A wish list for Nashville’s next mayor

Nashville is getting a new Mayor in September and this Angry Grandmother has suggestions about sidewalks, assault weapons and healthcare for our two finalists in the upcoming mayoral election. 

The day our next Mayor is elected  — don’t wait until the swearing in a week later; we have waited too long already —  I want him or her  to ask the Metro Council to issue a ban on assault weapons in Davidson County. Even though the state legislature will likely take steps to overrule the law, Nashville will get a lot of positive publicity around the world.

I guarantee that if those of us who live here had a chance to vote on whether or not we want to ban assault weapons, we would vote ‘yes’ by a substantial majority. I do not expect the majority of the legislature to put kids before guns, so Metro Council may need to.

Six  people were murdered using an assault weapon on March 27 at the Covenant School and Nashville will never forget.

 In case those in our state legislature have forgotten, the names of those killed in the were nine-year-old students  Evelyn Dieckhaus, William Kinney, and Hallie Scruggs, and staff members Mike Hill, Katherine Koonce and Cynthia Peak.

This Angry Grandmother wants our local government to post signs that owning an assault weapon in Nashville is illegal and if you are caught with that type of weapon in our city, you will be prosecuted to the full extent of the new law. The new mayor must direct our police to focus on arresting those breaking the gun laws.

“Welcome to Nashville!” If you have visited the Nashville International Airport, you have heard the recording of Nashville’s mayor  welcoming  arrivals to Music City.

 How about changing the recording? My suggestion is: “Welcome to Nashville! We want you to spend a lot of money here but if you have an assault weapon, you are going straight to jail.” 

If the State of Tennessee succeeds in taking over the Metro Nashville Airport Authority, the new board may not approve of this message and change it.  

New mayor, do it anyway. More positive publicity for Nashville if this happens, make sure everyone in the world knows we tried.  

I am all about more mass transit: more buses, more routes and more stops. But here’s my problem: I cannot safely walk to any bus stops because of the lack of sidewalks, and I am not alone. Drive around any Nashville neighborhood and see. 

We do not have enough police in Nashville to enforce the speed limits in most neighborhoods and between the speeders and lack of sidewalks, many of us are placing our lives at risk to walk anywhere, including to our closest bus stop. Can we stop depending on private developers to build sidewalks and use more public money now to make Nashville safer? 

I like to walk every day and it is educational to walk from one neighborhood to another.. It is one of the many reasons I love living in this city. We have different architecture in our neighborhoods, different stores and a lot of friendly folks. However, on one of my recent walks I had to walk on a  two lane street with no sidewalk, that I had to share with cars, trucks, bicycles and strollers.

 I observed one car passing another car on this street with a double yellow line and I’m pretty sure that is breaking the law. I want to walk safely to take my grandchildren to the local public park and Nashville is not the best place, or even a good place, to do that.  

The legislature has passed laws that do not allow a woman and her  physician to make decisions for healthcare. I want a mayor that will not only advocate privacy for women but one who will be vocal about it. There is not enough room in a doctor’s office for the legislature or any elected official.  

Don’t tell me that there is nothing our mayor can do about gun violence or healthcare and sidewalks are definitely in the job description.. Somehow Nashville managed to become a destination that rivals Vegas for entertainment. This Angry Grandmother wants our children to feel safe when they are at school, on the playground, with their physician or attending a concert or sport event. 

Enough is enough. 

We have two options for mayor and while I’ve made my choice, I urge you all to do the same and vote for Nashville’s future.