Metro Council District Races

A distinguished debate over pesky potholes, raw sewage, gays and lesbians, and who’s stealing my yard signs

Without a real mayor’s race, few overarching issues have emerged in this year’s Metro Council contests. The absence of a unifying argument may also owe to the fact that, in the words of one observer, “we’re in the era of good feeling.”

What that means is that Mayor Bill Purcell has focused for four years now on making government work. He hasn’t been an ideological mayor, charting a liberal, activist course or a conservative, anti-government course. Instead, he has brought the hammer down—occasionally harshly—on departments and commissions in an effort to make them more accountable and effective to the voters.

Council has been a witting participant in this effort. If there is any degree of public outcry in the individual council races—and there really isn’t much of that—you could say that there’s some lingering opposition to the property tax increase that council passed in 2001. There is also a sense that the city hasn’t been aggressive enough on the economic development front, leading to a tangential concern that it hasn’t cared deeply enough about downtown.

Perhaps in response, a coalition of business interests, under the direction of former Metro Council member Charles Fentress, has been created to both endorse and finance business-friendly candidates in this year’s races.

“Some people are out there running at-large for development, for pro growth,” says Stewart Clifton, a former Metro Council member who makes a point of studying council races. “Our modest population increase compared to the ring counties is considered a bad thing. But I don’t think that’s resonating with anyone outside the development community.”

In fact, there do seem to be a number of council candidates in this election cycle who are focused on reducing spending, vowing to bring in no new revenue, or saying it’s time we stop new projects. Historically, the city has seemed to buy into the notion that it’s the government’s role to build schools and provide infrastructure. It hasn’t been Republicans battling Democrats so much as it has been whether the city is willing to provide money to do things that everyone agrees on. So this rather conservative tack seems new. At stake may be whether the big-ticket projects of the kind former Mayor Phil Bredesen undertook (libraries, arena and stadium) and the investments made over the last four years (public schools and various neighborhood accoutrements such as sidewalks) continue.

The vote against the proposed anti-discrimination bill that would have protected gays and lesbians is drawing some attention, though the fact that the legislation is dead limits its impact as a political campaign issue. That said, gay and lesbian interests here are increasingly organized, and turnout from that community could spell the difference in tight races.

As is often the case, the district council races may ultimately turn on the bread-and-butter issues of land use, development, roads and sidewalks. If a candidate gets his hands dirty with these kinds of issues that directly affect homeowners as they go about their lives, he will most likely do well on election day.

The traditional players who tend to immerse themselves in this election process have predictably jumped into the fray. The Fraternal Order of Police has endorsed, as have the local firefighters and teachers. Gaylord is said to be making contributions to many candidates, given that it has a dog in the fight over a possible new convention center. The Service Employees International Union, which represents Metro workers, has endorsed. Some new players are also jumping into the mix. Chris Ferrell, a progressive Council member who is term-limited and leaving office, is chairing a new political action committee to support like-minded candidates.

Finally, the most important ingredient that will spell success or failure in many of these races is the candidates’ willingness to go door to door and sit through a lot of boring backyard bean suppers. If you do that, you win. You blow that off, you lose. Which is precisely as it should be.

From shores of the Cumberland to the hilltops in Percy Warner Park, from the barbecue pits of North Nashville to the studios on Music Row, here’s a comprehensive, countywide, blow-by-blow look at the 35 district races in Metro Council.

District 1—Incumbent Brenda Gilmore is unopposed.

District 2—Quite a few of the residents of District 2 have signed up to run for the seat that Melvin Black is vacating. Of that number, however, one didn’t return calls and another, Joseph Scales, is apparently not running. (The Scene figured this out when a woman answered his phone and said, without prompting, “He is not running for council.”)

Insiders say the real race is between Jamie Isabel and Bobby Stockard. It seems both men tried to duck Black’s endorsement, although Isabel lost that battle and reportedly just tries to keep the apparently unwelcome pat on the back quiet.

Between Isabel and Stockard, clear lines can be drawn. For Isabel, business development in the Clarksville Highway/Trinity Lane corridor is a crucial issue. He says the overwhelmingly black district can support far more retail business than it currently boasts. Bobby Stockard doesn’t disagree, but whereas Isabel’s plan to increase business revolves around increased publicity, Stockard’s is centered on a democratic approach to economic development. In it, citizens and prospective business people would hold meetings to determine future economic growth at a neighborhood level. Stockard, a former Ford Glass plant employee, is an unabashed progressive who says he’s “marched with [his] union brothers” and fought against the dehumanizing effects of trade agreements like NAFTA and the FTAA.

Isabel, on the other hand, is a small businessman who would like to see a Wal-Mart community store move into the district.

Then there are candidates Elgreco Brown and Conne Molette. Brown, a former TV news cameraman, says crime is a key issue in the district. He contends that the way to stop it is to provide recreation centers for youth and has himself started several youth sports teams. Molette is nice enough, if a little eccentric. She wants to see North Nashville get the R-E-S-P-E-C-T it deserves, which would come in the form of “user-friendly, uplifting” sidewalks and other planned development in which “drug pushers and prostitutes will not feel comfortable.” And she is less than impressed with Pedro Garcia’s school reforms.

District 3—The incumbent from District 10, which used to include parts of what is now District 3, is being piled on by candidates Dede Ashton and Chester Hughes. Hughes, a state records manager who’s campaigning on the decidedly unoriginal concept of “effective leadership,” makes oblique critiques of Balthrop but shies away from naming names. “We need leaders who have been proactive instead of people who claim they will be proactive,” he says. A smooth political way to say something without really saying it.

Dede Ashton is more blunt on the subject of Betty Balthrop. “What’s the guy’s name who’s running against her?” she asked. “I hope he beats her. I don’t even know the guy, but it couldn’t be any worse than Betty.” Ashton, who voted for Balthrop four years ago, claims the incumbent is so out of touch with her constituents that she doesn’t represent them.

Enter Nathan Massey and Walter Hunt, the other two candidates in this Joelton area district. Massey, a 39-year-old electrical contractor, feels that the Metro Planning Department is “wanting to tell people how they should live.” Massey complains about slow emergency response time in the outer reaches of his district and, on the education front, is forming something called the “Patriot Program,” in which he hopes business leaders will teach kids about patriotism and citizenship in Metro schools.

For his part, Hunt is a veteran of Metro government, and his first time around didn’t go so well. He resigned from the Metro Action Commission (MAC) for financial mismanagement that one city official recently characterized as “worse than sloppy bookkeeping.”

District 4—Michael Craddock is running against Murphy Gill in this Madison area district, but Gill doesn’t return calls from the city’s weekly alternative newspaper. Craddock, on the other hand, is a Realtor who loves to talk about his ideas for local government—which are mostly about reducing it.

“You know, government can’t do everything for us,” he says. “Sometimes we have to do things for ourselves.”

Indeed. Craddock is a reductionist of sorts, and his attack on the issues of crime, traffic and property taxes reflects that philosophy: reduce crime, reduce traffic and reduce property taxes. (Actually, just don’t raise the taxes.) He says acting Police Chief Deborah Faulkner should be hired as full-time chief, that Bill Purcell is doing a good job, that Old Hickory Boulevard is too congested, that gays aren’t being discriminated against and that the convention center may be just fine as it is.

District 5—Incumbent Lawrence Hall is facing attacks from three challengers. One of them, Donnie Herford, didn’t answer repeated phone calls. Hall’s other two opponents, Pam Murray and Charles Townsend, have similar agendas but different reasons for running. “I’m not running against anyone,” Townsend says. “I’m just running for the position.” Murray, meanwhile, says she’s running because Hall hasn’t been accountable enough to his constituents. “Half the time we can’t find our councilman,” she says. “He doesn’t return calls.”

For Murray, it’s essential to beautify the East Nashville district before trying to attract businesses to the area, an eventual goal of all District 5 candidates. She says it would take her six months to clean up the district—“to bring out the good in the neighborhood.” Townsend, a minister, agrees that crime, prostitution and drugs are causing problems. But unlike Murray, he points to the “wrong side of Main Street” syndrome that plagues the gentrified neighborhoods of East Nashville. “Monies that come across the river stay on that side of the river, on the Shelby street side,” he says. “I don’t mind that, but come on across Main Street with that money.” He offers timid criticisms of Purcell’s affordable housing program on the grounds that it breaks up families by encouraging women to ditch their husbands so they can qualify for housing.

Finally there’s Hall, who has, in the past four years, worked with neighborhood associations to reduce crime, improve infrastructure and promote development. He voted for the gay anti-discrimination measure and would do so again, he says, as long as it stays in its previous form. (Murray and Townsend voiced their support in a similarly noncommittal fashion.) Hall is generally regarded as a quiet progressive—not an earth-shaker, really—but a solid and decent council member.

District 6—You might remember District 6 from earlier news flashes such as “Drive-by shooting, carjacking possibly faked to win attention for 6th District candidate.” Yes, they’re a rowdy bunch over there on the East Side of the Cumberland, and thanks to redistricting, the fun will soon be spreading to Church and Commerce streets, as the district now includes downtown.

Among the candidates is Kristina Wait, director of strategic planning for the American Cancer Society. Currently president of the Historic Edgefield Neighbors Association, she says key planks in her platform are crime and safety, education and economic development. She also mentions developing real community policing strategies, growing program opportunities for youths outside of Metro schools and bringing “locally owned, locally invested businesses” to her district—especially downtown. “I think it’s a tremendous opportunity for both sides of the river to be in one district,” she says, noting that downtown can help bring businesses to East Nashville and the East side can help bring residential development to downtown.

Attorney Mike Jameson is also running, and he’s among the more progressive candidates anywhere. Jameson sticks to the bread-and-butter issues of schools, public safety and development, but his well-considered proposals on these fronts are refreshingly innovative. He describes schools director Pedro Garcia as a “lightning rod” and says the school system is still a mess.

Because poor academic performance correlates with socioeconomic status, Jameson’s school reforms—better transportation to enhanced options schools, pre-kindergarten programs at all schools, increased funding for home computer donation programs and easily understandable curriculum standards—would target families of modest means.

On the public safety front, Jameson, like Wait, advocates community policing, a 2003 campaign buzz phrase. He further wants to institute a confidential Internet reporting system for complainants, which he says would allow them to track their complaints through the process (like a UPS package). Finally, he believes incentives should be used to lure businesses to Nashville but says they should be tied to labor and environmental standards.

Wait and Jameson both support the anti-discrimination ordinance for gays and lesbians, although Jameson, unlike many council wannabes, is vehement in his support. He also advocates instituting a living wage in Nashville, saying it makes good business sense.

District 7—How many discount tobacco shops could you shake a stick at? Beats the hell out of us, but Erik Cole says it’s probably less than the number they have over in his far East Nashville district. In fact, he says growth in Nashville has been historically lopsided, citing Cool Springs as an example of hyper-growth and District 7 as an example of zero economic development.

Cole also says fighting crime is a priority, but he adds a new twist: animal control. Basically, there are lots of dogs running around and people are being bitten. Cole supports an anti-discrimination ordinance for gays and lesbians. He also—surprise—supports Bill Purcell, with one polite criticism: “I do think the council, though, has a strong role and can speak with a different voice than the mayor’s,” he says.

As a former school librarian, Gail Pusey knows that high crime rates are connected to education and other community issues. She advocates a community policing solution. She also thinks struggling businesses here could benefit from the publication of a business directory. Pusey sees no reason for a new convention center or stadium, nor does she like giving away the farm to entice businesses to move to Nashville. “We just had several businesses come in.” she says, “and as far as I can tell we didn’t need to entice them.”

District 8—Jason Hart, the son of incumbent council member Lawrence Hart, is a strong favorite to succeed his father in this Inglewood area district, in what is not exactly the passing of the torch from one Kennedy to the next. Likable, if not particularly focused, the younger Hart says he recently called Applebee’s, the restaurant chain, and asked them to look at opening a store on Gallatin Road. He sees that as part of a broader philosophy of governance where he would “basically look at companies like that and O’Charley’s and try to get them to come to Inglewood.”

Inglewood residents must pray that the sins of the father are not visited on the son. Early in his first term, Lawrence Hart landed on the police blotter when he was arrested for shoplifting. He claimed that it was a misunderstanding. Most recently, The Tennessean exposed Hart as being among the top council expense-fund users, along with fellow low-hanging fruits Tony Derryberry and Michael Kerstetter. On the bright side, Hart helped revitalize his Inglewood district, which has actually become a trendy place to live.

Jason Hart, a 29-year-old sheriff’s deputy, says that his father didn’t inspire him to run for office. But if Hart doesn’t exactly rise to the ideal of philosopher king, his opponent is practically nonexistent. Les White, 45, home-schools his two children while working as a night clerk at the Madison Square Inn. When asked if he’s running any kind of campaign, he replies, “not right now, I’ve had a lot of things come up.”

District 9—The besieged incumbent here, James Dillard, who is term-limited, recently caught holy hell for having proposed spending $50,000 of Metro money to repair a ditch in his uncle’s front yard. That project alone has consumed much of the talk in this Neely’s Bend-area race.

One of the five candidates, Rick Williams, has been at the fore of the Dillard assault. Williams runs a limousine service and concession business, describing himself as a “working stiff driving people around and selling hot dogs and popcorn.” He says that District 9, which includes the Madison Park area along the Cumberland River, is in decline and plagued by petty thefts and drugs. Fellow challenger Jerry Mangrum also would like an increased police presence in the district and wants to widen Neely’s Bend Road to ease traffic congestion. A general manager at Madison Academy Linen Services, Mangrum also supports the Peeler Park Project, which includes plans for a nature park and golf course at the end of Neely’s Bend Road overlooking the Cumberland. He says that he opposed Purcell’s first term property tax hike. “No one is against property taxes, but they are against it if they don’t receive the benefits of it. They want to see services in District 9.”

Candidate Jim Forkum, retired after working 31 years for State Farm, also supports opening Peeler Park to the public and, like just about every candidate in the race, is concerned about traffic congestion. Donna Mobley has never run for office before but notes that she has been involved in politics since the early 1980s. She says she’s concerned about traffic congestion and growth, but, also notes that she’d like to attract more business to Madison. On a more creative note, Mobley, who works in real estate, says that she’d like to expand the city’s recycling program to include more of the district.

District 10—Incumbent Bettye Balthrop is fending off a well-organized challenge from three-time mayoral aide Rip Ryman in one of the more talked about races in the city. Ryman has criticized Balthrop for never challenging Mayor Bill Purcell, a charge that the incumbent tries, but fails, to dispute. “I’m not a rubber stamp for Mayor Bill Purcell; I’m on the budget and finance committee, and I have not voted for everything the mayor wanted.” Still, when pressed, Balthrop can’t actually recall when she disagreed with Purcell.

That lack of loyal opposition aside, Balthrop is one of the more industrious council members. She has worked toward improving fire protection for her rural district and remodeling Goodlettsville Elementary and middle schools. She also pledges to tackle the thorny issue of storm water runoff. As for her opponent, she says, “He’s lived out here a long time. What did he ever do for the district?”

“I’ll tell you what I’ve done,” Ryman says. “Most of my life I’ve been involved with the youth of this community.” In fact, Ryman is the former state director of Dixie Youth Baseball. Ryman claims that, on zoning issues, Balthrop isn’t in touch with her constituents. As proof, he says that the incumbent initially pushed for a Coca Cola plant at Old Hickory and Brick Church Pike before withdrawing it after popular opposition.

The prevailing theme of Ryman’s campaign is that he is the most qualified candidate in the race and the only one willing to question Hizzoner. “I think Mayor Purcell has done a good job, but I’ve worked with enough mayors and enough budgets to know that there wasn’t enough discussion on this budget.” Ryman is also a registered lobbyist for the Nashville Sounds, who are currently seeking to build a stadium with public debt.

District 11—While perhaps the most mean-spirited race in the city, this Old Hickory contest is also the most entertaining. Incumbent Feller Brown doesn’t hesitate to trash his challenger, former NFL linebacker Greg Gaines. He says Gaines has “zero experience dealing with the public.” He also called the Scene to spread a rumor that when Gaines was in the voting booth, he couldn’t figure out how to vote for himself.

In response, Gaines notes that “he is the one with the college degree.” Gaines starred on the gridiron at the University of Tennessee and, unlike many of his fellow athletes, actually left the school with a liberal arts degree. His life unravels like a Dennis Quaid movie: He married his college girlfriend, Gina, a cheerleader for the Vols, and played nine seasons with the Seattle Seahawks. Most recently, Gaines worked in front office administration with the San Diego Chargers.

Now retired at 44, Gaines returned home last year, saying that he likes the area’s traditional values. Gaines says that, unlike Brown, he plans to be a council member for all of District 11. “The people in Shiloh, Hinton Park, Berryville and Hopewell, those folks have been neglected for too long,” he says. “Old Hickory has always been the center of everything under Mr. Brown’s administration.”

Brown’s council tenure began on an awkward note when, early in his first term, he filed a motion to set aside his wife’s divorce settlement. He claimed that he only agreed to “a grossly inequitable” settlement because he was impaired after taking three capsules of Paxil and Xanax before the trial. Overall, Brown’s first term was largely unremarkable, highlighted only by his fight against a landfill in the Old Hickory area.

Somewhat forgotten in this race is challenger Jerry Batson, a dentist. He says that he’s running not so much because he’s frustrated with the incumbent, but because the whole council dismays him. “I’ve been watching the Metro Council for 20 years and have been frustrated and confused about how they operate.” Hard to disagree.

District 12—District 12 candidate Jim Gotto recently wrote Out & About Nashville, a gay newspaper, complaining about receiving its endorsement. “I respectfully request that you withdraw your endorsement of my candidacy, and I will treat your failure to do so as untruthful, slanderous and an overt attempt on your part to misrepresent my position....”

Gotto says that he opposed the controversial anti-bias ordinance for gays and lesbians, so he doesn’t understand why a gay newspaper would support his candidacy. “I’m a Christian, and any position I take, I have to take the standpoint of what is the right thing to do morally,” he says.

Of course, Out and About probably supported Gotto because the paper views him as the lesser of two evils. “Homosexuality is a perversion of what God intended for human sexuality,” says the other candidate, Ron Hickman. “There’s no way I would approve an ordinance protecting such a lifestyle choice.”

When he’s not throwing hand grenades in the culture war, Gotto is a key neighborhood player in this Hermitage-area district, fighting against a recent proposal to rezone a local farm to make way for the construction of 200 homes. Retired from BellSouth, Gotto has received the endorsement of the popular council member Phil Ponder, who, incidentally, voted in favor of the anti-bias bill.

Hickman, the director of internal audit for the Tennessee Department of Finance, says that the main reason he decided to run is “what I perceived to be a lack of governmental accounting expertise.” One example of government waste, he says, is hiring a consulting firm to find job candidates.

District 13—If there’s some sort of embarrassing melodrama involving the Metro Council, Tony Derryberry usually plays a starring role. The Tennessean recently exposed Derryberry as among the legislative body’s most prolific spenders, racking up nearly $20,000 in expenses.

He even submits bills for his fast food meals. Derryberry also had a supporting part in WTVF-Channel 5’s recent exposé about handicapped parking. In that piece, the council member was seen jogging across the street to his car, which had a handicapped plate. Hoping to prove that he really was handicapped—physically at least—Derryberry rolled up the legs of his pants and showed Channel 5 his infirm knees.

Of course, there was also the incident two years ago, when the council member proposed legislation that would have renamed a road in his Murfreesboro Road-area district “Derryberry Boulevard.”

Derryberry, who has an answer for everything, claims he wanted to name the street after Everett Derryberry, the former president of Tennessee Tech. It doesn’t stop.

To top off all this shamelessness, Derryberry mocked his opponent for receiving the endorsement of Out &About Nashville, a gay publication. Carl Burch, who is running to unseat Derryberry, opposed the council’s anti-bias legislation too, but the paper’s editors saw him as less of a loony tune.

An engineer, Burch agrees with the incumbent’s ramblings on morality. Talking about his district, Burch says that common spaces and rental properties are not being maintained. “I want the neighborhood to be a good neighborhood for my children, just like it was for me growing up.”

District 14—District 14, which runs along Lebanon Road toward the Percy Priest Area, is apparently a wacko-free zone: In a rare treat, each of the three candidates in the race to replace term-limited Bruce Stanley is sensible, likable and qualified. Voters probably can’t go wrong here. Sarah Moore just finished her second year at Mt. Juliet High School, where, appropriately enough, she teaches government and economics. Moore says that she thinks education is “one of the most important issues in local government, and I bring classroom experience to the council.”

Deborah Swartwood, who works as a florist and homemaker, says that she is running to curtail the rampant pace of development in her district. She’s adamantly opposed to any proposal to rezone a row of old homes along Lebanon Road for commercial use.

Harold White worked as a senior fraud investigator for Medicare and the federal government and ran four years ago against Stanley and lost. Cranky but smart, White says that he wants more police and fire protection for the district and says that that he will not rezone any property for commercial use without the approval of nearby residents.

Districts 15, 16, 17, 18—Incumbents J.B. Loring, Amanda McClendon, Ronnie Greer Sr. and Ginger Hausser, respectively, are unopposed.

District 19—Incumbent Ludye Wallace, the longtime council fixture who has antagonized scores of colleagues with meaningless public policy proposals and time-consuming parliamentary shenanigans, goes up against neighborhood activist and frequent Belmont University nemesis Janice Davis. The race kicked off when Davis challenged Wallace’s candidacy with local election officials, charging that Wallace didn’t live in the district. She failed, even though, from all appearances, she was right. Those watching the race—and we have to say we didn’t talk to either candidate, because Davis wouldn’t call us back and Wallace’s phone had been disconnected—say Davis has failed to make much headway. The district, whose importance historically has been that it includes the core downtown business area, no longer includes this hallowed turf.

The district now includes a big chunk of South Nashville down Music Row into the Edgehill area, and parts of North Nashville.

District 20—Newcomer Billy Joe Walls is unopposed.

District 21—An upset could very well be in the works in this North Nashville district, which includes Fisk, Tennessee State University, Meharry Medical College and also extends south to include Elliston Place and the Parthenon. Attorney Jerry Maynard is trying to unseat incumbent Edward “Whit” Whitmore.

The 36-year-old Maynard is the son of the influential pastor of the Pentecostal Tabernacle, one of the city’s largest churches. Maynard, who is the former legal affairs director at Meharry Medical College, now oversees the church’s finances and its community outreach wing. Maynard moved to the district 10 years ago and fell in love with its “heritage and history.” But then, he says, he began noticing the prevalence of drug dealers and prostitutes and the absence of businesses in the area. One day he went to visit an official in Mayor Bill Purcell’s office to ask why a beautification grant that had been allocated for East Nashville hadn’t gone to North Nashville instead.

He says he was told the reason was that his council representative hadn’t asked for it.

“At that time—it was 2001—I decided to run for office,” he says. “We have set such low expectations of our elected officials in this area.” Whitmore, who has represented the district for the last four years, is given high marks from observers for being attentive to some constituent services. But others criticize him for lacking Maynard’s energy and for voting whichever way his fellow council member Ludye Wallace tells him to.

District 22—Eric Crafton represented much of this Bellevue district from 1995 to 1999 and has the battle scars to prove it. He handled a controversial zoning change for a Charlotte Road Wal-Mart that antagonized some rather vocal constituents. Plenty more pulled out the rotten tomatoes when he co-wrote a bill requiring voters to approve the financing deal for the Titans stadium. The referendum ultimately passed—and in hindsight it probably was a good idea to put the whole proposal to a vote—but the bitter taste lingers.

Crafton, a Vanderbilt graduate (magna cum laude with a double major in math and economics) and residential construction company owner, was defeated for reelection in 1999, but he’s back. His opponents this time around include Luvenia Butler, who has run unsuccessfully twice for an at-large Council seat. A third candidate, Nick Perenich, is a 34-year-old Vanderbilt Law School graduate and self-described “fiscally conservative Democrat.” Perenich is the dark horse in the race.

Butler, a 49-year-old project director with the Tennessee Department of Health, says she isn’t making an issue out of the Wal-Mart or Titans controversies, although people talk about it as she campaigns door to door. “I don’t deal with negatives,” she says.

The candidates for the most part agree on what the issues are. They say the Bellevue Mall needs tenants to keep the place viable. Traffic, planning, growth, development and public safety are also on voters’ minds.

The district is vastly white; Butler is black. To what extent race enters into the contest is anyone’s guess, although there’s been no mention of it publicly. In the final analysis, the outcome may hinge on whether Crafton’s high name recognition is enough to overcome his lingering negatives.

District 23—Repeat after me: Belle Meade Links. Belle Meade Links. Belle Meade Links.

That’s the once quiet little subdivision next to Harding Academy. Over a decade ago, Harding began buying some nearby homes in the Links with the intention of tearing them down and building athletic fields. The neighbors pitched a fit as demolition day approached. The skirmish became a war. It’s now in the hands of a judge.

Chris Whitson and Bob Bogen are the two serious candidates in the race. On opposite sides of the Harding squabble, they are also different in terms of ideology and background. Bogen has served four years in Metro Council. A resident of West Meade, he discovered after redistricting that about half his district was new. He now has the city of Belle Meade—and Harding Academy. “I had to make a decision what to do over there,” he says, referring to the Harding proposal, which he ultimately decided to oppose.

Bogen thought at first he wouldn’t have opposition. He says he was “caught flat-footed” when “they put their own candidate in.” The “they” is Harding Academy, and the candidate is Nashville attorney Chris Whitson. “He claims that’s not why he’s running, but circumstances make it look that way,” Bogen says.

“That’s wholly inaccurate,” Whitson responds, even if he has been a member of the Harding Academy board for five years. “I am running for the simple reason I have three kids and I’ve lived a very fortunate existence. I woke up one day and decided my obligation went a little further than my neat little corner of the world.” Whitson says he doesn’t try to hide his support for the project. “In my mind you have government acting unlawfully” in its efforts to stop Harding, he says.

Bogen is the former executive director of the city’s teachers’ union, where he worked for 35 years. That has drawn fire from more business-minded folks, including the Nashville Business Coalition, which in a mass mailing called Bogen “one of organized labor’s strongest voices in Metro Council.”

Whitson observes that the race “comes down to a pro-business candidate vs. a pro-labor candidate, and it’s a battle of two different philosophies.” Asked for an issue on which he would have voted differently than Bogen, Whitson points to the effort to include gays and lesbians in Metro’s non-discrimination ordinance. Bogen voted yes; Whitson would have voted no because he says it would have resulted in numerous lawsuits against Metro.

Whitson may certainly lose in the Links neighborhood, but Harding enjoys tremendous backing from alumnae and parents throughout the district. Whitson’s support of Harding Academy may ultimately help him.

District 24—John Summers served in Metro Council from 1983 to 1991 representing an East Nashville district where he was a strong backer of historic preservation and neighborhood organizations. Along the way, the various prickly parts of his personality caused problems, but his educated outlook was a positive during those years.

Four years ago, having moved across the river to a district encompassing all of White Bridge Road and neighborhoods off West End Avenue, Summers ran again. During his term, he backed a successful conservation overlay covering more than 300 homes in the Cherokee Park area. True to form, it was an incredibly bitter fight. Nonetheless, it earned him immense support from the seven neighborhood associations in the district.

Summers is facing a mildly strong challenge from Joel Sullivan, a more development-minded candidate who has spent much of his professional life as a banker. Sullivan points to his civic involvements—Red Cross, Family and Children’s Services, Junior Chamber—and says that as a “community servant” he began hearing from people in the district that they wanted someone they could communicate with. “From what I’m hearing, Summers is not that way. He also has conflicts of interest.”

True, Summers is a lobbyist at the state legislature, but he responds that none of the issues he lobbies on ever comes before Metro Council.

“That’s just a political attack he’s trying to make that has no basis in fact because he’s behind in the race,” Summers says.

Sullivan says he thinks Metro might be able to spend less money in some areas. He wants to help root out inefficiencies. “I’m not for a property tax increase until it can be proven we’ve done everything we can do.” Summers, meanwhile, voted for the property tax increase under Purcell and has, based on his long involvement in Metro, demonstrated a belief that you definitely get a bang for your buck.

The Sullivan-Summers race is a classic confrontation between low-tax, conservative, business and development interests against a neighborhood-oriented, more activist approach. It’s worth mentioning that the incumbent usually has the advantage.

District 25—Incumbent Jim Shulman is unopposed.

District 26—This Crieve Hall and Paragon Mills-area district has got your young, your old, your black, white and brown. It’s even got giraffes. (It includes the zoo.) With redistricting, the district combined parts of the districts of Michelle Arriola and Craig Jenkins, neither of whom are running again.

Traffic is of paramount concern, the three candidates say. With the concentration of senior citizens in the district, talk of taxes is incredibly downbeat. “I would not have voted for Purcell’s property tax increase,” says Greg Adkins, a 28-year-old policy research analyst for the state House. “There’s no way the people in my district can afford another tax increase,” agrees Sybil McClain, who says she opposed the earlier increase as well.

A third candidate in the race, union electrician Mike Frankich, makes the novel campaign pitch that he has attended nearly every Council meeting in the last year just to study local government. “You have to make sure the inner workings of government operate efficiently,” he says.

This race is anyone’s guess, but elbows are beginning to be thrown. Frankich charges Adkins and McClain just moved to the district. McClain says she’s the only candidate with real business experience. As for Adkins, he’s the public policy expert. Basically, this one is up in the air.

District 27—This race in southern Davidson County may be the most cordial of the bunch. All three candidates are thoughtful and responsive, and none has a bad word to say about the others. Roy Black, who is retired from BellSouth and has lived in the area for 41 years, says, “I feel like I know a little bit better than some of them what the neighborhood likes.” Black says voters here are interested in making sure zoning is strict enough, as there’s little left to develop. And he wants to be a supportive voice for police and firefighters. “I think that’s two groups that need a raise; they’ve got the most dangerous jobs in Metro.”

Standout candidate Randy Foster, an attorney at American General, says his candidacy is “simply an attempt to put myself forward and say I know I can do a good job.”

Foster has some experience representing constituents. He was a board member for the 400-household Villages of Brentwood complex for about four years. He says he’s most concerned about traffic in this district, which includes thoroughfares like Edmondson Pike and Nolensville Road. “If elected, trying to find some way to calm traffic is something that would be very important to me.”

The third candidate in this race is paralegal Carolyn Clark, who describes herself as a “rabble rouser.” She was inspired to run, she says, when developers put forth a proposal to build town homes—at nine units per acre—on the site of the failed Nashville Swim Club. Many residents wanted less density, though that’s a battle they lost.

“That’s a done deal, and we don’t have control,” she says. “And that’s why I kind of felt like I could go in and start listening to people.”

District 28—Incumbent Jason Alexander is probably among the most culturally and fiscally conservative members of the Metro Council and has been known to grandstand on fairly irrelevant issues. He once introduced a resolution against a state income tax. He has also made it clear he would support posting the Ten Commandments in public buildings. But Alexander may be a changed man. He admits that he and the council were distracted by such discussions. “I disagree with a lot of the matters that the council fell victim to last term—weighing in on issues that we probably had no legislative jurisdiction to affect. But I think we’ve learned our lesson.”

Alexander, one of just two votes against Mayor Bill Purcell’s 88-cent property tax increase in 2001, also now says that he won’t necessarily carry on his anti-tax platform. “When I was elected four years ago, I made the promise not to vote for a tax increase. Now I’m a little bit more educated on the need for property taxes. If it’s justified, I’m willing to consider it.”

Alexander says he’s proud of trying to keep a handle on development in his Antioch-area district to prevent or mitigate school overcrowding. And he says he’s grown a community activist group known as Neighbors of Antioch from 15 members to 345.

Challenger Duane Dominy, a self-employed graphic designer, sounds like he drank Ross Perot’s Kool-Aid. “I believe our government was designed to be run by common people and not career politicians,” he says. He says Metro should operate with no more tax increases. “Most of the people I’ve talked to are tired of our government and raising taxes.” In the meantime, Dominy apparently hasn’t endeared himself to his neighbors, who take issue with the junked cars on his property.

District 29—Five candidates with impressive credentials are vying for this rapidly growing Antioch and Percy Priest Lake-area district.

Dorrence Stovall is a health care executive at Prime Health Services, a workers’ compensation PPO network. He recalls having a watershed moment one day. “I got real serious about running after we had a drive-by shooting outside my house,” he says. “When you’re picking shell cases outside your front yard, that’s when you need to do something different.” Stovall says that he would oppose new taxes and promote “common-sense growth,” which in this case involves discouraging developers from “loading us down with apartments.”

The deputy chief of the consumer services division for the Tennessee Regulatory Authority, Vivian Wilhoite is keen on infrastructure issues, from traffic to recycling centers. She’d like to see a recreational area for local children and better management of commercial and residential growth. “We are bursting at the seams with growth and that’s good, but with growth comes pain,” she says. “It affects our highways and neighborhood roads, and we have quite a few overpopulated schools in our area.”

As the executive director of the Black Children’s Institute of Tennessee—a two-person outfit—Jaunita Veasy has one overarching goal: to make the district a better place for children.

Selected recently as one of The Tennessean’s “40 under 40” list of influential young people, Karen Johnson wants to push for more funding for schools to be built in her overcrowded district. She supports conducting a feasibility study about a city-owned park in the area.

Retired U.S. Postal Inspector Gordon Wilson would like more of a police presence in his district. Local voters, he says, share his opposition to the defeated anti-bias ordinance for gays and lesbians.

“I’m a Christian, a father of two adult kids, and I’ve been married to my wife for 31 years,” he says.

District 30—Incumbent Michael Kerstetter is among those in the council who sometimes get bad reviews for not responding to constituents. That’s where challenger Mark Woodside, a bail bondsman, comes in. “There has been absolutely no representation out here,” Woodside says. “The neighborhood’s declined, the current councilman is inaccessible and you can’t even call him.” Woodside says he’s concerned about businesses expanding into residential areas, the proliferation of used car lots and the district’s general lack of infrastructure. In stark contrast to Kerstetter, who was a vociferous opponent of the anti-discrimination measure for gays and lesbians earlier this year, Woodside says he would have supported the bill. “Regardless of your sexual orientation, you shouldn’t be discriminated against.”

Kerstetter, an amiable enough guy who works as a producer at Mix 92.9, counters that such complaints are generic incumbent-bashing. “If I were running against an incumbent, I’d probably say the same thing.” He says he’s proud of the work he’s done on storm water management and woud be a voice of experience in a council where more than half the members will be new.

A third candidate, B.J. Brown, who says he writes cookbooks and civil war books and works as an actor in country music videos, could be nicknamed “Shoot ’Em Up Brown.” The candidate notes with an odd degree of satisfaction that he shot and killed a carjacker who victimized him—or tried to—on Haywood Lane last year. He says Nashville needs more police protection. He also would like to bring more film industry to Nashville.

District 31—The District 31 candidates all want to talk about growth, congestion and infrastructure—and a little about staple issues like education and taxes.

Outgoing councilman Don Knoch apparently had such a hard go of it in his first term that he decided not to seek reelection. That’s where Parker Toler stepped in. Toler said he was drafted to run for the seat, and as a 30-year resident of the district, he happily obliged. For Toler, the primary issue is education. “We should have good schools,” he says, “because that’s what brings companies to Nashville.”

While none of the other candidates disagrees with Toler, Roger Abramson and Billy Law are more inclined to focus on growth issues. For Law, in fact, infrastructure is “the main issue” in the race. “It all comes down to infrastructure,” he says, and by that he means “mostly straightening and widening the little country lanes.”

Law says growth has outpaced the roads in the southeast Davidson County district. Growth isn’t a bad thing, he notes—and neither is sprawl—but developers need to pay their fair share of the cost.

Abramson talks about land-use issues too, but for him, public input in zoning decisions is a central concern. “The main job of a councilman is to be a facilitator, so to speak, between residents of this district and the people in the administrative arm of government, and to manage zoning changes,” he says. “If the city had listened to some of the input from the beginning that the area was going to be too congested, maybe we wouldn’t have the congestion problems that we have.”

As far as citywide issues are concerned, Law and Toler both forecast a tax increase on the horizon, and they’re not too excited about it. Abramson, an occasional Scene contributor, predicts that school choice is the sleeper issue that will surface within the next four years. An open enrollment plan, in which parents can choose schools for their children, is “coming sooner than people think, and it’s going to roll over the establishment.”

As far as the once and future discrimination ordinance goes, the three candidates represent the spectrum of opinions. Abramson is for it, as long as it applies only to Metro; Toler opposed it last time, but says he would be open-minded about it if it resurfaced; and Law says he doesn’t think it needs to be legislated. After all, he notes, “We discriminate against fat people, young people, skinny people and ugly people.”

District 32—Metro Council veterans Tom Alexander (1983-1999) and John Kincaid (1983-1991) are back for more in the race to represent this Antioch district. No doubt they know the ropes better than political newcomer Sam Coleman, who works for the state Department of Youth Services. But, Coleman says, “We need a breath of fresh air, and I submit that I am that breath.” Spoken like an attorney, which he is.

The former TSU quarterback says he also wants to bridge the gap between the business community and residents in Antioch. “The people out there feel like they’re not connected.... I plan on getting everyone together in a summit to try to set the agenda for the next five years and the next 10 years.”

Alexander points to flooding as a major issue and can recite in detail what’s wrong with the city’s storm water management ordinance. He says he’d like to see a fire hall in the Hobson Pike/I-24 area and a stop to apartment development. He says he’s skeptical about the proposed Sounds stadium at the old trash-burning Thermal site, which would require about the same investment as what the city is spending at Greer Stadium, but he says he “could go for” a new convention center, which would be a nine-figure investment.

Like Alexander, Kincaid says zoning issues are the “hottest” in the district. “Sometime in the future, every bit of land in Davidson County is going to be utilized, but we want it to come about in an orderly way.”

District 33—When you’ve got the nod from both labor and business, the home builders and the city progressives, teachers and firefighters, it speaks volumes about your viability. In this Percy Priest Lake-area district, candidate Tommy Bradley is the standout in a field of four candidates. “My first and only focus,” he says, “is cleaning up the Antioch/Priest Lake area. We are bombarded with signs in right-of-ways and abandoned vehicles in backyards.” Because this area has much of the undeveloped property in the county, Bradley says it’s crucial for constituents and developers to communicate. He also plans to fight for the widening of Smith Springs Road, a two-laner that is the only major artery into the Priest Lake area. “I’ve sat in traffic for over 20 minutes to go eight-tenths of a mile,” he says.

Realtor Debbie Herrington has lived in the area all of her life, she says. “I feel I have a good outlook on maybe what the community is expecting or would like to see come in or not come in out here.”

Also running are Albert Bender, a frequent newspaper letter writer who has also been characterized as the “John Jay Hooker of District 33” for his notorious lawsuits against developers and city officials, and Sue Cooper.

District 34—Incumbent Lynn Williams’ district has changed fairly dramatically with redistricting. District 34 now takes in the satellite cities of Oak Hill and Forest Hills and has lost Belle Meade. But, demographically, Williams says, it’s much the same. “It’s still upscale and highly educated.” She says keeping the work of Metro Council on track in the face of term limits is of concern. “And continuing to support Metro schools, yet not anticipate the kind of tax increase it took to get there happening in the near future.”

Williams cites her responsiveness to constituents, her emphasis on traffic calming and her sponsorship of educational access television, which is supposed to begin in the fall, among her first-term accomplishments. “I’m interested in neighborhood policing, traffic calming and providing education about the benefits of safe driving. I don’t want to sound milquetoast, but going the speed limit in a neighborhood really does make a difference.”

Challenger Tommy Jacobs is a retired Metro homicide lieutenant who has investigated some of the area’s most notorious killings, including that of Marcia Trimble. “I know the district because I grew up in it and spent a lot of professional time investigating cases that most folks there would probably remember,” he says.

Jacobs says he’d like to see more police patrols in District 34. “I realize it’s not a high-crime area, and we’d like to keep it that way.”

District 35—This is a familiar matchup. Council veteran Charlie Tygard and corporate trainer/community activist Pam Ezzell were on a special election ballot to fill this Bellevue seat back in November after Council member Vic Lineweaver was elected juvenile court clerk. The two seem to agree on the notion that growth and development are the overriding issues. But Tygard sees his recent and past council experience (seven years total) as an advantage, given that more than half the body’s members will turn over in this election, while Ezzell thinks new representation is in order. “I want to see Bellevue be given the very best future we can have,” she says. “The people of the community have not had a voice.”

Tygard says, “It’s going to be a very young, inexperienced council. I’m hoping to impart some things.” Ezzell has heard estimates that Bellevue’s population will double in the next 10 years. So, she says, “The structures need to be right. It’s going to be heavy-duty zoning.”

Tygard agrees and wants to see a Bellevue community high school to help keep the area vibrant. “Unless a community high school is on the drawing boards, our real estate and development will languish because our residents will flee to Williamson County or somewhere else.”