozier
Walter Hunt
Michael Craddock
Rip Ryman
Carl Burch
Harold White
J.B. Loring
Ronnie Greer
Ludye Wallace
Jim Hodge
Parker Toler
Charlie Tygard

Speaking of Harold White

After looking at his financial disclosure statements, I must say that voters must have really been dissatsified with him not to re-elect him, because he did not seem to be hurting on the contribution front. His May and June 2007 contributions include these:

• $2,500 from the Nashville Business Coalition PAC
• $2,000 from the Gaylord Entertainment PAC
• $1,000 from Lo-Jack
• $1,000 from a Mt. Juliet housewife

That's just a sampling. There had to have been a lot of disaffection for Mr. White among the District 14 electorate.