I, like I am sure many of you who are reading this, are feeling blue
today about the outcome of the mayoral election yesterday. I have been
in elections where I have won and in elections where I have lost and
winning feels much better.
Why did we lose? The short
answer is Megan Barry got more votes than David Fox. In days to come, I
will be looking at the returns and be talking to people who have
insight to see why and where we lost and provide an update and some
analysis or asking others who are better at that than I, to provide some
analysis. Did the last minute race-baiting, painting Fox as a
segregationist win the election or some other factor? Did the
questioning of Barry's values and faith backfire and cause more secular
and progressive voters to rally behind her? I don't know. I would
welcome readers thoughts on these questions.
I cannot
second guess the Fox campaign team strategy. Up until last night, I
thought it would be a very close election but I really thought we were
going to win. I thought the Fox team had ran an excellent campaign. I
was very impressing. I am disappointing in that people like
Representative Beth Harwell and Senator Steve Dickerson did not endorse
David Fox, while the whole Democrat machine got behind Barry, but maybe
there was a logic to that. Maybe they did not want to turn the race
into a partisan contest. Also, the State Democratic Party spend money on
behalf of Megan Barry, but the State Republican Party did not do so on
behalf of David Fox. Would that have made a difference?
I
enjoyed being involved in this campaign and getting to attend the
rallies, fundraisers and forums. I enjoyed the substantive issue
discussions and the camaraderie of being with friends fighting for the
same cause.
I enjoyed getting to know David Fox. I saw
him speak numerous times and attended several functions with him. Back
in April, I met him for coffee and presented my ideas on transit issues
and we also discussed some other issues. We met in just a one-on-one
for over an hour. David Fox really listens to what you have to say when
you talk with him and he asks questions and takes notes. He is smart,
humble, and has a sly sense of humor. Having talked to David on that
occasion and having been around him on several other occasions, I
believe David Fox is one of the finest people I have ever met. I believe
he would make a great elected official. I hope he will consider a
future run for public office. Maybe David has had his fill of running
for public office, but if not, I think he should consider a run for the
5th Congressional District next go around. The demographics are a little
more in our favor in that contest. He would make a great U. S.
Congressman.
Congratulations to Mayor-elect Megan
Barry. I am sure she cares deeply about Nashville and people who know
her say she is a consensus builder and works hard and is a good person.
I hope my worse fears do not come true and she is concerned about
unfunded liabilities, growing city debt, continuing education reform,
and spreading some of the benefits of being an "it' city beyond
downtown. I hope she realizes that constantly increasing taxes can have a
detrimental effect on growth and on the budgets of working families and
I hope she will be constrained in raising taxes. I hope she will govern
moderately and responsibly and not be a crusader for social issues, but
will deal with the nuts and bolts of making Nashville an even greater
place to live.
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Not to toss bombs, and I say this with genuine interest, are you a native English speaker?
ReplyDeleteBill Bernstein left the following Facebook post:
ReplyDeleteRod, when the results came in on the local hire mandate the die was cast. Business had opposed it and the measure was awful. It passed by like 60%. The face of Nashville has changed over the last 20 years. Tons of transplants from CA and the northeast moved here, bringing their progressive political ideas. Barry forged a coalition of progressives: the LGBT crowd, academics, young people, Big Business with its interest in crony capitalism, and the black vote. With both Freeman and Gentry out of the race the black vote went to whomever the Democrats endorsed. And that was Barry. The pro-small business, fiscally conservative Christians who ran this city for generations are gone. Bone was maybe the last of them. We've seen this movie before and know how it ends: giveaways to lower income people and higher taxes on property and business, leading to a loss of the tax base as people flee to surrounding counties. The script here has been written already.