Fair Board Commissioner Jason Bergeron resigned Tuesday, effective immediately, citing professional obligations. This comes shortly after the resignation of longtime Commissioner Caleb Hemmer, who announced his candidacy for Tennessee House District 59 in early February. Speaking to the Scene, Bergeron notes that he will not be seeking any political office.
Bergeron’s term was scheduled to end next month, and he suspects he would not have been reappointed. In his resignation letter to Mayor John Cooper, Bergeron encourages Cooper to fill the seat with a resident of District 17, where the Fairgrounds Nashville are located. He laments the “grievance-based, cynical politics, promulgated by grifters and bad-faith actors” that he feels have slowed efforts to make the Fairgrounds a more welcoming, inclusive space.
Bergeron has been a vocal critic of the ongoing negotiations with Bristol Motor Speedway regarding plans to renovate the Fairgrounds Speedway and bring NASCAR back to Nashville. Progress on the deal has stalled as the board waits to receive a financial analysis and finalized proposal.
His comments to the board this morning offered a scathing rebuke of what he characterizes as a culture of intimidation, threats and secrecy in the mayor’s office. Bergeron also pushed back on his critics, saying he and others are justified in being emotional in the face of a “hired astroturfer” for speedway interests spreading “disgusting, hateful, and intolerant rhetoric, creating a toxic environment and attempting to stifle any real community feedback.”
As an example of this rhetoric, he references a tweet from country music artist and racing fan Tim Dugger following the May 2021 public hearing on plans for the speedway. Above a clip of a woman speaking in opposition to the plans, Dugger writes, “When the cars barrel off into turn 1 for the return of the Cup Series I hope this lady screams in agony and her dog shits on the floor.” The tweet was “liked” by Marcus Smith, president and CEO of BMS parent company Speedway Motorsports.
Bergeron, who has served on the board since 2017, was the last remaining non-Cooper appointee on the board. With his resignation, the board is poised to be filled completely with Cooper appointees.
