Nashville voters will go to the polls May 3 in primary elections for judicial seats, school board members, county offices like clerk, register of deeds and others, and for Davidson County District Attorney, a seat held for the past eight years by Glenn Funk. Funk is facing two relative political newcomers, former Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara Beth Myers and former Assistant DA P. Danielle Nellis.
No Republicans filed for the office of district attorney general, so the winner between the three Democrats will face little to no opposition in the Aug. 4 county general election.
Funk was elected as Davidson County’s 36th district attorney in August 2014 after a career that included positions as a special prosecutor, an assistant district attorney, a public defender and an attorney in private practice. He has seen and worked both sides of the courtroom, which has made him invaluable in representing Nashville as the DA. “My time as a public defender made me a better assistant district attorney,” Funk recently told The Tennessean. He also told attendees at a forum that experience enabled him to “understand the real needs and the collateral damage” for victims and their families and for defendants and their families. That experience, I think, gives him an ability to view his responsibilities and their impact from all sides.
Sara Beth Myers is a civil rights attorney who has spent her career as a prosecutor. I struggle to imagine what real improvements she could bring to the DA’s office. Myers told The Tennessee Tribune she is a “champion for victim’s rights.” I understand that she has a reputation as a punitive prosecutor.
P. Danielle Nellis is a former judicial clerk, assistant DA and a former defense attorney. Main Street Nashville describes Nellis as “a multigenerational Nashvillian,” and she tells the publication she wants to get the community more involved in the criminal justice process, would like a reentry office, and wants to expand restorative justice processes to adult courts. If Nellis has an advantage over Myers, I believe it’s that she can relate more readily to ordinary Nashvillians, as Funk has also done.
Though some may not care for Funk’s commonsense approach, attorneys in both defense and prosecution believe he has been doing a good job — that he took the DA’s office out of the Stone Age virtually overnight. The Nashville Bar Association poll showed 62 percent of attorneys polled either highly recommend or recommend Funk, versus 38 percent for Myers and 22 percent for Nellis.
Instead of incarcerating offenders for minor offenses or infractions, Funk has been putting away more violent criminals. By reducing the rate of incarceration for petty crimes, according to a January WKRN report, Metro Nashville taxpayers are saving about $50 million a year in incarceration costs.
In years past, it was commonplace for district attorneys to give people significant jail sentences on driver’s license cases, low-level weed cases and garden-variety crimes of poverty. DA Funk has made significant progress in moving the office away from those practices or abolishing them outright. He has demonstrated a real commitment to developing and embracing meaningful alternatives to incarceration. He has shown a lot of sensitivity to people with mental health and substance abuse issues.
One thing DA Funk and his challengers have in common is the desire for diversity in the DA’s office. Historically, Tennessee’s district attorney offices have been notoriously lacking in diversity. But since Funk took office in 2014, there has been an 800 percent increase in diversity, according to The Tennessee Tribune. Ten percent of his staff members are fluent in Spanish.
DA Funk has long been proving himself a person of action when it comes to creating change. His numerous partnerships to support victims of human trafficking, assist veterans, reduce recidivism for juveniles and help individuals with mental health issues are the proof in the pudding. His belief that incarceration should be “primarily reserved for violent offenders,” as he puts it, has led to a decrease of locally incarcerated inmates from 3,151 per day in 2013 to 1,535 per day in 2021.
After reviewing Funk’s experience and successes, I think he is still the best person for the job of DA. He is a proven entity, and I don’t like the idea of wondering whether someone else might be able to measure up.
Bill Freeman
Bill Freeman is the owner of FW Publishing, the publishing company that produces the Nashville Scene, Nfocus, the Nashville Post and Home Page Media Group in Williamson County. He is a financial contributor to Glenn Funk’s campaign.
