Ignore the recommendations of Nashville United for All

Rick Williams

by Rod Williams, July 27, 2015- The Tennessean today reports that the Rick Williams, treasurer of the group Nashville United for All incorrectly filed the group's financial disclosure with the Tennessee Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance when it should have filed its financial disclosure with the Davidson County Election Commission (link).

Rick Williams is well known among those politically active in Nashville and beyond. For years Rick was active as a Democrat but in the last couple or so years switched his allegiance to the Republican Party. He was also active in the effort to end price fixing for livery service, opposed the AMP, and was active in efforts to save the fairgrounds. For those efforts, I commend him. Williams is a registered lobbyist. 

Nashville United for All apparently is not the same organization as Nashville for All of Us which was the organization that led the effort to stop the English-only effort of 2011, despite similar sounding names. Nashville United for All has endorsed a mixed slate of candidates, most of whom however are the more liberal candidate in a contested race. Without explanation, in some districts they made endorsements and in most did not. Of their endorsements,

The group recently produced a flier urging people to vote for a slate of candidates. The group did not endorse a candidate for mayor but endorsed the following list of council candidates: Vice mayoral candidate Tim Garrett; At-large council candidates Lonnell Matthews, John Cooper, Jim Shulman, Erica Gilmore and Don Majors; District 5 candidate Scott Davis; District 8 candidate Chris Swann; District 15 candidate Jim Garrett; District 17 candidate Chris Cotton; District 19 candidate Keith Caldwell; District 29 candidate Karen Johnson; District 32 candidate Jacobia Dowell; District 33 candidate Sam Coleman; District 13 candidate Furtesha Carter; District 21 candidate Ed Kindall.

Several of the candidates they endorsed do not have opposition. Of the candidates in contested races where they endorsed, I am supporting only Tim Garrett, Scott Davis, and Sam Coleman. Despite Rick Williams association with this group, I would urge voters to disregard this list of recommendations. They did not endorse solid conservatives like Ken Jakes or Robert Duvall but instead endorse liberals like John Cooper, brother of Jim Cooper, Erica Gilmore and Lonnell Matthews. In the 17th they endorsed Chris Cotton, Regional Vice Chair of the Davidson County Democratic Party, over conservative Tony Watson.

The Tennessean reports that Council at-large candidates John Cooper and Jim Shulman, have confirmed they paid the group around $1,000 and $2,500 respectively to help distribute the flyer. Despite Rick Williams being a friend of mine, I would urge everyone not to be swayed by the recommendations from this group.  Who are they? What do they stand for? They give no reason why one should support their slate of candidates. There seems to be no logic or consistency to their endorsements and in my view, in most cases, they endorsed the wrong candidates. 

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