Politics
Federal judge temporary halts Tennessee’s so-called “abortion reversal” law, set to go into effect Oct. 1
A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked a Tennessee law requiring abortion providers to tell women a medication abortion can be reversed — a claim that providers have called “scientifically unsupported and misleading information.” The law, enacted earlier this year by Tennessee lawmakers, was set to go into effect October 1. It makes it a […]
Immigrant rights advocate Mohamed-Shukri Hassan discusses new role with Nashville government
If the pandemic has done anything, it has shown how easily a crisis like COVID-19 can decimate the vulnerable, and Nashville’s growing immigrant community has been no exception. Hispanics and immigrants continue to make up the largest percentage of COVID cases in the area and have had few resources to alleviate the crisis. “I think […]
Commentary: COVID Cowboy is Lousy Mayor
Perhaps we should have seen it coming two years ago when Knox County voters opted to make Glenn Jacobs our county mayor. The (mostly former) TV wrestler had no previous government experience. His libertarian inclinations, revealed through blog posts, did not prepare him for the job of actually using government for public good, especially needed […]
How do you win over Glen Casada voters? “Remind them of his record.”
It’s safe to say there’s no path to winning an election in Williamson County that doesn’t include Republican voters. Conservatives have dominated local politics for two decades in Tennessee’s wealthiest county, home to some of the state’s most powerful politicians, including Gov. Bill Lee and U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn. The political makeup of the 63rd […]
Nashville’s anti-tax referendum fight heads to court
The Davidson County Election Commission punted Friday on whether to put a controversial anti-tax proposal on the ballot, instead asking Davidson County Chancery Court to determine the referendum’s legality. The election commission decision represented at least a temporary legal victory for Nashville Mayor John Cooper, whose administration views the possible Dec. 15 referendum as a […]
Editor’s column: Assessing John Cooper
One year after John Cooper was inaugurated Nashville mayor, he’s facing the possibility of seeing his signature tax increase rolled back by referendum and talk of a recall campaign. Cooper knocked off incumbent Mayor David Briley, first besting him in the August 2019 general election by 10% and then clinching the seat by a whopping […]
From the 901: Potential Supreme Court Justice is Rhodes College grad
The news that Rhodes College graduate Amy Coney Barrett is one of the top choices – and possibly the favorite – of President Donald Trump to replace the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the U.S. Supreme Court came with pride tinged with sadness at her alma mater. As the debate rages nationally over whether the […]
Election Commission apologizes after error capitalized GOP Senators’ names
The Davidson County Election Commission apologized on Tuesday for what election administrator Jeff Roberts called a typographical error that led to the names of incumbent state Senators Steve Dickerson and Ferrell Haile’s names being capitalized on sample ballots sent to Nashville voters this week. Dickerson and Haile were the only candidates on the sample ballots […]
Clarksville City Council adds police accountability to legislative wish list
Every year, local governments around the state send a list of priorities to the Tennessee General Assembly laying out municipal needs for the coming legislative session. The lead item on the Clarksville City Council’s agenda this year is finding money in the budget for road improvement and construction. That’s no surprise, as many Tennessee cities […]
Commentary: Et tu, Lamar?
Perhaps, it’s only fitting that Sen. Lamar Alexander be the one to bury the Sen. Howard H. Baker Jr. tradition of statesmanship, a tradition more reviled than remembered by today’s Tennessee Republican Party. Less than 24 hours after praising the “decency” of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Alexander jumped on the Mitch McConnell bandwagon, […]
Congressional candidate Hale accused of broken promises and bounced checks
Christopher Hale has positioned himself as an ascending star in the Tennessee Democratic Party over the last two years, culminating in his victory in the District 4 Congressional primary in August. But at the same time the photogenic, hard-charging Hale has ridden a wave of clever social media posts to strong fundraising numbers for his […]
Former Metro Councilmember Tony Tenpenny dies of COVID-19
Tony Tenpenny, who served on Nashville’s Metro Council 2011-2015, died of COVID-19 early Sunday morning. Vice-Mayor Jim Shulman confirmed Tenpenny’s death in a statement to WKRN Channel 2. Tenpenny was first hospitalized in early August and according to Facebook posts, had been on a ventilator for most of September. Shulman said Tenpenny had underlying medical […]