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Nashville Bits and Pieces


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34 minutes ago, colemangaines said:

I think everyone's over-politicizing elected officials' intentions here.

The state legislature pushed for Nashville to host the RNC because they wanted to bring recognition and notoriety to the state of Tennessee. They're proud of Nashville and recognize its ability to draw in and host people successfully and wanted to capitalize on that. 

City council rightfully had concerns. Most people feel more politically polarized than in the past, and no one wants to see Nashville as the site of riots like at the 1968 DNC in Chicago. Also, huge swaths of downtown would have been completely shut down for several days. What would the revenue loss be from these closures? How much money would the convention bring in? Does this net out to more or less than comparable conventions that we could host that weekend? These are all entirely valid concerns. 

My point is, city and state officials serve different constituencies and therefore have different goals. People are accusing both sides of playing political games, but that comes from a fundamental inability to see the differences in the others' representations.

 

In short, everybody chill out lol

To touch on your question regarding revenue loss, I heard Senator Jack Johnson on the radio today and he said the city would be losing out on hundreds of millions of dollars by not hosting the RNC. He said that he's attended conventions which required him to stay 60 miles from the city because hotels were all booked, and went on to say many of the attendees would have gone to Graceland, Memphis, Gatlinburg, etc. in addition to their trip to Nashville. Take that for what it's worth. It felt like he was reaching to me. 

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From Steven Elliott at the Post…Who could be in!!!

https://www.nashvillepost.com/politics/elections/with-cooper-out-here-s-who-might-get-in/article_6c285202-a19f-11ed-88a2-af3801741476.html

Former Mayor Megan Barry, who stepped down in 2018 after pleading guilty to charges related to an affair with her bodyguard, did not rule out a run for her old job.

Bob Mendes, a two-term at-large Metro Councilmember who previously has opted not to run for mayor, is also considering jumping in.

Vivian Wilhoite, a former Metro Councilmember now serving as Davidson County property assessor, said she is “strongly considering” a bid for mayor.

State Rep. Bob Freeman (D-Nashville), whose father Bill Freeman ran for mayor in 2015 and owns the Post, said he is “absolutely considering” a run for mayor, citing the need for someone in the job with a relationship with the GOP-dominated state legislature.

Added state Sen. Jeff Yarbro (D-Nashville): “I’m not sure just yet what role I’ll play in that debate. But as someone who loves this city, I’m eager to see us start planning for the city’s future.”

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I guess I'm not understanding the resistance to a major convention that would be less disruptive than a grand Prix or the NFL draft. Back in '92 Houston hosted the R convention and I don't remember a smidgeon of resistance among the residents. I was living about 2 miles from the city center, and noticed no escalation in traffic, inconvenience, or chaos. For comparison, Houston metro population was at that time about 3.5M, half what it is now. It was less busy with the RNC convention than when 2 Super bowls came here, and it seems like many in Nashville want a  Super Bowl bad enough to tear down a perfectly good stadium to get it. As for getting it, I don't.

Edited by dragonfly
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14 minutes ago, dragonfly said:

I guess I'm not understanding the resistance to a major convention that would be much less disruptive than a grand Prix or the NFL draft. Back in '92 Houston hosted the R convention and I don't remember a smidgeon of resistance among the populace. I was living about 2 miles from the city center, and noticed no escalation in traffic, inconvenience, or chaos. For comparison, Houston metro population was at that time about 3.5M, half what it is now. It was less busy with the RNC convention than when 2 Super bowls came here, and it seems like many in Nashville want a  Super Bowl bad enough to tear down a perfectly good stadium to get it. As for getting it, I don't.

Security and cost issues in a short period of time they had to plan 

Cooper spokesman TJ Ducklo responded that the mayor’s office understands the “feelings of disappointment” but that Cooper could not get past questions about security. 

“Mayor Cooper has raised concerns about the cost and security risks of hosting either party’s convention since this topic was first raised, and those concerns unfortunately were not fully addressed,” Ducklo said in a statement.

 

House Majority Leader William Lamberth, a Portland Republican, also weighed in with disappointment. 

“Nashville’s leadership has failed again. Appreciate the few council members who saw beyond partisan lines and voted for what was right. The people of TN will remember this vote for a long time and so will I,” Lamberth said in a Twitter post.

"Several forms of retribution have been floated, including pulling $500 million in bond notes for construction of a domed Titans stadium, a measure Sexton and many Republicans supported, stopping state participation on a Cooper-backed East Bank road project where major development is scheduled and even trying to cut the 40-member council in half."

 

This article is from August 2022. Interesting Lamberth mentioned cutting funding for east Bank road development. 

https://tennesseelookout.com/2022/08/03/metro-council-catches-legislatures-ire-with-vote-rejecting-republican-convention/

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Nashvillians can pass go and collect $200 as a Monopoly game based on the city will release this fall.

The Nashville edition will see locally themed squares replace the classic Boardwalk and Park Place from the original game.

And Music City can have its input on which locations are featured in the game. Now through March 1, email [email protected] with your suggestions.

There will be customized Community Chest and Chance cards where players will win or lose money in creative ways or hope for a get-out-of-jail-free card.

A few of the squares will be dedicated to iconic Nashville landmarks making the game a true Nashville experience.

More at The Tennessean here:

https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/local/2023/02/01/nashville-monopoly-suggest-local-spots-for-a-new-version-of-the-game/69860605007/

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I was surprised by a poll on WKRN.  It asks the question "Should state lawmakers pass bills to punish Nashville?"  If you vote it will tell you the current poll numbers.  I voted no but I see that the numbers are Yes 72%, No 28%.  I wouldn't have expected the public to have such a hostile attitude towards Nashville.

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Speaking of Nashville Development, I know there’s many projects under construction and obviously a sky full of tower cranes. But it seems that things have cooled down substantially on our seamlessly weekly announcements and updates on upcoming projects. Over the last years, this one so far feels lackluster. 

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44 minutes ago, Luvemtall said:

Speaking of Nashville Development, I know there’s many projects under construction and obviously a sky full of tower cranes. But it seems that things have cooled down substantially on our seamlessly weekly announcements and updates on upcoming projects. Over the last years, this one so far feels lackluster. 

Things take time and we've been through an unprecedented and tough-to-navigate era with materials pricing, manufacturing delays, etc. It was bound to happen.

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