By Ms. June
Business owner Vincent Dixie is ready to get to work in District 54, and the top agenda item on his platform is educational funding. His wife, Ericka, is an educator in the public school system, so he understands the need for more funding.
“My overall goal is equality and quality in education in Nashville,” Dixie said. He believes there should be a Pre-K in all qualified elementary schools.
“All children should get a fair start,” he said. “Small children should not enter school with limitations such as not knowing how to hold their pencils or use scissors.”
He wants to work on establishing and obtaining more funding for the schools.
“We need to start treating schools like churches and give them more of our time, our talents and money,” Dixie said. “When the community supports its schools, it helps itself as well.”
He is very passionate about children in schools and believes they should also have access to free meals, which would help them be more alert and perform better. Academics and ready-to-work initiatives for high school seniors is also of high interest for Dixie to implement on behalf of the citizens of District 54, a region which includes parts of Bordeaux, Madison, Whites Creek, Goodlettsville and East Nashville.
As a hard-working independent businessman, he wants to see apprenticeship programs revived in the schools for the graduating seniors. College is not for everyone but according to Dixie, “You have to get a job or you have to go to college – you have to do something.”
With the growth of Nashville and the city continuing to be touted as the “it” city, he feels that Nashville needs to raise the minimum wage and provide an opportunity for workers to be able to make more money, which will help with affordability. He cites city officials bowing to developers as a cause of the affordable housing issue, and promises that special interests will not control him as an elected official.
Dixie said he will also work on equality in healthcare for the community of District 54, and will fight to expand Medicaid at the state level. As a former employee of HCA for over 18 years, he sees disparities in Tennessee’s healthcare system.
“No one should have to make a decision between paying for their shelter, groceries or medicine. Everyone should have access to quality healthcare,” he said.
The community can expect to get engaged with Dixie by getting involved. He admires Rep. Brenda Gilmore’s approachability and plans to make that an extensive part of his strategy. Dixie said he believes that interacting with the community, being personable and listening to the people are the most important parts of serving as an elected official.
He is interested in getting to know the community through coffee shop meetings, mini-town hall meetings and using all resources available to communicate with the people, from marquees at Kroger, the churches, the mail and grassroots marketing such as email blast campaigns.
He wants to see improvements in the criminal justice system, and that starts with allowing low-level, non-violent offenders to have their records sealed. Dixie feels that it is hard to get a job when an individual has a Scarlet Letter “F” – for felony – on their record, and this should be expunged after one has done their time.
Gun control and gun safety belongs with responsible adults as Dixie says, “Mental evaluations, criminal histories and longer training sessions should occur before guns are authorized for individuals.”
He added that agencies are not doing the proper vetting, and they should be more thorough and consistent.
Lastly, Dixie said he was raised in Madison and is raising his family in Bordeaux, so he is fully invested in this community.
Dixie proudly proclaimed, “I will work hard and steady for District 54. I will listen to the community and help bring their issues to table, get them addressed and seek solutions.”
