On First Reading: Council Director, Community Oversight Board Appointees, Homelessness

@startleseasily is a fervent observer of the Metro government's comings and goings. In this column, "On First Reading," she'll recap the bimonthly Metro Council meetings and provide her analysis. You can find her in the pew in the corner by the mic, ready to give public comment on whichever items stir her passions. Follow her on Twitter here.

At a comparatively low-key meeting on Tuesday, Metro Council elected three members to the Community Oversight Board and approved a contract to review the city’s approach to addressing homelessness.

Playing Slow and Loose

Recently, we got a new council director: Margaret Darby. The Council Director is the unsung hero of the Council. They’re responsible for overseeing the Council Office, serving as legal counsel for the Council (homonym alert!), and basically holding the vice mayor’s hand as he navigates the meeting. Darby’s been at Metro Legal for 21 years, and I’m sure she’s great. But she either hasn’t studied up on the Council Rules of Procedure or hasn’t gotten her footing enough to know when to stop the vice mayor from breaking them, because these past few meetings have been excruciating for the many, many procedural wonks out there. 

Maybe we were spoiled by former council director Jon Cooper, who spent more than a decade in the role before moving on to greener and more lucrative pastures. But it’s probably good that a recent rule change was indefinitely deferred, because Vice Mayor Shulman is having enough trouble with the rules as they currently stand. If this is driving you as crazy as it is driving me (which it must be, since this is a highly relatable frustration), please contact Shulman and ask him to kindly get it together. I really don’t want to have to start an online petition.

Shulman on Black History Month: “Google It.”

Big Internet must have been greasing some palms, because the world wide web was heavily featured on Tuesday evening. Vice Mayor Shulman celebrated Black History Month by sharing some knowledge he attained “simply by searching the internet” for famous Black Nashvillians. I’m going to have to look into this “internet” situation. It sounds downright revolutionary!

Apparently some councilmembers can also use the internet (or they have friends who can), because they came to the Rules Committee meeting overprepared to discuss the tweets of Jamel Campbell-Gooch, a nominee for the Community Oversight Board. A self-described abolitionist, Campbell-Gooch has served on the COB since its inception in 2019. His term ended rather unceremoniously Tuesday night, as Council elected not to give him one of the three open spots on the COB. Those seats will be filled by current COB member Walter Holloway and two newcomers: Michael Milliner and Maxine Spencer.

Any potential COB nominee who watches Campbell-Gooch’s interrogation is likely to think twice about applying, particularly if they’re prone to openly sharing their not-so-glowing reviews of the police online. Maybe that’s the point. I, for one, don’t buy the idea that members of any board must be uncontroversial figures in their personal lives. But hey, they don’t let me make these decisions. 

How to End Homelessness in 10 Days

If you hadn’t noticed, people in Nashville are, like, very concerned about homelessness all of a sudden. CM Freddie O’Connell responded to the abrupt resignation of former Metro Homeless Impact Director Judith Tackett by filing a bill to establish an independent Office of Housing and Homelessness. The administration countered by asking for time to engage a consultant who could study our current governance structure and provide recommendations for improvement. O’Connell deferred his bill until April, and on Tuesday, the Council approved a contract for those services. 

I give the administration a lot of grief over all the studies and surveys they do — Nashville seems to be perpetually just one study away from perfection — but in this instance, I’m actually on board. We’ve become so polarized in our attempts to address homelessness in this city that I honestly think a neutral, third-party perspective would do us all some good. Like therapy, but for a city’s response to homelessness.

If all goes to plan, I will be making my triumphant return to the Historic Metro Courthouse for the next Council meeting. It’s going to be a rough transition off the couch. Hopefully my self-assigned seat in the gallery hasn’t been stolen.