Honesty Second

Some might describe Metro Council member Eric Crafton’s latest initiative to make English the official language of Metro as an attempt to codify the obvious. Almost all of Metro business is already conducted in English, and because the wording of the proposed measure says that nothing in it “shall be interpreted to conflict with federal or state law,” it wouldn’t affect bilingual 911 operators or court translators. What isn’t so obvious are the funding and people behind Crafton’s organization, Nashville English First.

The city became something of a national embarrassment in the meantime, but Crafton insists that, despite all the negative publicity, Nashvillians wanted this legislation to pass the first time around, “obviously, because so many of their council members voted for it.” After Purcell’s veto, Crafton says he was inundated with calls from citizens. “They contacted me pretty much nonstop,” Crafton says, “asking ‘What can we do?’ This seemed like the most logical, commonsense way to give the people another chance.”

Now Crafton is trying to push the law through by referendum in November. Though he is no longer being advised by U.S. English, Crafton and Nashville English First are pulling out all the stops to ensure that the issue ends up on this fall’s ballot, which means getting over 10,000 petition signatures first.

Last week, Crafton and his group mailed out thousands of postcards with the petition attached. Meanwhile, phones around Nashville began ringing, as robocalls in support of the measure were made countywide. There is also a website—nashvilleenglishfirst.com—where visitors can view the petition and make donations to the cause. But just where those donations go is, for now, an open question.

There is no entity called Nashville English First listed with the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance—which regulates campaign financing and contributions—or with the Secretary of State’s Department of Charitable Solicitations and Gaming, which oversees charities. There is also no group by that name listed on the IRS’ list of tax-exempt organizations. According to officials who oversee these bureaucracies, Nashville English First shouldn’t have to register with them just to collect donations from private citizens, a lack of transparency that makes it difficult to ascertain who is funding the political initiative.

To circulate a petition like Crafton’s in Nashville, it’s necessary to file a document with the Davidson County Election Commission stating the name of the organization, its mailing address and the name of the treasurer. Nashville English First has done so, listing its treasurer as Lewis Lampley, an amiable Vietnam vet and retiree.

Reached at home, Lampley says that he stands behind the measure because, “The unifying factor in this nation is our language, and the key to relationships is language…. We want more completeness of relationships.”

Asked about the relationship between Nashville English First and the money fueling it, Lampley is less clear. “There’s a number of people, and they may or may want their names publicized,” Lampley says of the donors bankrolling the robocalls and mailings. “They’re private citizens.”

Asked if the organization is a 501(c) tax-exempt group, Lampley first says yes. But pressed on it, he concedes that he “didn’t do the legal work” to set up the organization but would find out who did. Lampley has yet to get back to us on that.

Eric Crafton himself is no more helpful clearing up just who’s behind Nashville English First or what kind of organization it is. Is it a charity? “I’m not exactly sure what you’d call it,” Crafton says, adding that he’s certain the proper forms had been filed with the county election commission. “I don’t know all the technical terms, and I didn’t actually fill out [the forms].”

Where is funding for the initiative coming from? “From folks,” he says.

Asked if these “folks” are a few prominent backers or many, less wealthy citizens, he says, “A combination of everything.”