@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.
Moments after Tuesday’s Metro Council meeting concluded, Councilmember At-Large Delishia Porterfield made her way into the gallery. With tears streaming down her face, she hugged friends in the audience and breathed a sigh of relief: “For once, we said no to them. We said no!”
Mr. Axon’s Fire Sale
Before the council was a bill to extend the city’s contract with Axon Enterprise, Inc. — the company that makes TASERs — and dramatically increase the total contract cost, from $6.5 million over five years to a whopping $24.8 million over 10 years.
The pitch was simple: The Metro Nashville Police Department is using the apparently now-outdated TASER 7 model, released in 2018. Earlier this year, Axon debuted a new model: the TASER 10. Mind you, there was no TASER 8 or TASER 9. So we’re only one model behind the latest and greatest less-lethal-than-a-gun technology.Â
As you may recall, the council had an eerily similar discussion about the need for new TASERs just last year. The ink was barely dry on that contract by the time Axon and the police started discussing the need to amend the contract. The new TASERs we got simply weren’t new enough anymore. So they drew up an amendment that would allow every MNPD officer to get a new TASER in their Christmas stocking.Â
As the representative from Axon — dubbed “Mr. Axon” in the Public Health and Safety Committee — noted, the council needed to act on this immediately to lock in 2023 pricing for the life of the contract. There was no time for a deferral.
Friends, this is a common sales tactic. You’ve all seen it in late-night infomercials and car commercials. “Act now! This deal won’t last!” It’s designed to induce a sense of urgency and essentially trick you into buying something you don’t need. There’s even a technical term for the feeling you get from being on the buyer’s side of this exchange: It’s called anticipatory regret. You’re anticipating the regret that will come from feeling like you’ve missed out on a deal. FOMO, if you will.
When Councilmember Brandon Taylor asked Mr. Axon if the company would be willing to extend its fire-sale pricing to allow for more thoughtful discussion among the council, Mr. Axon replied with a whole bunch of words that amounted to “no.”
In response, Councilmember Jordan Huffman rallied his troops. With the committee vote in progress, Huffman gave a literal thumbs-down to signal his disapproval to colleagues. The bill failed in committee.Â
At the conclusion of the committee meeting, Huffman walked over to the administration table and informed them that their bill was dead.
Committee votes aren’t binding on the council, though, so it was still possible for circumstances to change and votes to flip.
Mr. Axon didn’t know it then, but by refusing to play ball with the council, he lost a crucial bloc of votes and sank the contract. I sure hope he wasn’t counting on us to meet his Q4 sales quota!
The Common Sense Caucus
That crucial bloc of votes was the self-described Common Sense Caucus. According to caucus member Rollin Horton, it’s a loose, nonpartisan coalition of freshman councilmembers who have similar approaches to vetting proposals. The focus, Horton says, is on good governance, rather than achieving a particular policy outcome.Â
Caucus members include District 14’s Jordan Huffman, District 15’s Jeff Gregg, District 19’s Jacob Kupin, District 20’s Rollin Horton and District 35’s Jason Spain.Â
Checking in with Jeff Preptit, Quin Evans Segall and other newly elected members of Nashville’s legislative body
All five voted against the Axon contract amendment on the council floor Tuesday night. They brought with them several like-minded councilmembers, defeating the bill on a vote of 14-24. I never thought I’d be thanking five white men for voting in favor of police accountability.
Huffman describes himself as “pretty pro-police,” but the fact that Axon wouldn’t budge on the issue of extending the 2023 pricing was a bridge too far. He wants this vote to serve as a message: This council will not be a rubber stamp, and they certainly won’t be bullied into making rushed decisions.
Horton acknowledges that the caucus won’t always vote together. They’re not going to be on the same side of every issue. But Horton and Huffman are hopeful that this “ragtag band” will increase transparency, improve collaboration with departments and the mayor’s office, and make the government work better for Nashville residents.
Katie Porter in a Ponytail
Not to be overshadowed, Councilmember At-Large Quin Evans Segall brought her own special brand of accountability to the meeting. Using a giant Post-It pad with a built-in easel and a variety of brightly colored sticky notes, she ran through the math with her colleagues. The math, as it turns out, was not exactly mathing. Evans Segall is convinced that she moved at least two votes on the floor with this maneuver.Â
While Evans Segall might have racked up some style points, her fellow Councilmember At-Large Delishia Porterfield was the MVP.
Porterfield spent her entire first term reminding her colleagues that they aren’t legally obligated to give the police every single thing they want. Her arguments fell on deaf ears, as vote after vote, the council checked off every single item on the MNPD’s wish list. As recently as three days ago, Porterfield was convinced she might be the only “no” vote on this bill. At most, she thought she’d have two to three votes on her side.
But she got to work, spending hours traveling down a rabbit hole of past council meetings and discussions about our current contract with Axon. Through her research, she unearthed a crucial piece of information.
Remember Mr. Axon’s claim that offering an extension on 2023 pricing would be against the company’s decades-long practices? Yeah, that’s complete bullshit. Just last year, the administration told the council they were able to negotiate a lock on the 2021 pricing until February 2022. Not only was Axon trying to force our hand, they were lying to our faces while doing it!
To add insult to injury, Porterfield relayed a conversation she had with an Axon representative. Apparently, while Axon and the MNPD began discussions about the contract amendment back in April, they decided to save the contract amendment for the new council. I guess they figured they’d have better luck with a council that hadn’t just given them money for new TASERs.
Huffman was incensed by the end of the meeting. Slamming his fist down for emphasis, he exclaimed, “That shit is not going to fly with us.”
Dawn of a New Era
This may have seemed like a progressive win. And in a way, it was. But it was not a referendum on policing, and it was not necessarily an indication that this council is any more progressive than its predecessors. The progressives couldn’t have carried this vote alone; there simply aren’t enough of them.
What gives me hope, though, is knowing that even moderate councilmembers — those who would normally give the police whatever they ask for — are taking a stand against business as usual. They’re not going to be rushed into making poor decisions. If they need more time, they’ll take more time.
And if a department or vendor refuses to negotiate? This council will simply tell them to, respectfully, fuck off.
