By Logan Langlois
NASHVILLE, TN — Nashville’s closely followed race which will determine Music City’s next mayor continues to ramp up as the candidates met Saturday at the city’s public library for their most recent debate sponsored by non-profit outreach Open Table Nashville. In this session, candidates passionately discussed each other’s plans on how to help relieve the city’s overflow of unhoused people, an issue that has been long-standing and only exacerbated by the city’s growth. The discussion between candidates was often contributed to by a lively crowd. The candidates that were present in the debate included Natisha Brooks, State Senator Heidi Campbell, Jim Gingrich, Sharon Hurt, Stephanie Johnson, Metro Councilman Freddie O’Connell, Matt Wiltshire, State Senator Jeff Yarbro, and Vivian Wilhoitte, Davidson County Assessor of Property who was recently endorsed by Nashville’s Metro bus drivers, The Amalgamated Transit Union and Planned Parenthood.
Throughout the debate, candidates were asked questions surrounding the unhoused problem and factors that relate to the issues’ exacerbation. Subjects included acquiring housing for the current Nashville homeless population left without shelter and threatened with felony charges if they camp on government property, eviction protections for the 46 percent of Nashvillians who rent their homes, and tenant representation during legal proceedings including being evicted by their landlord. The first part of the night following a general meet and greet was asking six questions of the candidates relating to concerns regarding Metro’s unhoused people as well as rent insecurity.
Candidates were given 60 seconds to answer the question, and each candidate had two rebuttals allotted to them, to be used at any time in the debate. Throughout, candidates used their rebuttals mainly to direct or respond to criticism levied against themselves by either host Khalil Ekulona, a lively Nashvillian crowd, or the other candidates. Rebuttals became an option that several candidates chose to utilize, though the only candidate who ended up using all of her rebuttals by the end of the debate was Sharon Hurt.
Rebuttals included Hurt asking O’Connell why he allowed District 19 to become as gentrified as it is considering he has gone on record in condemning the practice. To which O’Connell responded by claiming that he is not charged with the factors that would later go on to gentrify his district and that he even promoted a bill that would reduce gentrification in Hurt’s community that she opposed. The debate paused during the evening trivia section which tested each of the candidates’ knowledge surrounding Nashville renting statistics, later resuming in order to finish asking questions and allowing time for audience questions.
The room was filled with the voices of local citizens, one of whom was a blue-collar worker named Yohana who approached the candidates with a translator and spoke Spanish. She claimed she worked in construction and was among one of the many workers still unpaid for their work. She claims she’s still personally owed as much as $20,000 worth of labor for the work she did in installing AC throughout the apartment complex Century Farms of Antioch.She also claimed this was especially insulting seeing that the landlords are currently renting out the apartments she worked on for up to $2,000 per/ month. Following her introduction, the host asked which of the candidates would pledge to open an investigation into the situation if elected, to which all the candidates raised their hands to “yes.”
Polls to elect the next mayor of Nashville will open for election on August 3, 2023. Early Voting is now through July 29.
