Left: Vincent Dixie; Right: Scott DavisPhoto: Vincent Dixie by Keith Layden; Scott Davis by Eric England
Scott Davis’ critics say he’s too cozy with real estate developers.
“I think that folks want a candidate who they really believe represents the interests of the neighborhood and are not going to be compromised by powerful interests like developers,” says Isaac Kimes, a former state Senate staffer and current Davidson County Democratic Party executive committee member.
Kimes does not live in state House District 54. That’s where Davis, currently an East Nashville district representative on the Metro Council, is seeking the Democratic nomination to succeed Rep. Brenda Gilmore, who is vacating the seat to run for state Senate. And yet Kimes, like a number of other party officials and elected Democrats, is supporting political newcomer Vincent Dixie over Davis — even though Davis is the only elected official in the Aug. 2 primary.
Davis’ antagonists argue that his seven years representing Metro Council District 5 — a part of Nashville that saw its property values increase by 50 percent between 2013 and 2017, the second-highest jump in the city — have been defined by his unwavering support for local developers. That includes incidents when developers have sought concessions from the Metro Board of Zoning Appeals, leading to displacement, loss of neighborhood character and a dearth of affordable housing. Therefore, Davis’ detractors argue, he should not be rewarded with higher office.
Davis has garnered endorsements and campaign contributions from other elected officials (including fellow Metro Council members DeCosta Hastings and Brenda Haywood) and district residents. But real estate developers have contributed significantly to his state House campaign, including those whom he has supported in his capacity as a Metro Council member (and including developer Bill Freeman, a co-owner of the Scene).
On Sept. 7, for example, Davis spoke at a BZA hearing in support of a request by residential developer Sean Roberge, the owner of RSC LLC. His appeal was approved and signed by the BZA chairman on Sept. 13, the same day Roberge donated $500 to Davis’ state campaign. Then, on Dec. 7, Davis again spoke in support of RSC and Roberge, who was asking for an exemption from sidewalk requirements at the same property in Davis’ district, an exemption that Roberge said would save him thousands of dollars. That appeal was also approved, and the next day RSC directly donated $500 to Davis’ state campaign.
Davis campaign consultant Matthew “Mudcat” Arnold points out that Roberge attended Davis fundraisers on Sept. 13 and Dec. 7.
Davis has also received donations from developers with whom he had personal business dealings. Urban Dwell Homes made maximum contributions to Davis’ primary and general election campaign funds just a few days after he announced his bid in June 2017. He spoke on the company’s behalf before the BZA several months later, and in May of this year he bought a home from Urban Dwell for $300,000. (Though Davis has represented parts of House District 54 in the Metro Council, he lived in House District 58 until he bought a home on Spain Avenue, which he has since sold, a little more than a month before he announced his campaign last year.)
Still, Davis says his relationships with developers are not a liability, but instead beneficial for his constituents. At the Sept. 13 fundraiser, he addressed a roomful of developers, which included Sean Roberge, and described ways in which he had asked or could ask for their help in the community.
“Hey Dave, can you fix a roof on this house?” he asks hypothetically, as he looks around the room, as seen in a video posted to Facebook. “Hey Tom, this lady’s water heater exploded. Hey Sean, you know the church needs a $500 check.”
(Roberge did give a $500 check that day, to Davis’ campaign.)
“I do remember that. ...” Davis continued. “You’re always there for me, all of you. That’s how we give back to the neighborhood.”
Arnold says many of Davis’ constituents have benefited from his relationships with developers. He points to a video from Davis’ 2015 Metro Council re-election campaign, in which East Nashville resident and nonprofit founder Kim Tucker says Davis has helped her and other district residents find affordable home repair services.
“He’s always throwing out different things, different avenues in which me, my family and all the single moms that I help can make a living and still remain in this neighborhood, because we’ve been here forever,” Tucker says. “My dream was to always have an historic home, so the first thing I do, I call Scott and say, ‘Do you know anyone who can fix up a house cheap and help me?’ He was like, ‘Sure.’ So he recommends somebody, they come over, they start fixing up the house, and it’s really affordable.”
Tucker goes on to share the story of a woman in the neighborhood who “really needed a roof.” Davis “was an exception to the rule, and he helped her,” she says.
Davis has faced similar criticism for years, including during in his 2015 re-election campaign, when East Nashville activist Sarah Martin used the issue in her unsuccessful bid to unseat Davis. Davis tells the Scene “there’s an element of race and class in these arguments,” particularly coming from what he calls “the activist class on Twitter.”
“We’ve made jobs, increased property values and helped redevelop blighted properties and trailer parks that were hot spots of criminal activity,” Davis says. “Some of the residents of District 5 haven’t agreed with the changes I’ve made or the progress we’ve achieved. They don’t appreciate that we’ve worked with developers, who have frequently been African-Americans, to increase housing density and to keep longtime neighborhood residents in their homes.”
One person not making those attacks: Vincent Dixie, a bail bondsman and Davis’ only opponent to raise more than $1,000 from outside donors. (Dixie’s donors include Davidson County Democratic Party officers Gary Bynum and Frank Hundley, Davis’ fellow Metro Councilmember Nancy VanReece and Emerge Tennessee executive director Kristal Knight, in addition to, yes, real estate developers and other community members.)
“I would think on this level of local politics that we can focus on the issues and not personality,” Dixie tells the Scene, “because at the end of the day, whether you win, lose or draw, after Aug. 2, if you truly care about the community, you’re going to have to work together. So why would I damage the relationship before we get started?”
And yet it’s hard to focus on the issues when the candidates — including Davis, Dixie, three more Democrats and an independent — mostly seem to agree on them. At a forum earlier this month at the Manna From Heaven Dinner House in North Nashville, all five Democrats agreed that the state should expand Medicaid. They largely agreed that traditional public schools should be prioritized over charter schools. Several, including Davis and Dixie, mentioned the need for criminal justice reform.
Dixie has had to answer to some liberals who were concerned about his day job as a bail bondsman, but he has been able to convince at least some that he is serious about criminal justice reform. He argues that his work adjacent to the system even gives him an advantage when trying to change it.
“They understand that I provide a service,” Dixie tells the Scene. “I get people back to their lives. I get them back to their families quickly. Sometimes bad things happen to good people.”
Opposition research documents compiled on behalf of one of Dixie’s opponents focus on his business life and personal life, not his policy positions. The documents detail personal financial problems faced by Dixie and information about some of the unsavory characters bailed out by Dixie’s bonding business.
With so little light between the candidates on policy matters, personality tends to be a major differentiator, despite Dixie’s protestations. Davis is loud, forceful and occasionally full of bluster.
“There is no councilperson who has passed more legislation in the history of Nashville than me,” Davis said at the Manna From Heaven forum, without citing evidence. “And I did it for you. I did it for the people.”
Dixie, too, can be forceful in his oration, though he tends to adhere more closely to talking points.
“No one should have to answer those questions,” Dixie said at the forum, describing the choices he says his recently deceased mother faced between paying for shelter and paying for medical care.
At the forum, the candidates were forced to walk a tightrope, between promising they could bring change to the district by convincing Republicans in the majority to support their initiatives and avoiding criticizing Gilmore.
Gilmore, who has held the seat for more than a decade, sat in the front row. She has declined to endorse anyone in the primary.
