NASHVILLE, Tenn. (May 11, 2021) – Members of the Metropolitan Minority Caucus issued the following statement in opposition to the 4 Good Government’s proposal to make revisions to our City Charter.
The Nashville Davidson County Minority Caucus expresses their vehement opposition to the Nashville Taxpayer Protection Act (NTPA) referendum proposal that was before the Election Commission. The proposal intentionally harms our teachers, Metro employees, and first responders would result in deep cuts to public education funding and is fiscally irresponsible in addition to being blatantly unconstitutional.
The proposal is also undemocratic on its face as it allows a small number of voters to nullify an election and remove elected officials supported by the majority of Davidson County residents.
“The proposal attempts to undo past decisions supported by a large majority of Nashvillians related to job creation, pro sports, and economic development by disguising the true intent of the proposal behind an innocuous-sounding name and by using “good government” language,” said Councilmember at-Large and Minority Caucus Chair, Sharon Hurt.
The proponents of the proposal spent hundreds of thousands of dollars misleading voters about what this proposal does while never disclosing who funded the effort.
Elections are a significant expense to the city and this individual special election would cost taxpayers nearly $1,000,000. The city is working hard to rebound from the many challenges that we all have had to endure. This additional burden is not justified and doesn’t serve a purpose. The Metropolitan Minority Caucus urges anyone who signed the petition to reconsider based on the actual facts of what this proposal does and visit www.withdrawmyname.com .
