@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.
In the final minutes before Tuesday night’s Metro Council meeting, Marjorie Pomeroy-Wallace — who serves as chief of staff to Mayor Freddie O’Connell — moved about the council chambers, doing some last-minute lobbying.
She wasn’t trying to gain the council’s support for a big piece of legislation or to get their approval on a signature administration initiative.
For the second time in as many months, Pomeroy-Wallace was trying to scrape together enough votes for council approval of a controversial mayoral appointee.
Past Is Prologue
On Tuesday, the council considered five O’Connell appointees to the Metro Arts Commission. During most mayoral terms, we don’t hear much about Metro Arts. Unfortunately for O’Connell, this is not most mayoral terms.
With the Metro Arts Commission hemorrhaging members as of late, O’Connell needed to act quickly to fill a slew of vacancies. Among a slate of other nominees, one name stood out: Beverly Watts.
Watts formerly served as the executive director of the Tennessee Human Rights Commission. She resigned in 2022, after the release of a human resources report that substantiated a variety of allegations against her, ranging from general workplace toxicity to repeated verbal abuse.
I’ve read the report. It’s staggering.
Complainants and witnesses described Watts as a bully who ruled by fear, quick to scream and curse at employees who didn’t fall in line. One witness said Watts spoke to employees “like they are slaves.” Another witness was happy to be demoted, because that meant less time spent working directly with Watts, whose presence caused the witness to reportedly become “physically ill” and unable to function. In all, the investigator spoke with three complainants and nine witnesses, nearly all of whom took issue with Watts’ “management style.”
Watts contended that she was simply trying to “hold employees accountable.” While she admitted to being “direct,” she didn’t think she’d crossed any lines.
“The allegations were never proven,” Watts said, appearing before the Rules, Confirmations, & Public Elections Committee on Tuesday night. “The information in the paper is not sworn testimony. It was a report.”
This isn’t the first time Watts has faced complaints of inappropriate behavior in the workplace. While serving as the director of Kentucky’s Commission on Human Rights, Watts was accused of retaliating against members of that commission’s legal staff after they disagreed with her interpretation of the commission’s jurisdiction.
Again, Watts says this was all a misguided attempt by petty staff members to take her down. “I was a new director,” Watts said, “and the staff decided they didn’t want me.”
All of these cases together tell a story: It’s Watts’ way or the highway. Anyone who stands in the way gets mowed down. And with smoke so pervasive that it crosses state lines, I’d say we’re probably looking at a pretty big fire.
I am well aware that appointing board and commission members is not the mayor’s No. 1 priority. But with thousands of potentially qualified candidates in a city known for its vibrant arts community, why choose Watts?
Equally as perplexing as the mayor’s decision to appoint Watts was the council’s decision to approve the appointment. She received 22 votes in favor, just one more than she needed.
Nearly every councilmember who was present in the room during Watts’ appearance before the Rules Committee either voted against her or abstained on her nomination. I spoke to several councilmembers — most of whom did not watch her appearance in committee — who supported her on blind faith or thought she deserved a second chance.
I am all for second chances, but I think we need to see some amount of remorse or contrition, some inkling that Watts has reflected on her handling of these situations and thought, “You know, if I could do it over again, I might hurl one fewer expletive at my employees.”
Watts was happy to tell the council about her service on several other boards in the city. In fact, it’s the only qualification she listed in her questionnaire — no mention of any interest in or experience with arts. So perhaps let her serve on those boards and leave the Metro Arts Commission to the people who care about nurturing Nashville’s creatives.
This Could’ve Been an Email
After skipping the first meeting in January — a new policy spearheaded by Vice Mayor Angie Henderson — and getting iced out last week, the council hadn’t met in more than a month. I had prepared for the expected rustiness that comes with being away for so long.
I had not prepared for Councilmember At-Large Zulfat Suara.
Unable to attend the Budget & Finance Committee meeting on Monday night due to weather concerns, Suara decided instead to turn the council meeting into her own personal Q&A.
Bear with me while I get a little procedural. Councilmembers generally ask the bulk of their questions in committee, with all the relevant department representatives available for discussion. It’s a more casual atmosphere, and with no strict time limit on debate, it allows councilmembers the flexibility needed to nail down the details of legislation before it hits the council floor.
Legislation that makes it out of committee with a unanimous vote in support goes onto the “consent agenda,” to be considered all at one time with no debate on individual pieces of legislation on that list. If a bill has received unanimous approval in committee, the thinking goes, it’s probably fairly noncontroversial.
Councilmembers can always ask for an item to be “pulled off of consent.” They usually do this if they want to vote against it or abstain.
It’s rare to make it through a whole meeting without a single item being pulled off of consent, but Tuesday’s meeting was another matter entirely. Councilmembers and council watchers could do nothing but look on in despair as Suara rattled off a list of eight items to be pulled from consent.
I’m all for asking questions, but literally every single one of her questions could’ve been an email. So you got snowed in. Did your computer freeze? Did your cellphone die? Did your internet cable get sliced by a snow plow?
One former councilmember who served under Vice Mayor Diane Neighbors just chuckled when I asked him how long Neighbors would’ve let that nonsense go on before shutting it down. Neighbors was known to have little patience for these shenanigans. She ran a tight meeting, largely because she insisted that her council do the bulk of their work figuring out the particulars of bills in committee.
I think even Vice Mayor Henderson would agree that we could've used Diane Neighbors on Tuesday night.
